The way artificial intelligence (AI) has been advancing lately is almost unsettling. These days the most trending name in the world of AI is ChatGPT. ‘ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI’ – these were Elon Musk’s words recently. Just to put into perspective how remarkable ChatGPT is. It took Netflix 3.5 years to reach 1 million users. It took Instagram 2.5 months to reach the same. ChatGPT reached 1 million users in just five days. Today we are looking at some exciting things you need to know about ChatGPT.
What Is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a chatbot whose language model enables it to give realistic, human-like, text-based responses to any input phrase it is given. You can ask or input virtually anything. You might be wondering why the name ChatGPT. ChatGPT stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer. OpenAI is the one behind ChatGPT. OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company.
There are many investors involved in OpenAI so it does not have one person with sole ownership. Its actual corporate structure is a bit intricate. They unveiled it in November 2022. The ChatGPT model was trained using what is called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). Here is an example of a question we asked ChatGPT and the response it gave:
Question: What Are The Best Companies To Invest In On The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange For The Long Term?
ChatGPT: It is difficult to determine the ‘best’ companies to invest in on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) for the long term, as this can change based on a variety of factors such as the overall performance of the economy, specific industry trends, and the performance of individual companies. However, historically some of the larger and more established companies on the ZSE such as Old Mutual and Delta Corporation have been considered to be relatively stable investments. It is also important to conduct your own research and due diligence before making any investment decisions. It is also important to note that the Zimbabwe economy has been facing a lot of challenges including hyperinflation and lack of foreign currency which might affect the performance of the companies.
Is It Free For Anyone To Use?
It started off free with access to its full capacity. At the onset, this is what OpenAI had to say: ‘We are excited to introduce ChatGPT to get user’s feedback and learn about its strengths and weaknesses. During the research preview, usage of ChatGPT is free. Try it now at chat.openai.com’. That strategy worked wonders – a subject for another day. The research preview phase is over and there are now two options one can choose from as follows:
Free Plan
Under this one ChatGPT is available when demand is low. There is a standard response speed. Then there are regular model updates. Thus the free access is now quite limited.
Professional Plan
This option costs you US$42 per month. Here ChatGPT will be available even when the demand is high. You enjoy faster response speeds. Then there is priority access to new features.
Is ChatGPT Perfect?
I have seen many examples of people ridiculing ChatGPT for giving wrong or weird responses. The thing is, that is normal for an AI like ChatGPT. Any AI can be flawed due to a number of things. Plus, an AI tends to get better the more it is used since machine learning is involved. Even OpenAI has this to say, ‘ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers’. Sometimes it can be sensitive to the repeated tweaking of input phrases. There are also times it can be overly loquacious or verbose. As in, using too many or flowery words than is necessary. There are reasons behind this and more but I will not delve into that today. This is mainly because some of them are too technical.
Applications Of ChatGPT
The applications of ChatGPT are limitless. Obviously, the most basic is to ask anything. You would be amazed by some of the ways in which people have used or are using ChatGPT. I have seen many people using ChatGPT to write and debug code for software or app development. I have seen some using it to write poems, letters, speeches, and even stories. I recall a particular scenario in which someone asked ChatGPT to do the following from Microsoft Excel, and it did:
Write a macro that makes an email of the data in cell B2:E7 to the recipient in cell C9. The date should be attached as a PDF. The subject should be what is in cell C10
The applications of ChatGPT are infinite. This is particularly so when you go through the many examples of things people have tried and successfully done with ChatGPT.
ChatGPT Has Been The Centre Of Controversies
The first time I heard about ChatGPT was regarding its use in education. From the very onset, many students started using ChatGPT for doing academic work, e.g. assignments. Then, of course, they would claim the work as their own. This even led to some school authorities banning its use onsite in some countries. However, that could barely address the issue. This is just one example of the many controversies that the use of ChatGPT has sparked. As much as ChatGPT is disruptively revolutionary, it can also be a source of many problems.
I firmly believe we are yet to see the full capabilities of ChatGPT. In a way, that is exciting, but in a way, it is unsettling. I can understand Elon Musk’s concerns when he says, ‘ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI’. Dave Waters also shared the same concerns when he said, ‘The potential benefits of artificial intelligence are huge, and so are the dangers’. There are so many ethical dilemmas, and the potential for AI to be used as a tool for evil is so high. What are your thoughts on ChatGPT?
