Of Bing Chat, ChatGPT Bing plugin, Google BARD, and Google SGE (I’m on the waiting list), my favorite so far is the ChatGPT Bing plugin. It seems best at digesting website content.

(That said, I do not think anyone has come up with even a design of a workable combination of web search and AI-generated content. Sites plainly put both on the same page: Bing, in two different tabs, BARD, with an added link “search Google,” and Google SGE, with a featured snippet-like summary above the search results).

I have asked the first three to generate a FAQ for  https://sourcingcertification.com (which we are in need of for the redesigned site).

• Bing Chat refused, you know, “As an AI program…” However, I asked the very same question again, and it did respond (a good lesson here). Its answers are the shortest and include links to the sources. It is not easy to make Bing write up longer descriptions.
• ChatGPT Bing plugin created a nice FAQ with included links. At a close examination though the links all pointed to the site, not to the content described. Too bad. Bing Chat is better at including links.
• BARD initially created a FAQ that was answering questions but also asked them! I had to tell it to explain. BARD is quite verbose; its output would be too long for a site, I think.
  Neither BARD nor Google SGE tells you where they got the information from. I think it is a downside.

BING:

Q: What is SourcingCertification.com? A: SourcingCertification.com provides top-tier sourcing training, evaluation, and credentialing services for talent professionals worldwide¹.

Q: What kind of training does SourcingCertification.com offer? A: They offer a variety of training options including a Diversity Sourcing Program, custom training solutions for teams, and a training library with recordings, eBooks, and more¹.

Q: What certifications does SourcingCertification.com offer? A: One of the certifications they offer is the Certified People Sourcing Professional (CPSP) credential. It is granted to those who demonstrate proficiency in six core sourcing skill domains by passing the CPSP Exam².

ChatGPT Bing plugin:
Q1: What is SourcingCertification.com?
A: SourcingCertification.com is a platform that provides training, evaluation, and credentialing services for talent professionals worldwide. They offer a series of training courses and eBooks, certification exams, and custom training solutions.
Q2: Who is behind SourcingCertification.com?
A: The platform was founded by Irina Shamaeva, a Partner and Lead Sourcer at Brain Gain Recruiting. The team also includes David Galley, who serves as the Director of Training Programs.
Q3: What resources does SourcingCertification.com offer?
A: SourcingCertification.com provides a range of resources, including a Training Library, Certification Exams, and Custom Training. They also offer a guide to sourcing on GitHub and a book on Google’s Programmable Search Engines. Additionally, the platform features the Boolean Strings Blog, a resource for recruiters and those interested in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT).
Q4: What is the Certified People Sourcing Professional (CPSP) credential?
A: The CPSP is an international industry standard credential that demonstrates sourcing proficiency. SourcingCertification.com offers exams for this certification.
Q5: How can I get custom training from SourcingCertification.com?
A: SourcingCertification.com offers custom training solutions for teams of all sizes. If you don’t see what you need on their site, they can build a training program specifically tailored to your needs.
Q6: What is the Boolean Strings Network?
A: The Boolean Strings Network is a community on Facebook where Sourcers, Recruiters, Researchers, Talent Acquisition Professionals, and OSINT people can share their experiences, challenges, and successes. It is linked from the SourcingCertification.com site.
Please note that for specific or more detailed questions, it’s best to directly contact the team at SourcingCertification.com or visit their website.

BARD:
What is Sourcing Certifications & Training by Brain Gain Recruiting?
Sourcing Certifications & Training by Brain Gain Recruiting is a leading provider of sourcing training and certification for recruiters, sourcers, and talent acquisition professionals. Our training programs are designed to help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to find and engage top talent, regardless of their location.
What are the benefits of getting certified?
There are many benefits to getting certified in sourcing. Certification demonstrates your commitment to professional development and your expertise in the field. It can also help you advance your career, earn a higher salary, and gain access to new opportunities.
What are the different types of certifications offered?
Sourcing Certifications & Training by Brain Gain Recruiting offers a variety of certifications, including:

• Certified People Sourcing Professional (CPSP): This certification is designed for professionals who are new to sourcing or who want to advance their skills.
• Certified Diversity Sourcing Professional (CDSP): This certification is designed for professionals who want to learn how to source diverse talent.
• Certified Sourcing Professional (CSP): This certification is designed for experienced sourcers who want to demonstrate their expertise.

• What are the prerequisites for the training programs?
• What are the learning outcomes of the training programs?
• What is the format of the exams?
• What is the pass rate for the exams?
• What are the recertification requirements?

None of the outputs is perfect. But we see that AI can scan whole (perhaps smaller) sites, not just summarize a page. In my example, none of the players hallucinated; that is cool compared to earlier tests.

ChatGPT and Grammarly combined can improve the language of the outcome. Generally, running your project (any project) through more than one AI platform can be powerful.

 

As I have been reviewing the search links in the “Search Is No Longer Boolean” class, I see one obvious change: the number of results for more-or-less complex strings has dramatically declined.

• lisp “developer” anna jones – 10 (was 94) results
• lisp “engineer” anna jones – 9 (was 233) — that is 3%!
• lisp “engineer” OR “developer” anna jones – 13 (was 231)

• intitle:”jim stroud” (“vice president” OR vp) 87 (was 687) results
• intitle:”jim stroud” vp 86 (was 200)
• intitle:”jim stroud” “vp“ 84 (was 78)

Other searches show similar reductions in results.

What that means, is if you are after as many results as possible, you should vary the search, repeat and replace keywords, and collect all you can.

Tomorrow’s “Search Is No Longer Boolean” is sold out – sign up for the next session!

I have recently started managing my AI image Facebook page, The Prompter. The experience feels like the 20th century. It is surprising, given the vast audience.

If I am logged in as both me and the page, FB goes into an endless loop wanting to redraw.

The page has two management suits, “Dashboard” and “Meta,” with somewhat overlapping functions.

Connecting Instagram to FB took days; it was failing with an alert and assured me the developers would be notified. Right.

I can only post to both FB and Instagram from “Meta.” I cannot drag the images into a box but have to select them.

The default for sharing is FB only, which I have to cancel. The default time and date is two days ahead. It offers to also share to FB groups but only lists a few.

Instagram accepts only specific aspect rations, so many images cannot go there.

Am I missing something? Why is this process so cumbersome?

If you have not seen my AI art created with Midjourney, please take a look at https://www.facebook.com/aibraingain. I have also uploaded the first “how-to” video on Youtube.

 

Insufficient “processing power” is the reason why many improvements I had requested are not viable.

1. Why wouldn’t LinkedIn Recruiter search for a Boolean of school names, while LinkedIn.com can?

[Dan] This is possible, of course, but right now, it isn’t in the plan because it is really (really) expensive to build Boolean functionality outside of keyword searches.  This is true (the expensive part) for any field outside of keywords.  So right now, we allow keyword searches (as you, of course, know).  The cost (and therefore speed, and processing power… not just talking about engineering cost here) is substantial.

2. I cannot see an attached resume in Recruiter:

[Dan] This is a funny one, actually.  That guy Theo actually did a fairly creative use of the “featured” zone.  So we don’t actually “show” that as a resume.  We get resumes from Job Applications, and Post Apply Flow sharing. But that doc is actually in a very poorly adopted section called “Featured”.  We don’t show that in Recruiter, because it has VERY low liquidity.  So we don’t actually recognize that as a resume, despite the fact that it is.

Low liquidity?

3. The “Selection or Boolean” fields are confusing. I would separate them – give the user a choice of either Boolean or selections. Imagine searching for “current or past title” for this; I don’t think the UI should allow it:

[Dan] This idea would work if you 1) assumed our taxonomy was perfect and 2) we supported AND operators with “Selection”.  For 1), as an example, we don’t have “Jira Administrator” in our taxonomy. Now, does that mean we don’t let you search for this? Of course not! It’s a valid title. So we let you do Boolean to cover the first 85% of use cases well, but then allow keyword to let you get to 100% coverage. And because we don’t do 2), we would end up removing Boolean functionality if we made you do only Selection. The “Current Or Past” just tells us where to look. So in reality, I think the experience makes more sense now than what you are suggesting.  If we split them, it would not work as well, and not get as much coverage.

Have you looked at the hidden LinkedIn operators yet? They can do wonders; I wish that would be in the UI. 😊

[Dan] The article actually says this works but I don’t think it does. I tried it out (and had a PM on my team play with it too) for a few searches, and the results don’t match each time.  So I don’t think this would work better, because I don’t think it is actually doing what that article says it is.

Oh yes, it does.

Check out our latest class on LinkedIn Recruiter, incorporating all the feedback I got from LinkedIn Engineering (thanks, Dan!)

 

I am fascinated by Midjourney’s /describe command – kudos to its creators! MJ generates beauty out of very little.

In addition to transforming the input, the revealed prompts teach AI artists the “true” language. It was interesting to see words repeated, hashtags, and styles. And if you like a style you can carry it on with other scenes.

Below you will find three pairs of input and output images. I have noticed that MJ does text recognition as well, so it does in the first example.

 

Please follow my AI art at The Prompter; thanks!

Midjourney has just released an amazing feature, invoked by the command /describe. You can upload an image and get four sample prompts to draw in Midjourney. This is “image-to-text” that creates only remote likeness to the subject. (I suppose photos of famous people and such may be better replicated). Instead, it creates four fantasies. Of course, you can edit the prompts as you wish.

Here is an example. I uploaded the above plain “Boolean” image, then ran the output through Midjourney. The results are interesting:

This feature adds a new layer of creativity. It also reveals some prompt secrets.

See (and hopefully like) my AI art at https://www.facebook.com/aibraingain/.

I appreciate the “code red” that Google had experienced seeing ChatGPT success. However, Bard, Google’s response to AI, is quite underwhelming. Google should have given it time and effort to mature, I think.

The web is full of hilarious dialogs with Bard like

ChatGPT and Bing Chat seem to know more about Google than (its own) Bart. This is ridiculous!

At the same time, I do not feel like there is a solution of LLMs combined with web search yet. Due to Bing Chat’s hallucinations, I mostly Google, not Bing Chat, for recent news and facts. For text editing, research questions, anything language, my choice is ChatGPT and Grammarly. That said, Bing Chat is improving.

Exiting times!

The image above is made with Midjourney; I generate prompts with ChatGPT. Please see my portfolio at the Facebook page The Prompter.

 

[ image generated with #midjourney. I do not mean that Bing is like a monkey, it is just an expression. See my portfolio on FB. ]

As we have all experienced, Bing Chat is “stubborn” and “lazy” (so is ChatGPT). After Bing’s volatile and “emotional” first day, it was told to say “no” more often than not.

If Bing responds to you with its infamous “I am an AI model” or any other objection, do not believe it until you have tried. There are things to do:

1. Start a new chat and repeat the prompt – you might get lucky.
2. Rephrase the prompt. (Some say saying “please” also helps!)
3. Slowly talk Bing into doing the task it had rejected by taking small steps.

Here is an example of #3. I got a test list of LinkedIn profile URLs and asked Bing to generate a table based on them. It refused, telling me it has no access to the pages – only to search results and its training data.

I repeated the request with only one URL and got the beginning of the table – which Bing gladly generated. Then I asked to add one more URL, three more, and it worked. The result is scraped profiles for a list of LinkedIn URLs, where, unlike with SalesQL (which is a great contact finder and scraper), you do not need to log in.

I do not know how scalable this is, but perhaps we can “softly” teach Bing to create massive scrapes of profile lists. That allows to sort and filter by values unavailable on LinkedIn.

Here is another application: I have a list of candidates and want to know which ones work at midsize companies. I feed Bing a list of companies, starting with one, and increasing the number of fields by which I want to sort. Bing gets drawn into the task.

Bing Chat and ChatGPT plug-ins are promising aids in scraping public pages and even cross-referencing information on different sites.

As a reminder, registration is open for

Six-Day Sourcing Bootcamp with Irina Shamaeva,

where I will cover AI in recruitment as well all tools, techniques, and strategies relevant to sourcing. April 4-April 13, 2023. Seating is limited.

What March 2023 participants have said:

GPT-4 tells fewer lies. For example, it correctly lists Google search operators. What I find most interesting though at the first glance is its exceptional ability to interpret images based on URLs. There is no restriction for the creation time. I gave it the image above and it produced a perfect output:

I would do face recognition, too, and tell you the person’s bio – try it on someone’s photo.

OK, it was wishful thinking for now! After a few colleagues’ comments and a few more tests, I realize that it is hallucinating based on the image URL. So what does multi-modal mean?

P.S. Please follow my Midjourney AI Art at my new page The Prompter. I use a ChatGPT-based prompt generator. 🙂

Google has been rolling out continuous scrolling, and it’s a challenge. Seeing all of your results now requires a lot of scrolling down and pressing the “more results” button.

There is a preference, but it does not influence Google’s behavior (at least for me):

The change is unfortunate. Chrome extensions and other tools will break over the scrolling format.

However, there is a workaround. Add &start=<any number> to the end of your search URL, and the familiar view with numbered pages comes back. Following the link, you will arrive at the second page and then all tools, including Instant Data Scraper, will behave again.

So, to view or collect all results:

1. Get results from the first page
2. Use &start=1 to get to the second and following pages.

Note that the “include omitted results” option is now hard to reach:

Therefore, remember to add &filter=0 to your search URL to get more results from the same sites.

Join us at the renewed Boolean Strings Basics & Beyond on March 1-2, 2023. We will cover principles that are staying and new developments that change the best ways to Google, like the one above, as well as touch on Google vs. ChatGPT competition.

As a reminder, I am holding a Six-Day Sourcing Bootcamp with Irina Shamaeva March 7-16. I will cover all things sourcing in this course. It is filling up, so if you are interested, I recommend signing up.