Alfred and ChatGPT integration by default

[albertkinng]

I think Alfred developers need to learn a little bit about the ChatFred Workflow and integrate AI to the core of the app. I rather pay monthly for Alfred AI than paying OpenAI just for using a workflow. Let us know (the users) if you have plans to incorporate AI to the next Alfred version. It will be needed in the long run. Even Apple is studying the idea for Spotlight. 

[Stephen_C]

7 hours ago, albertkinng said:

I rather pay monthly for Alfred AI than paying OpenAI just for using a workflow.

Just inderstand that there are people (among whom I am certainly one) who particularly dislike subscription software. Of course, there are other options which would not require every Alfred user to "subscribe” but however much enthusiasm there is for these AI apps currently there are also concerns about:

• their accuracy and reliability; and (especially)
• privacy and security.

I'm not sure in the circumstances I'd want to see Alfred leaping on to the bandwagon in the manner you suggest—especially given that others have already posted workflows which can be used in Alfred by the keen trailblazers.

 

Stephen

[albertkinng]

4 hours ago, Stephen_C said:

Just inderstand that there are people (among whom I am certainly one) who particularly dislike subscription software.

I completely agree. It's not appealing to pay OpenAI a monthly fee for the sole purpose of avoiding visiting their website. As a UI/UX designer and web developer, I used Adobe for over 25 years until they switched to a subscription model. Nowadays, I use Affinity Software and understand that there are people who prefer not to subscribe to software. 

 

However, I also recognize that if Alfred developers need to use AI code to improve their product, they will eventually have to pay for it. If this happens, Alfred users will benefit from having access to a more advanced tool capable of performing tasks such as updating third-party programming languages automatically, verifying working and obsolete workflows, using plain English to execute SSH and terminal tasks, prompting Finder tasks, offering grammar and spelling assistance, and suggesting HTML/CSS codes. 

 

Under these circumstances, I would be willing to pay a monthly fee to Alfred. But I would not pay a subscription fee for easy access to OpenAI's chat window.

 

 

 

[xilopaint]

7 hours ago, albertkinng said:

Alfred users will benefit from having access to a more advanced tool capable of performing tasks such as updating third-party programming languages automatically

 

AI can't help you with this. You can do this by using only two words: "brew upgrade".

 

7 hours ago, albertkinng said:

verifying working and obsolete workflows

 

What do you mean by this? Alfred has recently introduced update capability for workflows through Gallery. How could AI be helpful in "verifying working and obsolete workflows"?

 

7 hours ago, albertkinng said:

using plain English to execute SSH and terminal tasks

 

This is not something language models should be used for. You can't rely on some unpredictable language model whose response you don't know in advance to perform any kind of terminal task. This can lead to disastrous results.
 

7 hours ago, albertkinng said:

prompting Finder tasks

 

Which tasks?

 

7 hours ago, albertkinng said:

offering grammar and spelling assistance, and suggesting HTML/CSS codes.

 

This is a field where language models can be useful. While you can use ChatFred for this I personally think Alfred cannot currently offer a decent AI experience through workflows because of the lack of proper UI elements.

 

I've been a loyal Powerpack user since v2 and have colleagues who purchased Alfred just because I convinced them. During this time I had never felt the need of a substancial change in the core concept of Alfred.

 

This has changed.

 

A couple months ago I installed an Alfred competitor for the first time just because it offers a better AI experience. Having both launchers installed forced me to live with multiple annoyances. They start by dealing with two different shortcuts whereas I only had one before. Also, now I have to deal with thoughts like "what's the best launcher for this task?", or "to which launcher should I create this extension/workflow for?". All these questions push me to make a decision and choose a single launcher.

 

I still think Alfred is more straightforward for most tasks. There are some small details that make me prefer Alfred's UX: the font sizes are just perfect and I love the visual appeal of the big icons in the results. In some way Alfred feels more seamless to me, even relaxing, and it delivers what I want as a good and efficient butler.

 

That being said, I think a good AI integration is important. Alfred is a one-time purchase software and as such it depends on new purchasers. With the competition offering extensions for free and AI through a subscription model people may see more value in spending money to get what they don't have for free and it makes me worry for Alfred's future.

Edited May 10, 2023 by xilopaint

[albertkinng]

2 hours ago, xilopaint said:

it makes me worry for Alfred's future.

Don't be. It will be a great future for technology.

 

Regarding the questions you posed... I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable with my opinions. All of them are rooted in my personal experience of utilizing AI in various applications. 

1. With Warp Terminal, you can easily execute SSH and terminal commands just by following simple instructions in plain English. This powerful tool makes it simple to navigate and interact with your terminal in a user-friendly way.

2. AI can manage third-party programming languages by updating them and verifying functional workflows. It can also recognize unused workflows and move them to a specific folder or trash can. Additionally, AI can provide information on the frequency of use for different workflows. The tool's API automatically finds and installs the newest programming language version, saving developers time from doing it themselves. Using an API minimizes the risk of human error and ensures accurate implementation of updates. AI can be harnessed to work with other tools besides Brew, such as PyCharm, Anaconda, and others. Updating programming languages using an API can enhance developer efficiency by providing access to the latest features and capabilities of the tool.

3. When you work with a lot of files, you may end up buying Finder alternatives such as Pathfinder or Forklift to do more. However, with AI running on your search bar, such as Alfred, you won't need to buy those third-party apps to manage your files. Instead of searching for JPG files among other formats inside a folder and selecting 20 files to rename and move to another folder on a different drive, you can simply use a prompt such as 'Rename all JPG files in /folder with hierarchy starting from 020 and move them to /desktop/new Files'. That will be very useful.

4. Grammatical accuracy and spelling are already integral components of both Grammarly and Linguix's services. Right there in your fingertips.

 

Watch me use AI on Taskade to create a kamban task workspace just by asking for it in THIS VIDEO.

 

Again, I'm not here to force you to think like me, I'm just answering your questions. It's OK if you think AI is not secure and not ready yet. Let's pray for Alfred to be stronger than ever without the need of AI in the future. Nobody knows.

[xilopaint]

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

1. With Warp Terminal, you can easily execute SSH and terminal commands just by following simple instructions in plain English. This powerful tool makes it simple to navigate and interact with your terminal in a user-friendly way.

 

Warp offers command suggestions which is different from simply executing commands using natural language. It's safe because you can check in advance what you're running.

 

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

2. AI can manage third-party programming languages by updating them and verifying functional workflows.

 

I can't understand what you mean by "manage third-party programming languages".

 

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

It can also recognize unused workflows and move them to a specific folder or trash can. Additionally, AI can provide information on the frequency of use for different workflows.

 

Do you mean Alfred workflows? Checking a workflow usage frequency is a trivial task. It's not necessary to have any kind of AI for this.

 

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

The tool's API automatically finds and installs the newest programming language version, saving developers time from doing it themselves.

 

Another trivial task that has nothing to do with "AI".

 

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

AI can be harnessed to work with other tools besides Brew, such as PyCharm, Anaconda, and others. Updating programming languages using an API can enhance developer efficiency by providing access to the latest features and capabilities of the tool.

 

I can't understand why you keep talking about "updating programming languages" as if it were a complex task. It takes literally two words for having everything up-to-date:

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

3. When you work with a lot of files, you may end up buying Finder alternatives such as Pathfinder or Forklift to do more. However, with AI running on your search bar, such as Alfred, you won't need to buy those third-party apps to manage your files. Instead of searching for JPG files among other formats inside a folder and selecting 20 files to rename and move to another folder on a different drive, you can simply use a prompt such as 'Rename all JPG files in /folder with hierarchy starting from 020 and move them to /desktop/new Files'. That will be very useful.

 

Again, you can't execute this kind of tasks using natural language without checking in advance what is being executed because it's not safe. It's not how Warp, that you used as an example, work.

 

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

4. Grammatical accuracy and spelling are already integral components of both Grammarly and Linguix's services. Right there in your fingertips.

 

This is a trivial task that can be easily achieved with ChatFred. You can even attach a hotkey to it.
 

2 hours ago, albertkinng said:

Let's pray for Alfred to be stronger than ever without the need of AI in the future.

 

I'm not advocating Alfred shouldn't use AI. Maybe the only point I agree with you is that it could offer integration to the new OpenAI's language models, either via API or a paid plan. In any case I think a new UI should be used for the integration.

Edited May 10, 2023 by xilopaint

[albertkinng]

30 minutes ago, xilopaint said:

I'm not advocating Alfred shouldn't use AI.

You make your point already. I don’t have plans to argue about it either.