Reflective journal entries using GPT-4 and Obsidian that demand less willpower.

[-]lillybaeum3y172

I really strongly recommend that anyone interested particularly in journaling using AI does not use anything that sends that data to a server somewhere. Use llama or another local model if you possibly can. It may be less capable but it's far more responsible to do so. Personally I find a lot of value in AI journaling, but it also made me glimpse the future possibilities of what unscrupulous companies could do with a detailed log of every day of your life for years. I mean, isn't that basically the most useful user data you could possibly have for advertising?

I'm not saying that OpenAI specifically is currently untrustworthy with this data, or that it one day will be, but it just strikes me as a really bad habit to send every aspect of your day in detail to somewhere on the internet.

On a more 'doomer' sort of note, if anyone is afraid of AI being capable of simulating their personality in a roko sort of situation, this seems like the best possible way to give some future AI as near-lossless image of your brain at present. I for one welcome Roko/Bing/Proteus and support it completely if it decides to take over the world, but remember, the most powerful aspect of LLMs is their capability to predict things given input. I can't help but feel some sort of truth behind the idea that an LLM could predict how you would live and think and act, given enough input about your life and your choices.

[-]Solenoid_Entity3y21

Yeah, I agree with a lot of this, and this privacy concern was actually my main reason to want to switch to Obsidian in the first place, ironically.

I remember in the book In the Age of Surveillance Capitalism there's a framework for thinking about privacy where users knowingly trade away their privacy in exchange for a service which becomes more useful for them as a direct consequence of the privacy tradeoff. So for example, a maps app that remembers where you parked your car. This is contrasted with platforms where the privacy violations aren't 'paid back' to the users in terms of useful features that benefit them, they just extract value from users in exchange for providing a service at all.

So in this case, I guess the more private information I submit to Chat-GPT, the more directly useful and relevant and insightful its responses to me get. Considering how much a life coach or career coach or therapist can cost, this is a lot of value I'm getting for it.

I understand the theoretical concern about our righteous future overlords whom I fully support and embrace, but while I think you could learn a lot about me from reading my diary, including convincingly simulating my personality, I would feel surprised if reading my diary was enough to model my brain in sufficient fidelity that it's an s-risk concern...

[-]Christopher King3y10

So in this case, I guess the more private information I submit to Chat-GPT, the more directly useful and relevant and insightful its responses to me get.

This is even stronger for something like LLaMA because you can actually fine-tune it on your personal info or fine-tune it for document retrieval.

[-]Solenoid_Entity3y10

I also realise how much I sound like Chat-GPT in that comment... dammit

[-]awg3y1-1

Disagree. There's still quite a bit of personal nuance to the way you write that wouldn't be present in the typical ChatGPT output. For now ;)

[-]Stephen Fowler3y21

I like the way you think.

While an indepth daily journal would help simulating a person, I suspect you could achieve a reasonably high fidelity simulation without it.

I personally don't keep a regular journal, but I do send plenty of data over messenger, whatsapp etc describing my actions and thoughts.

[-]Simon Möller3y10

I fully agree. I tried using ChatGPT for some coaching, but tried to keep it high level and in areas where I wouldn't be too bothers if it showed up on the internet.

I think using the API, rather than ChatGPT, is better. See e.g. https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/01/addressing-criticism-openai-will-no-longer-use-customer-data-to-train-its-models-by-default/:

Starting today, OpenAI says that it won’t use any data submitted through its API for “service improvements,” including AI model training, unless a customer or organization opts in. In addition, the company is implementing a 30-day data retention policy for API users with options for stricter retention “depending on user needs,” and simplifying its terms and data ownership to make it clear that users own the input and output of the models.

I was actually thinking that having an Obsidian plugin for this sort of thing would be really neat.

[-]Solenoid_Entity3y31

There are a few Obsidian plugins that do similar stuff using LLMs, (they purport to read your notes and help you something something).

I'm thinking of mocking something up over the next week or so that does this 'diary questions' thing in a more interactive way, via the API, from inside Obsidian.

[-]Celarix3y32

I might try this with GPT 3.5, as I can't yet justify spending the $20/month on GPT-4. Something like this seems quite interesting!

(oh god we're going to have to be using this near-AGI stuff for everything soon, aren't we?)

[-]Celarix3y10

Reflection: this adds a lot of extra writing in order to answer the questions. Worth being aware of; adding GPT-4 to your journaling process may increase the time it takes to complete it each day/week/etc.

[-]awg3y32

Love this! I use Obsidian for daily journaling, but I love your use of ChatGPT as a sort of diary-prompter for yourself.

I think probably within the next couple of years it will be possible to use an LLM to write an Obsidian plug-in that lets you use an LLM directly inside of Obsidian, connected to all of your Obsidian notes. Combining that with voice recognition like you said so that you can just have a little conversation at the end of your day. Mm, that'd be the magic!

[-]Simon Möller3y10

Couple of years? I think we are talking about months here. I guess the biggest bottleneck would be to get all notes into the LLM context. But I doubt you really need that. I think you can probably guess a few important notes for what you are currently working on and add those as context.

[-]Ben3y20

This is a really nice use of the technology to make something work better for you.

And for some reason the place my mind went is some kind of Black Mirror episode where an emotionally vulnerable person has a chatbot confident/interactive journal, and then their manipulative partner has installed some dark web app on it that makes it spy on her and help him manipulate her feelings ... urggh gross.

[-]M. Y. Zuo3y21

I'm a bit confused here, isn't reflecting on, integrating, and writing down these thoughts the primary benefit of keeping a daily diary in the first place?

Asking GPT-4 to do these steps doesn't seem to offer the same benefits.

[-]Solenoid_Entity3y30

I’m writing the original paragraph, and answering a bunch of questions designed to prompt me to reflect.

[-]M. Y. Zuo3y10

They might not be your reflections though?

GPT-4 has a very large degree of freedom in choosing what questions to ask, and how they're worded.

So phrasing it one way or another will prompt different thoughts from you. And GPT-4, not you, is selecting those parameters.

You would need to specify a very narrow range of possibilities, or the exact question for it to ask to avoid this, which would seem to be about as much effort as just doing it entirely yourself.

EDIT: Changed wording a bit.

[-]awg3y10

How is this different than reflecting on your day with a close friend who asks you questions about it?

[-]M. Y. Zuo3y20

Not much of a difference, in your example the close friend would also have influenced the answers with the questions they select.

Some people are fine with that because they trust the close friend.

Others aren't and diary writing would be an exclusively solitary activity for the reasons above.

[-]awg3y10

Totally agreed. I do morning pages which I find to be invaluable as a source of deep, personal reflection.

I think the above has its use in the sense of keeping a diary entry of each day that you could come back to to read and remember what happened. Not necessarily for deep personal reflection, but more to suss out the details on an otherwise sparser entry for a "What happened today?" type of diary.

[-]Olomana3y21

Are you doing this from within Obsidian with one of the AI plugins? Or are you doing this with the ChatGPT browser interface and copy/pasting the final product over to Obsidian?

[-]Solenoid_Entity3y10

Currently just copy-pasting into GPT-4 via the web interface. I've got it working via the GPT-3 API as well today, but for now I prefer to suffer the inconvenience and get the better model. The questions it asks are MUCH more insightful.

[-]RHollerith3y20

If you got used to this, you would get rusty at creating journal entries when not connected to the internet, correct? (because to use ChatGPT requires internet connectivity)

[-]gilch3y90

A powerful enough personal computer could run LLaMA locally. I don't think the raw model is optimized for chat, but with a suitable prompt, you might be able to get it into chat mode long enough to do this kind of thing. It also wouldn't surprise me to learn that there are more specialized derivatives now that would be suitable. I've certainly heard of people working on it.

[-]RHollerith3y20

Thanks; have six points of upvotedness.

1. Can you provide more details about Xena? What is your relationship with her and how long have you known her? 2. How did you feel when you missed the train, and were there any positive aspects to this experience that you are grateful for? 3. How do you and Adele usually stay in touch, and how long have you been friends? 4. What specifically makes you feel that you've been an unreliable friend recently? Are there any instances you can recall? 5. Can you tell me more about the cafe where you met Adele? What is it about the atmosphere or service that you appreciate? 6. What are some aspects of your conversation with Adele that you are grateful for or that made you feel more connected to her? 7. Can you provide more information about your friend's paperclip-optimizing machine? What is its purpose, and how do you feel about his project? 8. How did you first meet your friend's new girlfriend, and what about her makes you think that they are a good match? 9. When was the last time you visited your parents in Emu Plains, and what are some things you are looking forward to doing with them during this visit? 10. What are some of your favorite dishes to cook with your Mum, and how do you feel when you share this activity together?

Woke up early for no reason at my friend Xena's place after having dinner and drinks with her the night before. She's a warrior princess who's super busy with her job, so I was really grateful for her making time to catch up. Her couch wasn't very comfortable, which is probably why I woke up early. I spent 20 minutes just lying in bed thinking before I got up, said goodbye to Xena, and headed off around 7am for the train up to Waitara. I ended up missing the stupid train because I was waiting on the wrong platform like an idiot. I was really annoyed with myself, but luckily, it turned out to be a positive experience. I was only 10 minutes late and found a good alternative train route using the app. Adele, who I was meeting for coffee, was running late anyway. Adele and I try to stay in touch with phone calls every couple of weeks, but it's hard because of her unpredictable life with record deals, touring, and dealing with paparazzi. I've been an unreliable friend recently, having to cancel a few meetups because of chaos in my life. It was great to finally catch up with her at the cafe, which had fantastic food, a great vibe, and attentive service. The guy who owns the cafe knows her as a regular and just brings her french toast as soon as she sits down. We had a nice chat about her new startup and all her stories from the road, crazy things that happened backstage at her shows, and other details. I really appreciated her trust in sharing those stories with me. Afterward, I left to catch up with my friend who's building a paperclip-optimizing machine. He introduced me to his new girlfriend, Ivana, who's super smart, beautiful, and works for a company called FSD or FBS. She's a great listener, and I felt like I could tell her anything. Finally, I took the late train over to Emu Plains to see my parents, who I try to visit every couple of months. They always feed me well. I'm looking forward to cooking something nice with Mum tomorrow before she goes to her line-dancing club. She makes seriously amazing pies, and cooking with her is a great bonding exercise. It reminds me of when I used to cook with her as a kid before she sent me off to that remote violin academy.

Woke up early for no reason at my friend [[Xena]]'s place after having dinner and drinks with her the night before. She's a [[warrior princess]] who's super busy with her job, so I was really grateful for her making time to catch up. Her couch wasn't very comfortable, which is probably why I woke up early. I spent 20 minutes just lying in bed thinking before I got up, said goodbye to [[Xena]], and headed off around 7am for the [[train]] up to [[Waitara]]. I ended up missing the stupid [[train]] because I was waiting on the wrong platform like an idiot. I was really annoyed with myself, but luckily, it turned out to be a positive experience. I was only 10 minutes late and found a good alternative [[train]] route using the [[app]]. [[Adele]], who I was meeting for coffee, was running late anyway. [[Adele]] and I try to stay in touch with phone calls every couple of weeks, but it's hard because of her unpredictable life with [[record deals]], touring, and dealing with [[paparazzi]]. I've been an unreliable friend recently, having to cancel a few meetups because of chaos in my life. It was great to finally catch up with her at the [[cafe]], which had fantastic food, a great vibe, and attentive service. The guy who owns the [[cafe]] knows her as a regular and just brings her french toast as soon as she sits down. We had a nice chat about her new [[startup]] and all her stories from the road, crazy things that happened backstage at her shows, and other details. I really appreciated her trust in sharing those stories with me. Afterward, I left to catch up with my friend who's building a [[paperclip-optimizing machine]]. He introduced me to his new girlfriend, [[Ivana]], who's super smart, beautiful, and works for a company called [[FSD]] or [[FBS]]. She's a great listener, and I felt like I could tell her anything. Finally, I took the late [[train]] over to [[Emu Plains]] to see my [[parents]], who I try to visit every couple of months. They always feed me well. I'm looking forward to cooking something nice with [[Mum]] tomorrow before she goes to her [[line-dancing club]]. She makes seriously amazing pies, and cooking with her is a great bonding exercise. It reminds me of when I used to cook with her as a kid before she sent me off to that remote [[violin academy]].

^{^}

Literally every detail and fact in the diary entry is fictional and invented, just made up for this post. Don't be thinking I take trains or eat food.

^{^}

This is in my text expander now, so it's easy to reproduce.

^{^}

What really impresses me about these questions is that it doesn't delve into things like 'what's Adele's startup' or 'why is your friend's job at the paperclip maximising firm stressful?'

I don't know if that's a feature or a bug. It doesn't perform great at the 'resolve inconsistencies and add context', but it seems to understand the assignment: that we're here to talk about my feelings.

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Reflective journal entries using GPT-4 and Obsidian that demand less willpower.

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