ChatGPT's 'Plan of Attack' on 'What Comes Next'

Dan Forbush
Dan Forbush
Last updated 
I'm going to ask you to generate a polished archival transcript from this raw transcript. First, I want you to evaluate the raw transcript and tell me how you plan to produce it. How many words does it run now and how many words will you reduce it to.

  1. Structure & speakers

    • Identify and standardize speakers (e.g., Ellen Beal, Matt Lucas, Gary Rivlin, audience Q&A).

    • Convert “Unknown Speaker/Speaker 1/2/3” into consistent labels (e.g., Audience Member 1), preserving sequence.

  2. De-verbalize without losing meaning

    • Remove filler words, false starts, repetition, stage directions (“applause”), and side chatter.

    • Smooth grammar and punctuation while keeping the speakers’ voice and intent.

  3. Name & term normalization

    • Fix proper nouns and product names (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude; Reid Hoffman; Inflection AI; Dartmouth conference).

    • Standardize numbers and units (“800 million weekly users,” “$300 billion”) and spell out on first mention.

  4. Light fact hygiene (non-intrusive)

    • Keep the figures as spoken, but add quiet bracket notes where needed (e.g., “[figure as stated on stage]”) if a claim is likely debated, without turning this into a fact-check essay.

  5. Readable, archival formatting

    • Add a short session overview (3–4 sentences).

    • Break the transcript into clear sections with subheads (e.g., Why 2022 Was an Inflection Point, Startups vs. Hyperscalers, Is This a Bubble?, Jobs & Education, Bias & Guardrails, Audience Q&A).

    • Keep Q&A intact but tightened, with concise questions and answers.

  6. Pull-quotes & metadata

    • Extract 3–5 pull-quotes (≤25 words each).

    • Add top matter: event, venue, date, panelists, transcription/edit credits.

Length now vs. target


  • Current length (approx.): ~6,800–7,200 words (based on a quick computational estimate from your pasted text).

  • Polished archival target: ~2,700 words (±200).

    • That’s roughly a 60% reduction, enough to remove repetition and filler while preserving all key arguments, examples (Reid Hoffman/Inflection AI, hyperscaler spend, jobs/education, bias/guardrails), and representative audience Q&A.
If that sounds good, I’ll produce:

  • A clean, sectioned transcript (~2,700 words)

  • A 150–200 word session summary

  • 3–5 pull-quotes

  • Consistent speaker labels and a tidy header block for archiving and web use.