What is ChatGPT and why does it matter? Here's what you need to know
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 the chatbot.
Usage is currently open to the public free of charge because ChatGPT is in its research and feedback-collection phase. As of Feb. 1, there is also a paid subscription version called ChatGPT Plus.
Who made ChatGPT?
ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, an AI and research company. The company launched ChatGPT on Nov. 30, 2022.
How big a deal is ChatGPT?
"ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI," said Elon Musk, who was one of the founders of OpenAI before leaving. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief, said on Twitter that ChatGPT had more than 1 million users in the first five days after it launched.
How can you access ChatGPT?
You can access ChatGPT simply by visiting chat.openai.com and creating an OpenAI account. Once you sign in, you can start chatting away with ChatGPT. Because ChatGPT is still in its research stage, it is free to use and you can ask as many questions as you'd like.
I tried using ChatGPT and it says it's at capacity, what does that mean?
ChatGPT is still free to use. Because of the stir its advanced capabilities have made, many people are flocking to use it. The website operates using a server, and when too many people hop onto the server, it overloads and can't process your request. It just means you should try visiting the site at a later time when fewer people are trying to access it. If you want to skip the wait and have reliable access, there is an option for you. As of Feb. 1, OpenAI has a ChatGPT pro plan, ChatGPT Plus, which allows users to have general access even during peak times, experience faster response times, and have priority access to new features and improvements including OpenAI's most advanced LLM, GPT-4. The premium services cost $20 per month.
How are people using ChatGPT?
The model has many functions in addition to answering simple questions. ChatGPT can compose essays, describe art in great detail, create AI art prompts, have philosophical conversations, and even code for you.
How does ChatGPT work?
ChatGPT runs on a language model architecture created by OpenAI called the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT). The specific GPT used by ChatGPT is fine-tuned from a model in the GPT-3.5 series, according to OpenAI. However, with a subscription to ChatGPT Plus, you can access ChatGPT with GPT-4, Open AI's most advanced model.
What is the difference between ChatGPT and a search engine?
ChatGPT is a language model created to hold a conversation with the end user. A search engine indexes web pages on the internet to help the user find the information they asked for. ChatGPT does not have the ability to search the internet for information. It uses the information it learned from training data to generate a response, which leaves room for error.
Can I chat with ChatGPT?
Although some people are using ChatGPT for some elaborate functions such as writing code or even malware, you can use ChatGPT for more mundane activities like having a friendly conversation. Some conversation starters could be as simple as "I am hungry, what food should I get?" or as elaborate as, "What do you think happens in the afterlife?" Either way, ChatGPT is sure to have an answer for you.
Why are some people worried about ChatGPT?
People are expressing concerns about AI chatbots replacing or atrophying human intelligence. For example, the chatbot can write an article on any topic efficiently (though not necessarily accurately) within seconds, potentially eliminating the need for a human writer. The chatbot can also write an entire full essay within seconds, making it easier for students to cheat or avoid learning how to write properly. This has led to some school districts blocking access to it.
Does a tool that recognizes ChatGPT text exist?
With concerns about students using ChatGPT to cheat, the need for a ChatGPT text detector is becoming more evident. OpenAI, the AI research company behind ChatGPT, released an imperfect, free tool to target this problem. OpenAI's "classifier" tool can only correctly identify 26% of AI-written text with a "likely AI-written" designation. Furthermore, it provides false positives 9% of the time, incorrectly identifying human-written work as AI written.
Is ChatGPT a good or bad thing?
ChatGPT is an advanced chatbot that has the potential to make people's lives easier and to assist with everyday tedious tasks, such as writing emails or navigating the web for answers. However, certain technical details have to be figured out before it's widely used to prevent negative outcomes such as the spread of misinformation. In general, AI and ML models rely on lots of training and fine-tuning to reach a level of ideal performance.
What is GPT-4?
GPT-4 is the newest version of OpenAI's language model systems, and it is much more advanced than its predecessor GPT-3.5, which ChatGPT runs on.
GPT-4 is a multimodal model that accepts both text and images as input and outputs text. This can be useful for uploading worksheets, graphs, and charts to be analyzed.
Are there alternatives to ChatGPT worth considering?
Although ChatGPT is the chatbot getting all the buzz right now, there are other options that are just as good and might even be better suited for your needs.
Is ChatGPT smart enough to pass benchmark exams?
Yes, ChatGPT is capable of passing a series of benchmark exams. A professor at Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania's business school, used ChatGPT to take an MBA exam and the results were quite impressive.
Is ChatGPT coming to social media?
ChatGPT's first appearance in the social media space is its collaboration with Snapchat. On Feb. 7, Snapchat unveiled an integration of ChatGPT which will allow Snapchat+ subscribers to chat with the bot within its app.
What is Microsoft's involvement with ChatGPT?
Microsoft was an early investor in OpenAI, the AI research company behind ChatGPT, long before ChatGPT was released to the public. Microsoft's first involvement with OpenAI was in 2019 when Microsoft invested $1 billion, and then $2 billion in the years after. In January, Microsoft extended its partnership with OpenAI through a multi-year, multi-billion dollar investment.
What does Bing Chat have to do with ChatGPT?
In early February, Microsoft unveiled a new version of Bing -- and its standout feature is its integration with ChatGPT. When it was announced, Microsoft shared that Bing Chat was powered by a next-generation version of OpenAI's large language model, making it "more powerful than ChatGPT".
What is Google Bard and how does it relate to ChatGPT?
Bard is Google's AI chat service, a rival to ChatGPT. On Feb. 6, Google introduced its experimental AI chat service. Over a month since the announcement, Google began rolling out access to Bard via a waitlist.
Will ChatGPT become a paid service anytime soon?
As of Feb.1, ChatGPT offers a paid subscription model called ChatGPT Plus. With the chatbot's skyrocketing popularity, it was only a matter of time before OpenAI rolled out a paid subscription model.
The launch of a paid version had been rumored before the official release. In January, OpenAI announced on its Discord server that it was considering to start charging for ChatGPT with a version called ChatGPT Professional.
An early access user, shared a video on Twitter running a test prompt on the pro version that ran much quicker than the free version the rest of the public has access to. In the video, Khawaja showed his subscription cost, which was $42 per month.
Now we know the actual cost OpenAI set for this plan is about half the early access user's cost.