What’s all the fuss about ChatGPT?

Over the last couple of months, there has been a lot of media attention on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot called ChatGPT. If you listen to the media, this has the potential to change how we interact with technology. It has already scored higher in medical examinations than most students. It has also passed an MBA and US Bar (legal). Perhaps more famously, it helped Jeremy Hunt (UK Chancellor) write his recent speech on the UK economy

What is ChatGPT

In November, an AI startup OpenAI launched a chatbot called ChatGPT.

The chatbot conversationally interacts with you, you can ask it a series of questions, building on each question, and it will prepare responses.

It has been developed by reading billions of words from the Internet, providing a massive dataset from which to draw.

The chatbot does not have access to the Internet, so its knowledge is limited to 2021 data when it was last updated.

What can it do

This technology is compelling and will continue to grow in power over the coming years. Some of its capabilities now include:

• Generating computer code, including malware and malicious code. As well as doing bug analysis on existing computer code.

• It can automate repetitive tasks, including responses to emails, data entry, invoice processing and report generation.

• It can answer university exam questions with better accuracy than students.

• It can write songs and poems.

• It can rewrite a media release into a news story. You can even tell it how to style the story. For example, in the style of the New York Times.

• It can also rewrite a news piece or university paper to be unique.

• It can write a whole university paper.

Limitations of ChatGPT

• The chatbot does not have access to the Internet, so its knowledge is limited to 2021 data when it was last updated.

• It will present a plausible-sounding but incorrect answer if it does not have the correct information. It will also make up references to support itself. So you need to fact-check its responses.

Social impacts

Microsoft is investing $10 billion in OpenAI, with plans to integrate it within its technology stacks.

Schools and universities are developing policies around the use of ChatGPT.

Whilst it will be embraced and encouraged in some areas, it will be banned in others.

Ultimately as it improves, it will be challenging to determine whether a paper is AI-written or student written. The reality is it will probably be a bit of both.

To test it out: chat.openai.com.