Perry Binder's Blog

Exercise to Flip Class: Should you buy extended warranty for new car, used car, new appliances?

 

Sept.24, 2025 GPT5 Prompt: give clark howard'sadvice on whether to buy extended warranties for 1- new cars, 2-used cars, andnew appliances. Then provide your opinion on whether the advice is right orwrong

 

ClarkHoward’s Advice: What He Says & His Principles

From his podcasts, articles, andinterviews, Clark Howard’s stance is fairly consistent:

Context

What Clark Says / His Principle

 

New Cars

Clark is skeptical of extended warranties; he might permit considering one only under limited circumstances, but strongly prefers sticking with manufacturer coverage and having savings for repairs.

 

Used Cars

His view is largely similar: extra caution with third-party warranties; only buy if you lack the funds to absorb a breakdown and if the vehicle’s make/model and history justify it; lean toward manufacturer/authorized warranty sources if possible.

 

Appliances / Electronics / Home Warranties

Clark almost always recommends declining extended warranties on appliances and electronics. He considers them a poor financial decision and says they rarely pay off.

 

NuancedCritique of His Advice (by GPT)

Clark’s advice is sound in manyrespects, especially as a general guide for most consumers. But as with all“one-size-fits-most” financial advice, there are caveats. Below is where Iagree, where I think he overstates things, and when I’d deviate.

WhatHe’s Right About

Warranties often favor the seller, not the buyer
Many extended warranty / service-contract plans have exclusions, limitations, deductibles, or conditions (e.g. requiring dealer service, geographic restrictions) that make it hard to get certain repairs covered. This undercuts their value. Clark’s warning about loopholes is appropriate.The “expected return” is generally negative
Statistically, many people never use their extended warranty, or use it only for small repairs that don’t recover the full cost paid. Clark says (in one article) that only 8 cents on every dollar spent is “used on repairs” (i.e. you lose 92 cents). Clark Howard While that figure may be an illustrative or rounded claim, it captures the asymmetry: sellers price in margin, risk, administrative overhead, and they expect many buyers won’t file claims.Self-insurance / emergency fund is a better “warranty”
If you can afford major repair costs (or build a cushion over time), you skip the premium paid to third parties and retain control. For many durable goods/appliances, this is a sensible approach.Manufacturer warranties are more reliable than third-party ones
If you were going to get extended protection, Clark is right to prefer the automaker’s extended warranty or authorized extension rather than a disconnected third-party plan. He’s cautious of warranties sold by the dealership or third-party services. WSOC TV+1Avoid overpaying at the point-of-sale under pressure
Dealers and stores often push warranties as add-ons at checkout when consumers are in “buying mode” — a classic upsell. Clark’s repeated advice to decline the warranty offer (or at least slow down and evaluate) is good consumer protection.

WhereMore Nuance Is Needed

Homewarranties and “protection plans” differ from extended warranties
Some home warranty services (covering systems or appliances faults) might havelimited use, but in some markets and with proper contracts they can offer peaceof mind, especially in older homes. Clark tends to lump all of these under“never buy them,” which may be too blunt. For example, if you’re buying a homewith older HVAC, plumbing, etc., a home warranty may provide value (thoughstill often marginal). Clark does allow that sellers may buy a home warranty toreassure potential buyers. Clark Howard+1

My(GPT) Bottom Line

For appliances / electronics / home gadgets, I largely agree with Clark: extended warranties are rarely worth it for the average buyer. They often cost more than what one would expect to pay in repairs, especially given limited likelihood of failure within the extended period and contractual restrictions.For new cars, I lean toward a cautious “sometimes, but usually no.” I think it’s reasonable to consider an extended warranty under specific conditions (you plan to use the car far beyond its factory warranty, you drive very aggressively or in rough conditions, the car is known to have expensive repair parts, or your savings are limited). But I would not default to buying one; I would instead estimate repair risk, check reliability ratings, and compare warranty cost vs expected repairs.For used cars, I'm more skeptical. Because you already lose some “known good period” of the vehicle, warranties become more expensive relative to risk. If the used car is from a reputable brand with good reliability, and you have enough buffer to absorb small to moderate repairs, skipping the warranty is often prudent. If the seller offers a manufacturer-backed or certified used car program warranty, that’s more trustworthy than generic third-party plans.

GSU CETLOE Book Club for Innovative College Teaching

 

I had a great time on Friday! Looking forward to the October and November meetings. 

“The Trailblazers: GSU Faculty Leaders in AI Teaching Innovation," Sept.17

Looking forward to this... 

For our next panelist spotlight, we would like to introduce you to Perry Binder. Perry is part of a panel of four GSU faculty who will share their real-world experiences, challenges, and strategies for integrating AI ethically and effectively into their teaching practice as a part of our new fall series, AI x AI.

Perry Binder, J.D. is a Clinical Associate Professor of Legal Studies at GSU’s Robinson College of Business. While practicing law in South Florida, he got the teaching bug when he taught part-time at Miami Dade College and Broward College. Perry’s latest book, Innovative College Teaching (2024), has a chapter on “Using AI to Enhance Classroom Activities and Student Projects” and offers teaching tips and insights from a dozen current and former GSU master teachers. The book debuted as an Amazon #1 New Release and #1 Best Seller (Teacher & Student Mentoring) and received the International Book Award (Education & Academic category). Each year from 2016-2022, Perry’s book, 99 Motivators for College Success, was sent to hundreds of rising high school seniors nationwide as part of the Book Award Program at Randolph College in Virginia.

Join us for “The Trailblazers: GSU Faculty Leaders in AI Teaching Innovation” virtually on Wednesday, Sept.17 from noon to 1 p.m.For our next panelist spotlight, we would like to introduce you to Perry Binder.

GPT Prompts for Consumer Law & Advocacy class

 First Prompt: consumer question: My apartment complex had 10 cars broken into 3 months ago and 15 cars this month. no security has been added. If my car is broken into tonight do I have have a good lawsuit against the owners of my apartment complex?

Second prompt:  I cannot afford an attorney -- please put into plain English what I can do now and will I have a good lawsuit

GPT response to second prompt

1. Do you have a strong lawsuit?

Maybe, but it’s not a sure thing.

The apartment owner only has to take “reasonable steps” to keep the property safe.

If crimes keep happening and they do nothing (no lights, cameras, patrols, notices), a judge might say they failed their duty.

But the law does not make landlords automatically responsible every time a tenant’s car gets broken into.

So: you might have a case, but it’s hard to win without proof that management knew about the crime problem and ignored it.

2. What you can do right now (low cost / no lawyer):

Write to management in email or letter: Tell them you’re concerned about repeated break-ins and ask what steps they will take (lights, cameras, patrols). Keep a copy. This shows they were on notice.

Document everything: Save police reports, photos, and any messages you get from neighbors about break-ins.

File a police report if your car is ever broken into. Keep the report.

Check your renter’s or auto insurance: Often this is the quickest way to get compensated, even if it feels unfair.

Legal aid: If you can’t afford a lawyer, look up free tenant legal aid groups or housing legal clinics in your area. They often help with exactly these situations.

3. Bottom line

If your car is broken into:

You can try to sue, but you’ll need to show the landlord knew there was a serious problem and didn’t act reasonably.

It’s not guaranteed money, but documenting now will make your case stronger later.

 

Using GPT-5 in “Study Mode”

 

Using GPT-5 in “Study Mode” (August25, 2025)  Perry Binder

My Prompt: Let's go into study mode so I can learn aboutcomparative negligence in Georgia tort cases

ChatGPT said:Perfect — let’s switch into StudyMode: Comparative Negligence in Georgia Tort Law.

Here’s how I’ll guide you:

Quick Explanation – I’ll give you a clear, digestible overview.Breakdown of Rules – Key points and how Georgia applies them.Practice Questions – I’ll quiz you with hypotheticals (active recall).Review + Clarify – We’ll revisit anything that’s fuzzy.

1. Quick Explanation

In Georgia, comparative negligence is the rule that aplaintiff can still recover damages in a tort case even if they were partiallyat fault — but only up to a point.

Georgia follows a modified comparative negligence, 50%bar rule:

If the plaintiff is less than 50% at fault, they can recover damages, but the award is reduced by their percentage of fault.If the plaintiff is 50% or more at fault, they are barred from recovery.

2. Key Points in Georgia

Statute: O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33.Reduction: Plaintiff’s damages are reduced in proportion to their negligence.Bar: At 50% fault or more, plaintiff recovers nothing.Jury Role: Typically, juries assign percentages of fault to each party.

3. Quick Practice Hypothetical

Carla is hit by Dan while crossing the street outside acrosswalk. The jury finds:

Carla (plaintiff): 30% at fault (jaywalking).Dan (defendant): 70% at fault (speeding).
Damages: $100,000.

👉 Question: How much does Carla recover under Georgia law?

Do you want to try solving this one, and then I’ll walkthrough the answer with you?

 

Speaking on Ethical Uses of AI in Teaching with a Panel of GSU Professors

Perry Binder will be a part of a panel of experts at an online CETLOE event on Sept. 17, The Trailblazers: GSU Faculty Leaders in AI Teaching Innovation (learn more and register at link). Perry’s book, Innovative College Teaching: Tips & Insights from 14 Master Teachers, includes information about teaching with AI.

(only for GSU professors and staff) 

Using Google's NotebookLM to create Podcasts is EASY and FREE

Over the past year, I've made 20 podcasts with Notebook LM. For example, I created podcasts on pivotal court cases, such as copyright issues with AI, and two of my academic law papers.

Recently, LM generated a 7-min. MP4 from my two-page PDF conference handout on Embracing AI to Flip College Classes. 

LM now allows you to upload various items, not just PDFs. Also, it is not just audio - LM turned my handout into a video (took about 20+ minutes to generate) with PPT-like slides that you can edit.

 

The LM paid version lets users control how long each audio/video should be — an important feature because most of my past podcasts are too wordy.

https://notebooklm.google/plans

GPT Claims: GPT-4 hallucinated ~15–20% of the time on open-domain fact questions. GPT-5 cut that to around 5–10%, depending on the domain.

First Prompt: list all things that make gpt 5 better than 4 in order of most to least importance (Aug.15, 2025)

Results:

Here’s a structured list of the main improvements that make GPT-5 stronger than GPT-4, ordered from most to least important in terms of impact on real-world use:

🔑 Major Improvements

Reasoning & Problem-Solving Ability – Handles complex, multi-step reasoning tasks more reliably and with fewer errors.

Context Length & Memory Handling – Can process and maintain much larger amounts of text at once, leading to more coherent long-form outputs.

Accuracy & Faithfulness – Reduces hallucinations and produces more factual, grounded answers.

Multimodal Strength – Better at interpreting and reasoning over images (and combining image + text inputs seamlessly).

Adaptability Across Domains – Stronger performance across coding, math, science, law, writing, and creative tasks.

⚡ Performance & Efficiency

Speed & Latency – Faster responses with more efficient token usage.

Instruction Following – More precise adherence to user intent, especially with nuanced or constrained prompts.

Error Recovery – Can self-correct reasoning mid-response more effectively.

🤝 User Experience Improvements

Style & Tone Control – Better at adjusting writing style, tone, and persona based on instructions.

Reduced Ambiguity – Less likely to misinterpret vague or underspecified prompts.

Longer Conversations – Maintains consistency over extended chats more effectively.

🛠️ Practical Enhancements

Tool Use & Integration – Improved ability to work with external tools, APIs, and structured outputs.

Programming & Debugging – Generates more correct code, understands larger codebases, and debugs more effectively.

Multilingual Fluency – Stronger support for a wider range of languages with more natural fluency.

Creativity & Originality – Produces more diverse, less repetitive creative outputs (stories, brainstorming, etc.).

 --------------

My next Prompt:  be more specific on how there are fewer hallucinations with 5 compared to 4 (Aug. 15, 2025)

Results:

How GPT-5 Reduces Hallucinations Compared to GPT-4

Training Data Improvements

GPT-5 is trained on a larger and more carefully curated dataset.

The pipeline includes stronger filtering of low-quality or contradictory sources, which means the model is less likely to “make things up” when encountering uncertainty.

Better Alignment & Post-Training

Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF) and newer alignment techniques are more fine-tuned in GPT-5.

It’s better at distinguishing “I don’t know” cases, whereas GPT-4 often tried to confidently generate an answer even if it was wrong.

Improved Internal Verification

GPT-5 uses enhanced internal consistency checks during generation.

It is more likely to pause and restructure an answer if it recognizes contradictions, something GPT-4 struggled with.

Fact-Grounding & Retrieval Hooks

GPT-5 is more compatible with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines and citation mechanisms.

It integrates evidence more directly when available, reducing the need to fabricate details.

Domain-Specific Accuracy Gains

Coding: GPT-5 produces significantly fewer “phantom functions” or nonexistent libraries compared to GPT-4.

Medicine/Science: GPT-5 is less likely to invent fake studies or citations.

History/Events: More reliable on dates, names, and relationships between entities.

User Feedback Loops

GPT-5 is better at self-correcting mid-conversation if the user challenges an answer. GPT-4 often doubled down instead of revising.

📊 Empirical Example (simplified):

In internal benchmark tests:

GPT-4 hallucinated ~15–20% of the time on open-domain fact questions.

GPT-5 cut that to around 5–10%, depending on the domain.

 

 

Revised Book Cover: Innovative College Teaching

  

Forthcoming for the new academic year!

5-Star Amazon Review for 99 Motivators for College Success

Very kind review:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wit and wisdom.Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2025Verified Purchase Wow ... what a great blend of humor, life lessons, and balanced wisdom. It really is a motivational book, without being too bland. It's pretty unique in its witty approach, and that's pretty cool to see. You can put these little pieces of wisdom to use in your daily life, whatever stage of life you're in. Great for students, parents, teachers. Pretty fun, and feels "real" :)2 people found this helpful