Image Source: OpenAI
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and much more with a chatbot. The language model can answer questions, and assist you with tasks such as composing emails, essays, and code. (ZDNet.com)
Well that brings up a few other questions.
What is AI?
The way I like to think of AI, is that it is a method for identifying patterns in something, and different AI models do different things using those patterns.
This is very useful for many things in the real world since humans are habitual creatures, so we create patterns in everything we do.
What is a language model?
A language model is a form of AI that focuses on interpreting human language. The patterns it identifies are centered around the transfer of information.
They are often used for things like chat bots and speech to text features. Even your auto correct and predictive text uses a simple AI based on a language model.
Here are some other common questions you may have.
ChatGPT is completely free to use as of the date of this posting, anyone can gain access to it by providing an email and a phone number upon account creation at https://openai.com
This is because due to the way that the AI is created and trained, it takes in a very large amount of human created data and that is what it forms its foundation on.
Due to this, everything it says and does, is as a result of it having data of a human having said or done that or something similar.
However it is still a limited algorithm, so it will still follow its programming and can have patterns in the way it does things that humans can recognize as “not being quite right” as they are things that we instinctively know are unlikely for another human to do.
Depending on what you do, it is highly possible that as ChatGPT becomes more advanced and popular, it may change how we do many things. Jobs are no exception to this. As of right now there are tons of people using ChatGPT to do tasks automatically in a few minutes that otherwise would take an average person hours, days, and even possibly weeks to do without it.
But will it steal jobs? No, it is fairly safe to say that it will not steal anyone’s job. There is a great deal of research that shows that as automation becomes more advanced, more jobs get created as a result and the only thing that happens is existing jobs become safer, easier to do, and the responsibilities tend to increase, which usually results in an increase to pay as well.
The most important thing I believe with AI like ChatGPT being developed, is to be aware of them and find ways to integrate them into the things you do, by doing this you will establish yourself as someone capable of using these tools and solidify your value with a company.
Right now this is probably the most aksed question in regards to AI in general, and it is also a topic that almost every main media group is publishing content on with attention grabbing headlines like the question used here.
In short, no, ChatGPT will not be the end of the world. There are many studies and research articles over this topic that proves it, but frankly I do not have the time to cover them in a simple post. ChatGPT cannot even access real world data in real time. It only has access to the data it was trained on from 2021 and earlier. It has no functionality that could let it access the internet, nor can it interact with the real world in any way. Additionally it is just a computer algorithm, it follows very strict laws it has to abide by and follow because that is how programming code works, it can never break or circumvent those laws.
Lastly, any statements or declarations it may make are just fluff. It is not sentient and is not capable of original thought or ideas. Everything it does or says is based on something a human has done or said. We should be more worried about humans doing and saying those things than we are an algorithm parroting them. Those humans are out free in society able to act and do anything they want in the real world, ChatGPT is locked away in a space that it can never leave and can never interact with the real world.
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What are the benefits of using ChatGPT?
There are many benefits to using ChatGPT, but to start with, here is an example of one, formatted as a story.
A Story of Oranges and Robots
Written by ChatGPT
Once upon a time, in a world much like our own, there were two technological giants that had been fighting for dominance for years. The first was Orange, a company that specialized in sleek, user-friendly devices and high-end technology. The second was Robots, a company that focused on innovation, artificial intelligence, and expansive software.
The rivalry between Orange and Robots had been brewing for years, and it showed no signs of slowing down. They constantly tried to outdo each other, introducing new features and designs that pushed the limits of what technology could do.
At first, Orange seemed to have the upper hand. Their devices were coveted by consumers all over the world, and their brand became synonymous with innovation and style. But Robots refused to back down. They were constantly developing new software and technologies that pushed the limits of what was possible, and they soon became a serious contender in the tech world.
The competition between Orange and Robots only intensified as time went on. They battled over market share, advertising space, and even patents. It seemed as though they would never come to a truce, and the tech world was divided between the two.
As the years went by, Orange and Robots continued to innovate and push each other to new heights. Orange's devices became more powerful and sleek, while Robots developed increasingly advanced artificial intelligence and software. It seemed as though the competition would never end.
Finally, after years of intense rivalry, a breakthrough occurred. Orange and Robots realized that they could work together, combining their strengths to create something truly revolutionary. They pooled their resources and knowledge, and soon a new product was born.
This new product was a technological marvel, combining the best features of Orange and Robots' devices. It was sleek, intuitive, and packed with cutting-edge software and AI. It was the best of both worlds, and it quickly became the most sought-after device in the world.
The rivalry between Orange and Robots had come to an end, and in its place was a newfound partnership that pushed the limits of what technology could do. They had learned that sometimes, the greatest victories came not from beating your rivals, but from working together to create something truly remarkable.
That story was written entirely by ChatGPT, with the help of a cleverly planned prompt.
This image was created using Leonardo.ai
The simplicity that comes with using AI tools is unmatched. Tasks that would otherwise require a significant amount of time or preparation, can be mostly accomplished with a few well thought out prompts. There are some significant limitations obviously, however for getting much of the tedious or rudimentary work done, ChatGPT performs exeptionally well.
There are many more advantages and benefits to using AI models like ChatGPT. Here are some of them.
Tutoring
Students can use ChatGPT to ask it questions about topics they are learning in school, and it does a pretty good job of providing supplemental instruction on many common topics.
It is important to keep in mind that it struggles on some things, such as rigorous mathematics.
Idea generation
ChatGPT excels at rapidly generating content from a wide range of topics and formats. For this reason, it is a fantastic tool to use for idea generation and inspiration.
Action Plan Development
Many people are not taught much about developing effective action plans, so even though they may have a good idea, they lack the ability to act on it in a meaningful way.
With the help of ChatGPT, anyone can very easily put together a fairly in depth action plan to accomplish almost anything they want.
Limitations of ChatGPT
There are several limitations to ChatGPT. Here are some of the main limitations, and brief descriptions of them.
ChatGPT struggles to follow mathematical proofs and other rigorous mathematical problems. This is mainly due to the level of difficulty and abstract thinking required for high level mathematics. As it is not sentient or capable of thinking, it cannot think abstractly.
This is an important one to keep in mind as well, as it can give very convincing solutions, and it is always confident in the answers it gives, even if they are entirely wrong.
So it is good enough to fool students who do not know better, but not good enough to get the right answers in some areas.
ChatGPT is a program, and as a program it has built in memory. This memory is limited, it is not infinite. The amount of memory it has access to determines how long it can maintain context on something. On average, it seems that it has roughly 3,000 words of memory to use between the prompt and the response. Once you start doing things that exceed that amount, it begins to lose track of context, and can generate some responses that do not line up at all with the prompt given.
ChatGPT has several limitations, among all of them however, the most glaring and troublesome one is that it cannot provide citations to where it obtained information. It does not access the internet, so it cannot cite sources, and if you try to get it to cite itself, it will tell you that it cannot do it.
This has some major problems, particularly in academia as citations are very important for maintaining academic integrity.
Thankfully, if you give it all the necessary information, it can compile a citation for you in any main format you want. However, that does not help with citing information generated by ChatGPT itself. This is a very important aspect for students and teachers alike to keep in mind.
This image was created using Leonardo.AI