Using AI to Plan Road Trips
Discussion
I don't know if this is really worthy of a thread but I am getting itchy again for a decent road trip. I am a bit of a technical dinosaur but, in an attempt to get current I have been taking a more serious look at AI and how it helps planning, trying to understand if it is actually any good! I probably am opening myself to some ridicule here from those who really know this stuff, but thought it might be useful to share my thoughts as I learn this.
What I have discovered is the output is only as good as the input (otherwise known as "the prompt"). You need to be really specific when you need specific responses, and you need to tell it when you need it to be a bit more thoughtful and produce responses based on its own delving into the web. I tried ChatGPT and Claude (I only heard of Claude because of a video I watched):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI8ygOauNNA&t=...
ChatGPT was very stutters - would often stall and get stuck, which I have learned is normal, but it is access queue to the resources to do what I wanted it to do. When it did work though, it did seem to be a bit more free thinking and offering ideas that I maybe had not thought of. ChatGPT seems to remember everything as well, and does get a bit disconcerting that you are type talking to a machine when it does seem very human-like.
Claude however was far smoother, and soon was guiding me to the questions I needed to ask. When it did stall it quickly recovered and carried on. But remember - you need to ask it what you want to know - be specific. That took a while to properly understand what it needs. When you get that right, and it has taken me a while, it is amazing.
Now I wanted to challenge it - and made up a fictitious road trip to undertake next year.. and for the past week have been refining and fettling the text of the prompt. My final version of that fictitious prompt is as follows:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18lZRHR-A_NMyHEgGK...
Now, remember I said it was unnerving - because I kept asking almost the same question I felt sorry and kept apologising. It responds appropriately and gives a much more humane feel that simply google does. I have written the prompt as a template. Claude did suggest adding the line about attending races or sporting events - which ChatGPT didn't.
When I started this, I knew I wanted to make a map of the trip, and knew little of Google Maps, and also Google My Maps, but My Maps is really quite powerful. The CSV formats I ask for are then copied onto Numbers and then I can export into a CSV file which can be imported into Maps. Excel I could not get to work properly - (I did say I was a dinosaur) so Numbers is far simpler and obviously does what I need it to do. You can of course just copy the CSV outputs into Excel (i think).
An example of one of the CSVs is here - if you copy it all, you can paste into Numbers and it works a treat: https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/db0bb5eb-ce9c-4...
So, what you need:
A Google Account for My Maps.
Word (or whatever text editor you can fettle the prompt on) - easier than doing it in the chat box.
A free account with ChatGPT or as I recommend, Claude. (my issues with ChatGPT could well be and most likely are user caused!!).
Numbers.
5 minutes (not even 5 mins) after clicking "go" with that prompt, it spat out a response here:
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/8534aa3b-3d8d-4...
- with other "artefacts" (clickable or rather copyable files) such as the CSV files and a PDF. Except it is not a PDF - not quite. I have learned it is a .md file (no idea what that was but I think it is a digital framework for a PDF), and I use a free converter to convert into a PDF.
Converter: https://www.pdfforge.org/online/en/markdown-to-pdf...
And the final output PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18lZRHR-A_NMyHEgGK...
There is a lot of info in the output (and all available via normal research - the point being it collates and tabulates quickly) and PDF which would take ages when researching. Is it accurate? No idea, but it looks good. A couple of the map markers were thrown off but I think user error rather than duff data. I don't think the driving plan is too efficient - I would probably tweak and do just the coast rather than a x-country leg - to break up that day 8 Key West to Tallahassee. Or that needs a final bit of refining in the prompt. I am also not sure re mileages quoted, but Maps sorts that bit out.
Conclusion - when used properly and with thoughtful prompts, this AI lark is a game changer. What has taken me a week or so to learn (as a dinosaur I learn by trial and error as watching videos all seem to be a foreign language!). I also think Claude is worth subscribing to - especially if you do a lot of this sort of thing - it is supposedly very good at coding). Its answers are great too - really interactive. A con with Claude is when you start a new conversation, it does not remember the previous one, which can get frustrating. ChatGPT remembers everything, even conversations from days ago.
Anyway - hope this helps!
What I have discovered is the output is only as good as the input (otherwise known as "the prompt"). You need to be really specific when you need specific responses, and you need to tell it when you need it to be a bit more thoughtful and produce responses based on its own delving into the web. I tried ChatGPT and Claude (I only heard of Claude because of a video I watched):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI8ygOauNNA&t=...
ChatGPT was very stutters - would often stall and get stuck, which I have learned is normal, but it is access queue to the resources to do what I wanted it to do. When it did work though, it did seem to be a bit more free thinking and offering ideas that I maybe had not thought of. ChatGPT seems to remember everything as well, and does get a bit disconcerting that you are type talking to a machine when it does seem very human-like.
Claude however was far smoother, and soon was guiding me to the questions I needed to ask. When it did stall it quickly recovered and carried on. But remember - you need to ask it what you want to know - be specific. That took a while to properly understand what it needs. When you get that right, and it has taken me a while, it is amazing.
Now I wanted to challenge it - and made up a fictitious road trip to undertake next year.. and for the past week have been refining and fettling the text of the prompt. My final version of that fictitious prompt is as follows:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18lZRHR-A_NMyHEgGK...
Now, remember I said it was unnerving - because I kept asking almost the same question I felt sorry and kept apologising. It responds appropriately and gives a much more humane feel that simply google does. I have written the prompt as a template. Claude did suggest adding the line about attending races or sporting events - which ChatGPT didn't.
When I started this, I knew I wanted to make a map of the trip, and knew little of Google Maps, and also Google My Maps, but My Maps is really quite powerful. The CSV formats I ask for are then copied onto Numbers and then I can export into a CSV file which can be imported into Maps. Excel I could not get to work properly - (I did say I was a dinosaur) so Numbers is far simpler and obviously does what I need it to do. You can of course just copy the CSV outputs into Excel (i think).
An example of one of the CSVs is here - if you copy it all, you can paste into Numbers and it works a treat: https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/db0bb5eb-ce9c-4...
So, what you need:
A Google Account for My Maps.
Word (or whatever text editor you can fettle the prompt on) - easier than doing it in the chat box.
A free account with ChatGPT or as I recommend, Claude. (my issues with ChatGPT could well be and most likely are user caused!!).
Numbers.
5 minutes (not even 5 mins) after clicking "go" with that prompt, it spat out a response here:
https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/8534aa3b-3d8d-4...
- with other "artefacts" (clickable or rather copyable files) such as the CSV files and a PDF. Except it is not a PDF - not quite. I have learned it is a .md file (no idea what that was but I think it is a digital framework for a PDF), and I use a free converter to convert into a PDF.
Converter: https://www.pdfforge.org/online/en/markdown-to-pdf...
And the final output PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18lZRHR-A_NMyHEgGK...
There is a lot of info in the output (and all available via normal research - the point being it collates and tabulates quickly) and PDF which would take ages when researching. Is it accurate? No idea, but it looks good. A couple of the map markers were thrown off but I think user error rather than duff data. I don't think the driving plan is too efficient - I would probably tweak and do just the coast rather than a x-country leg - to break up that day 8 Key West to Tallahassee. Or that needs a final bit of refining in the prompt. I am also not sure re mileages quoted, but Maps sorts that bit out.
Conclusion - when used properly and with thoughtful prompts, this AI lark is a game changer. What has taken me a week or so to learn (as a dinosaur I learn by trial and error as watching videos all seem to be a foreign language!). I also think Claude is worth subscribing to - especially if you do a lot of this sort of thing - it is supposedly very good at coding). Its answers are great too - really interactive. A con with Claude is when you start a new conversation, it does not remember the previous one, which can get frustrating. ChatGPT remembers everything, even conversations from days ago.
Anyway - hope this helps!
Writing an essay to find a few suggestions seems a bit more of an effort than just googling 'good roads in Florida' or 'craft beer tallahassee' (google will even tell me I am spelling that wrong).
I find planning a trip is an important part of the holiday, and I might not be interested if any of the run of mill suggestions an AI is going to pick up from other people's reviews.
I find planning a trip is an important part of the holiday, and I might not be interested if any of the run of mill suggestions an AI is going to pick up from other people's reviews.
This piqued my interest as I'm planning a 2 to 3 week southern USA road trip for next year, starting in Nashville, big loop via Memphis, Dallas / Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston. Interests for us are music, bbq and general sightseeing.
Whilst I want to have a bit of flexibility in the trip, I think this could be a great help in making sure the basics are covered.
Whilst I want to have a bit of flexibility in the trip, I think this could be a great help in making sure the basics are covered.
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