Claude 3: A Writing Companion for Every Task
And why Anthropic's constitutional AI philosophy is important
You’ve heard me emphasize repeatedly the importance of trying out different Large Language Models (LLMs or AIs). Why? Because each one will produce slightly different results from the same prompt and some will work better for you than others. Remember, these AI tools are always evolving and becoming better.
When I write these posts, I steer away from news about what’s happening in the AI marketplace. There are dozens (or likely hundreds) of writers publishing daily updates. My focus with AI for Lifelong Learners is writing about how you can use AI in your day-to-day life and interviewing people who use AI in as many different ways as possible. Today, I want to cover how I use Claude 3 from Anthropic and a few ideas on how and why I use it.
Aligning AI with human values: the constitutional AI approach
Recently, Anthropic.com released the latest version of their LLM called Claude 3, and I’m finding myself using it more often. To understand the company Anthropic and why they have a different philosophy in how they built Claude 3, visit this write-up on Wikipedia. Most noteworthy is their focus on Constitutional AI.
Think of Constitutional AI as aligning technology with human values. It establishes a set of ethical guidelines to ensure that AI is helpful, harmless, and honest. They use these principles to train the AI to avoid harm, respect preferences, and provide true information. As a result, your AI interaction in Claude is transparent and attuned to your needs.
It's like speaking with an experienced, thoughtful librarian.
Visit a large public or college library and ask for help. They are efficient and direct to politely guide you toward what you want to learn more about in an unbiased manner. They follow a "Code of Ethics" established by the American Library Association (ALA). This code outlines the values and responsibilities that librarians should adhere to in their professional conduct.
Claude 3 attempts to do this for you too in its way, and frankly, I like that. To me, Claude 3 is friendly but not overly so, informative and concise.
Writing with Claude 3
Though Claude 3 has some amazing abilities for writing code, understanding images and graphics you upload to it, and analyzing spreadsheets, my primary use has been text-based. I use Claude 3 when I’m writing, researching an idea, or just having a desire to learn more about a topic that impacts my life.
An important side note here is when I say I’m using Claude 3 (or ChatGPT or Gemini or Perplexity.ai) for writing, I’m saying I use it as a tool to HELP write. On occasion, I’ve included some text that ‘just fits as is’ so I reserve the right to do that. However, from my years of experience with AI writing tools, I end up rewriting or touching up everything that has been recommended. To quote Lily Chambers, “It’s important to keep the YOU in YOUR writing!”
More from Lily Chambers:
“As a writer, Claude is my preferred LLM, especially for creative use. I find that the style, voice, and tone accept prompting better and more accurately than its competitors. I’ve asked it to help with tasks as small as checking for comma splices and as broad as offering a novel outline structure and I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the results all along the way.”
Lily Chambers, Conversational AI Designer & Writer
Where else might you use Claude 3?
Blog posts: Enhance your storytelling or informational content, ensuring reader engagement and SEO effectiveness.
Academic papers: Improve your research writing with better structure, clarity, and adherence to academic standards.
Business proposals: Craft persuasive and clear proposals to secure partnerships or funding.
Technical documentation: Ensure clarity, precision, and ease of understanding in manuals, guides, and reports.
Creative writing: Get assistance with developing plots, characters, and settings in your novels, short stories, or scripts.
Social media content: Refine your posts or campaigns to engage audiences and convey your message effectively.
Marketing materials: Create compelling copy for advertisements, brochures, or websites that resonate with your target audience.
Journaling: Use AI to enhance personal reflection, clarity of thought, and expression in your daily or reflective journaling.
Speech writing: Develop impactful speeches for events, presentations, or public speaking engagements.
Grant writing: Enhance the persuasiveness and clarity of your applications for funding or support.
Researching the impact of proposed state bills on your life. I plan to explore the impact of proposed state bills on our lives, including how credit card terms and conditions could potentially harm our finances. In my next post, I will delve deeper into this topic, with a focus on recent legislative developments in Texas. Additionally, I'll examine a bill that has garnered broad bipartisan support in the House, compelling TikTok's Chinese owner to sell the video app or face a ban in the United States. What does this bill entail, and how might AI assist in understanding its implications
What else can you do with Claude 3?
You can explore optimized prompts for a range of business and personal tasks. Check out Anthropic’s newly released prompt library for dozens of useful ideas. Why create from scratch when you have these as starting points?
My recommendation is to give Claude 3 a try today. There is a free tier. If you want to be bold, just pay $20 for a single month of Claude 3 to grasp its finesse in responding to you. It’s worth it in my opinion. Remember there are many other features worth exploring beyond text. Try uploading an image with your handwritten notes. Or if you need to convert an entire page in a book to text just feed a picture of it into Claude. As long as you use it for personal use, there is no problem.
Bonus
Although I think it’s best to learn how to create your prompts, there is value in having a good starting point. There is a site called PromptVibes. I am not an affiliate; I just feel the creator Dhanvin Sriram has done a good job. You can use it for free to a limit of 10 credits per month. However, the subscription price is very reasonable - $4.9/mo. Spend some time browsing the collection and try a few prompts to help you learn. Rewrite them to fit your personal needs. Experiment with them on Claude 3 and then see what the results are like with ChatGPT or Gemini!
As always, feel free to ask follow-up questions to me directly on Substack. Thank you for subscribing! What a wonderful surprise these last few weeks have been with so many people signing up.
Tom