Using an AI while reading a book

GeoEng51

I've been experimenting recently with carrying on a conversation with ChatGPT while reading a non-fiction book. I'm looking for comments from others on this practice - have you tried it? Is it helpful/useful? What are the potential benefits and what are the pitfalls? Would your opinion vary, depending on the level of the reader's knowledge of the topic under consideration?

I'll give you an example of my experiment in conversing with ChatGPT. Bear with me as I explain a few details...

I am reading the book "Super Gut" by Dr. William Davis, and learning a lot about the human microbiome from it. While many of the ideas and statements in the book are referenced to solid scientific studies, I noticed some of Dr. Davis' statements are based only on anecdotal evidence and a few do not jive with my limited understanding of the topic (from previous reading). When this happens, the obvious question is "Why?".

Here's one instance. "...removing wheat and grains yields substantial improvements in GI (gastro-intenstinal) health that aid in your efforts to reverse dysbiosis...and regain overall health". His stated logic is based on the toxic affects of gliadin (a component of gluten) and wheat germ aggultinin on the intestinal wall. I understand this concept when applied to wheat, and have observed the benefit for myself when removing wheat from my diet (I have long known I was "gluten sensitive", but it took a while to find out what that actually meant). My departure from Dr. Davis came when he applied the reasoning to all grains, as the "offending" components in wheat are not found in other grains, such as millet, sorghum and teff, which I use to make a gluten free, sourdough bread that causes me no problems.

Apologies for too much detail, but I was trying to explain the type of internal discussion that I get into when reading a non-fiction book. I could (and have) gone to other sources when such a question arises - other books, internet searches, etc. In this case, I decided to instigate a conversation with ChatGPT with this question: "Dr. Davis argues for the removal of wheat from your diet based on the effects of gliadin (in the gluten) and WGA. He also says to avoid other grains. However, other grains such as sorghum or millet do not contain gluten or WGA. Therefore, there seems to be much less reason to avoid them. Please comment on this idea."

The conversation went on for a while, exploring not just gliadin and WGA, but also other types of lectins in various grains and vegetables. The conversation is sporadic and progressive, both because I want to further explore some aspects of the answer I get from ChatGPT and because I continue reading Dr. Davis' book and coming up with supplemental questions. Regarding the former, I am very careful to poke at and explore all aspects of what ChatGPT tells me and not just accept its answer at face value.

I intend to continue the conversation with ChatGPT as I read more in Dr. Davis' book, to see where it leads. At present, my impression is that I am getting a more nuanced assessment of the ideas in this book than I might on my own, but at the same time, wonder if that is actually the case.

Any comments would be much appreciated.