Using ChatGPT as a Research Assistant for Book Research

I’m a very unsophisticated user—and an older man—so my use of ChatGPT is still fairly basic. But it has changed my life. I use ChatGPT as a research assistant for a book I’m writing. In practice, what I do is not much more than an in-depth search, but ChatGPT has taken me places in this journey that I would have thought impossible just three months ago. We’re now deeply engaged in solid research that will likely last about two years before we reach the writing phase. I’m energized by what we’re doing and wanted to share the experience. I believe AI is going to change the way working historians conduct research. Step-by-step: 1. I use ChatGPT as a research assistant for the book I’m writing. 2. I use it for in-depth searching and research. 3. I continue developing the research with ChatGPT over an expected two-year period before beginning the writing phase. 4. I reflect on how this process is changing my research journey and the way historians may conduct research.