Discovering the appropriate tech present is difficult. There are the wants of the present recipient, the supply of choices, comparisons of options and specs, and your funds. As a tech professional, you’d assume I would have a better time, however my mind is principally overwhelmed with tech trivialities, and I wrestle to boil all of it down right into a helpful and well timed choice. It is in these moments the place synthetic intelligence and a rising legion of generative, massive language mannequin chatbots can do essentially the most good.
Put one other approach, I have been having a week-long dialog with ChatGPT 4o about what to get my mother-in-law, and whereas the AI has not completely solved my downside, it will get enormous factors for persistence, persistence, and reminiscence.
My sharp-as-a-tack mother-in-law lives alone, and whereas she’s regular on her toes, we do fear about her in an emergency scenario like a fall, which led my spouse and me to surprise if a wearable with fall detection could be a superb present.
As we talked, my spouse eyed me as if she have been ready for one thing, and I noticed it was a concrete reply: “Which wearable ought to we get her?” Since Mother is an Android telephone consumer (her growing older handset is from LG, an organization that now not makes telephones), my first selection, an Apple Watch SE, was out of the query.
I’ve examined a couple of Android wearables, just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and the very best Google Pixel Watches, however I could not recall which of them had built-in fall detection. I used to be making ready to do the analysis however, daunted by the duty (learn “lazy”), determined to present ChatGPT 4o an opportunity.
The good thing about utilizing an AI chatbot is that you would be able to ask difficult questions conversationally, and it’s going to virtually at all times be sensible sufficient to know and reply.
Right here was my preliminary immediate:
“I need to discover a smartwatch or a health watch that has easy notifications, fall detection, and can ship an emergency alert. It is for my mother-in-law who does not personal an Apple Watch. It must be Android-compatible. I would like it to be extremely simple to make use of and beneath $300.”
I put it in as soon as as a straight immediate to ChatGPT and then utilizing ChatGPT search. Since I do know that the latter makes use of the stay net to tell its outcomes, I assumed the reply could be extra well timed and correct. It turned out that each responses have been correct and extra useful than I anticipated.
ChatGPT replied, “On your mother-in-law, an Android-compatible smartwatch that provides easy notifications, fall detection, and emergency alert capabilities beneath $300 could be ultimate. Listed below are some suggestions:”
It then listed the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, Google Pixel Watch 2, and the Amazfit GTR 4. The 2 last-gen smartwatches have been canny decisions as a result of new fashions just like the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 could be costlier and in all probability break my $300 restrict.
Then, like a conspiratorial buddy, ChatGPT whispered, “Given the continued Black Friday deals, you may discover these watches at even decrease costs. As an example, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is at present obtainable at a reduced worth.” It then cited The Verge as a supply for that tidbit. Miffed that it did not use TechRadar however nonetheless impressed, I made a decision to vary tacts.
Narrowing our decisions
As a lot as I really like smartwatch expertise, I nervous that these wearables may nonetheless be somewhat too difficult – a minimum of relating to setup – for my mother-in-law. In these conversations with ChatGPT, I prefer to deal with it as I’d a buddy who at all times is aware of what I’m speaking about and can decide up the context even when I did not restate the entire premise. I entered this new immediate:
“Are there any health wearables that additionally present fall detection? I do not essentially want a complete smartwatch.”
ChatGPT accurately famous that health trackers are fixated on exercise and will not all embody fall detection. Nonetheless, it did discover a couple of Garmin units, together with the Garmin Forerunner 45 (sourced from Wikipedia[!]), the Garmin Venu Sq 2 (Verge), and the Garmin Forerunner 245 (Wikipedia once more).
ChatGPT identified the steadiness of health monitoring and security options like “incident detection” which it famous “could possibly be useful to my mother-in-law”. However ChatGPT wasn’t achieved. Not like my associates who may maintain off giving a suggestion, ChatGPT boldly declared, “Contemplating your mother-in-law’s wants, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 stands out for its user-friendly interface and complete options inside your funds.”
However the factor is, ChatGPT missed a key stage of element that made its suggestion untenable. “Incident detection” on these Garmin watches focuses on mishaps throughout exercise, not the form of random fall that may occur to the aged at any time.
Undaunted, I requested ChatGPT to deal with a extra female design (some health wearables could be fairly cumbersome and masculine) and the best UI. ChatGPT had now fixated on the Garmin Venu Sq 2 and listed all of the methods it was excellent, regardless that it acknowledged that incident detection and help options “are usually lively throughout particular actions and require the watch to be linked to a smartphone.”
We went again and forth like this with out fairly touchdown on the appropriate machine. Individually, my spouse and I checked out LifeAlert, a 24/7 service and wearable with a subscription charge. It has no smartwatch capabilities and as a substitute focuses on detecting falls and different emergencies and getting assist. It additionally by no means must be charged.
I hadn’t given up on ChatGPT. A couple of days later, we picked up the dialog. I provided no context however continued within the immediate thread, “So, I would like actual, 24/7 fall detection, lengthy battery life, ease of use, Android compatibility, and one thing a lady would put on. All of that for beneath $300.”
ChatGPT admitted that discovering what I used to be searching for might “be difficult,” nevertheless it additionally really useful the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. It was one in all its preliminary favorites, claiming it had higher ease of use because of the rotating bezel (I can form of agree {that a} {hardware} management works properly for somebody unfamiliar with wearable expertise), and pointed to Bixby and Google Assistant as enhancing usability. I feel the existence of two digital assistants on one machine could be complicated, however perhaps that is simply me. It additionally highlighted the $250 price ticket and a excessive diploma of Android compatibility (I nonetheless do not know if my mother-in-law’s growing older LG has an OS up-to-date sufficient to assist these newer smartwatches).
Then I lastly requested the large query: is LifeAlert a greater possibility right here? Once more, no context aside from that immediate. Oh, and did I point out that I by chance known as it “LifeLock”? ChatGPT, like the nice buddy it is, forgave my foibles and translated my nonsense into an in depth comparability of emergency alert programs like LifeAlert versus smartwatches.
It then summarized with this:
“In case your mother-in-law values a tool with a number of functionalities and is snug with expertise, a smartwatch just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 could possibly be useful. Nevertheless, if she prefers a devoted, easy-to-use emergency system with skilled monitoring, a medical alert system similar to Life Alert could also be extra applicable.”
You see? I really feel like ChatGPT will get me. It is analytical but in addition virtually caring. Granted, I’m no nearer to a decision on this buy than I used to be per week in the past, however a minimum of I really feel higher knowledgeable. I’m now contemplating asking ChatGPT to go shopping for me…as if.