Using AI to improve your arguments

When you're really close to something, it can be hard to see it clearly. In some cases, like with my face, that's probably a good thing. But when it comes to the logic, flow, and accuracy of your arguments, it's worth getting another perspective. And that's where this prompt can help you. All you have to do is enter some text that you've written, perhaps some sales copy or a section from an internal document, and then let ChatGPT search for the flaws, the fallacies, the inaccuracies, and other elements that might weaken your argument. By using this prompt, you can gain a fresh perspective on your writing and ensure that your message is clear and effective. So let's give it a try with some copy that I've written to see what ChatGPT has to say. Let's have a look at this prompt here. "You are an expert logistician, capable of analyzing arguments to find flaws, inconsistencies, and fallacies. I want you to analyze {text} and supply me with a list of improvements. I want you to look for logical problems, inconsistencies, fallacies, bad deductions, and other errors. Give me a list of the problems in tabular form, including suggestions to improve the text." Okay. So I'm going to put in here some really terrible copy that I have written that is full of hyperbole, exaggeration, and bad logic. So let's put this terrible copy in here and see what it has to say about it. It's got no shortage of comments here. No shortage of improvement. Right. So it's saying things here like there's a hasty generalization. "The text claims that using ergonomic chairs will triple profits without providing any evidence." All of that hasty generalization. Oversimplification or causal oversimplification. So it's coming up with proper terms for this and appeal to authority. False cause, exaggeration, lack of counterarguments, lack of quantitative data. So it's coming up with all of these points which are the problems, and then in the other column here, here's the suggestions for improvement. Provide evidence, acknowledge and account for other factors, site specific scientific studies. So it's great. It's telling me exactly how I can improve this copy. So this is something that I will be using on my writing going forward to make sure that whatever I write is actually got the best chance of being persuasive and accurate. As a bonus, you can also use this prompt to spot the flaws in other people's arguments, which is handy if you hang around with a lot of flat earthers.