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Recently, ChatGPT, the general-purpose AI chatbot prototype that has captured the attention of the internet, has taken the world by storm.
What is ChatGPT?
It’s made by OpenAI, well-known for having developed the text-to-image generator DALL-E, and it’s currently available for anyone to try out for free. Here’s what ChatGPT is, how to use it, and how it could change change the future of the internet.
As an AI language model, ChatGPT has several strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. Understanding these can help users make the most of the tool and optimize their interactions with it.
Strengths:
- ChatGPT is capable of generating human-like responses to a wide range of prompts and questions.
- It has access to a vast amount of information and can draw on a broad range of knowledge and expertise.
- ChatGPT is available 24/7 and can respond to queries instantaneously.
- It can handle a high volume of inquiries and is not limited by physical location or time zones.
Weaknesses:
- ChatGPT can sometimes provide inaccurate or irrelevant responses, especially when dealing with complex or nuanced topics.
- It may struggle to understand certain types of language, such as slang or idioms.
- ChatGPT may not be able to understand specific contextual cues or nuances in a conversation, leading to misunderstandings or confusion.
- It can be prone to repeating itself or generating generic responses in certain situations.
Limitations:
- ChatGPT is still a machine and does not possess the same level of empathy or emotional intelligence as a human.
- It is not able to engage in non-verbal communication, which can be an important aspect of human interaction.
- It may not have the ability to understand and interpret non-textual information, such as images or videos.
- ChatGPT may struggle with certain languages or dialects, or with accents or speech impediments.
As an AI language model, ChatGPT has a wide range of advanced features and capabilities that users can explore. Some of these features include:
- Fine-tuning: ChatGPT can be fine-tuned to suit specific use cases or industries. This involves training the model on a specific dataset to improve its performance in a particular area.
- Multi-turn conversations: ChatGPT can hold longer and more complex conversations with users by maintaining context and understanding the flow of the conversation.
- Knowledge retrieval: ChatGPT can retrieve information from a wide range of sources, such as databases, wikis, and other online resources, to provide accurate and relevant answers to user questions.
- Sentiment analysis: ChatGPT can analyze the sentiment of user input to provide more personalized responses.
- Translation: ChatGPT can translate text from one language to another, enabling it to communicate with users in different languages.
- Summarization: ChatGPT can summarize lengthy documents or articles, providing users with key takeaways in a concise format.
- Image and voice recognition: ChatGPT can recognize images and speech, enabling it to understand and respond to input in these formats.
Overall, the advanced features and capabilities of ChatGPT make it a powerful tool for a wide range of use cases, from customer service to education and beyond.
Introduction to ChatGPT & LLMs
One of the most significant advancements in artificial intelligence in recent years has been the development of large language models, such as ChatGPT.
These models use deep learning techniques to learn the patterns and structures of language, allowing them to understand and generate text that is indistinguishable from that written by a human.
LLMs, or Language Models, are the backbone of ChatGPT and similar AI-powered chatbots. They have become an essential tool for businesses and individuals alike, offering a new level of automation, efficiency, and personalization to online interactions.
With the ability to understand natural language and provide relevant, accurate responses, ChatGPT has the potential to transform a wide range of industries and use cases, from customer service and support to education and entertainment.
Is ChatGPT free to use?
Yes, the basic version of ChatGPT is completely free to use. It’s not free for OpenAI to continue running it, of course. Estimates are currently that OpenAI spends around $3 million per month to continue running ChatGPT, which is around $100,000 per day. Beyond the cost of the servers themselves, some egregious information has recently come out about what else has been done to train the language model against producing offensive content.
OpenAI has also recently announced a new paid, premium version of its chatbot, called ChatGPT Plus. It’s not available just yet, but you can currently only join the waitlist, and the eventual price will be $20 per month. ChatGPT Plus will provide access even during peak times, faster responses, and first access to new features.
How to use ChatGPT
The ChatGPT webpage is simple and includes an area for the results to populate and a text box at the bottom of the page for users to type inquiries. We started with questions, however, OpenAI recommends inputting a statement for the best possible result.
To get the most out of ChatGPT, it is important to keep in mind the following tips:
- Provide clear and concise prompts: The more specific and detailed your prompt is, the better response you are likely to receive from ChatGPT.
- Give context: Providing relevant background information before the task allows ChatGPT to understand the situation and your expectations. Without it, it may provide generic or irrelevant responses.
- Refine the response: If the response from ChatGPT is not accurate or helpful, consider refining your prompt or providing more context.
- Use markdown formatting: Markdown formatting can help you create more visually appealing and organized prompts and responses.
- Experiment and explore: ChatGPT has a vast range of capabilities and can provide insightful responses on a variety of topics. Don’t be afraid to experiment and explore to get the most out of its capabilities.
For example, inputting “explain how the solar system was made” will give a more detailed result with more paragraphs than “how was the solar system made,” even though both inquiries will give fairly detailed results. You also have the option for more specific inputting requests for an essay with a specific number of paragraphs or a Wikipedia page. We got an extremely detailed result with the request “write a four-paragraph essay explaining Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.”
If there is enough information available, the generator will fulfill the commands with accurate details. Otherwise, there is potential for ChatGPT to begin filling in gaps with incorrect data. OpenAI notes that these instances are rare. The brand also notes that ChatGPT also currently has “limited knowledge of world events after 2021.”
Even so, you have the option to input queries continuously until you close your browser or reset the thread to clear your previous requests. You also have the option to use ChatGPT in dark mode or light mode.
You can access the OpenAI Discord server and blog from this webpage and log out from there.
How to register an OpenAI account
Using the ChatGPT chatbot is fairly simple, as all you have to do is type in your text and receive the information. However, OpenAI does require an account before you can use any of its tools, so if you don’t have one, you will have to register. You have the option of choosing an easy login with a Google or Microsoft account.
Otherwise, if you have any other kind of email, you can enter it manually. After this, you must enter a phone number; however, keep in mind that you cannot use a virtual phone number (VoIP) to register for OpenAI. You will then receive a confirmation number, which you will enter on the registration page to complete the setup.
Once you see some housekeeping rules about ChatGPT, including potential errors in data, how OpenAI collects data, and how users can submit feedback, you know you have successfully registered.
ChatGPT prompts: what can you ask ChatGPT?
Well, that’s the fun part. Since its launch, people have been experimenting to discover everything the chatbot can and can’t do — and some of the results have been mind-blowing.
Learning the kinds of prompts and follow-up prompts that ChatGPT responds well to requires some experimentation though. Much like we’ve learned to get the information we want from traditional search engines, it can take some time to get the best results from ChatGPT. If you want to get started, we have a roundup of the best ChatGPT tips.
It really all depends on what you want out of it. To start out, try using it to write a template blog post, for example, or even blocks of code if you’re a programmer.
Our writers experimented with ChatGPT too, attempting to see if it could handle holiday shopping or even properly interpret astrological makeup. In both cases, we found limitations to what it could do while still being thoroughly impressed by the results.
But the fun is in trying it out yourself. Whether you think ChatGPT is an amazing piece of tech or will lead to the destruction of the internet as we know it, it’s worth trying out for yourself to see just what it’s capable of.
You can’t ask anything, though. OpenAI has safeguards in place in order to “build a safe and beneficial artificial general intelligence.” That means any questions that are hateful, sexist, racist, or discriminatory in any way are generally off-limits.
Can ChatGPT be used for essay writing?
The use of ChatGPT has been full of controversy, with many onlookers considering how the power of AI will change everything from search engines to novel writing.
Essay writing for students is one of the most obvious examples of where ChatGPT could become a problem. ChatGPT might not write this article all that well, but it feels particularly easy to use for essay writing.
Teachers, school administrators, and developers are already finding different ways around this and banning the use of ChatGPT in schools. Others are more optimistic about how ChatGPT might be used for teaching, but plagiarism is undoubtedly going to continue being an issue in terms of education in the future. There are some ideas about how ChatGPT could “watermark” its text and fix this plagiarism problem, but as of now, detecting ChatGPT is still incredibly difficult to do.
ChatGPT recently launched a new version of its own plagiarism detection tool, with hopes that it will squelch some of the criticism around how people are using the text generation. It uses a new feature called “AI text classifier,” which operates in a way familiar to other plagiarism software. According to OpenAI, however, the tool is still a work in progress and is “imperfect.”
There are other tools like GPTZero that claim to help detect ChatGPT plagiarism, too. Although they work, some extra editing on AI responses can still trip up these tools.
ChatGPT controversies
Although ChatGPT is a very useful tool, it isn’t free of problems. Multiple controversies have sprung up for people using ChatGPT to handle tasks that should probably be handled by an actual person.
For example, Vanderbilt University’s Peabody School was recently under fire for generating an email about a mass shooting and the importance of community. In addition, JPMorgan Chase is restricting the use of the AI chatbot for workers, especially for generating emails.
The largest controversary to spring up since the release has been ChatGPT passing the Wharton MBA exam. According to the school, ChatGPT scored between a B- and B on the MBA exam, and provided “excellent” responses.
In addition, multiple ChatGPT scams have popped up across social media. These websites usually pose as the official OpenAI website, advertising local downloads on your PC or phone. Instead, they deliver malware or ask users to pay for faster access.
Will ChatGPT replace Google?
Google has been attempting what ChatGPT can do now for decades, and the chatbot reportedly set off a “code red” within Google. In response, the company announced it would slowly roll out its rival Google Bard AI, which will be integrated into search over time. We expect more of these ChatGPT alternatives to pop up in the coming months.
Bard isn’t available yet, though. Google is testing it right now, but initial responses aren’t positive. In fact, the first public demo of Bard showed an inaccurate response that was disproven by the first search result, suggesting ChatGPT and its derivatives won’t replace traditional search engines any time soon.
