Those with even a passing interest in the tech world will have come across the latest AI tool causing a stir. That is unless you’ve been living under a rock. Some believe it’s the dawn of a bright new world that promises to revolutionize our work lives. Others see it as a threat to our very livelihoods. Whichever side of the fence you’re on, ChatGPT is changing things.
Before exploring its potential use cases, benefits, and limitations, let’s start from the beginning and explain what ChatGPT is.
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What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool (NLP), a conversational AI model developed by OpenAI. OpenAI is the research lab responsible for various advancements in artificial intelligence, including machine learning, algorithms, language models, and robotics.
Founded in 2015, the research lab has the rather noble aim of ensuring that advancements in AI benefit all of humanity; they aspire to advance artificial intelligence responsibly and safely.
At its basic level, ChatGPT is a conversationalist. You prompt it by asking questions or requesting information, and you’ll get a response.
This is the essence of an NLP. However, ChatGPT represents the most significant advance in the area to date.
NLPs deal with interactions between humans and computers, facilitating a more natural conversation. This field of AI involves developing sophisticated algorithms and models that enable computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language. Most of us regularly come across NLPs in our daily lives; think chatbots and virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa.
These NLPs aim to automate language-related tasks, allowing computers to engage in meaningful dialogue with humans, hopefully with a view to improving efficiency and accuracy in various tasks.
The better computers extract meaning from our input, and the more skilled the computer is at generating an appropriate response, the higher the potential for this AI-based technology to improve our lives (in theory!)
So, what makes ChatGPT stand out as a notable step forward for NLP technology?
What makes ChatGPT different?
ChatGPT utilizes a concept known as generative AI. This refers to the fact that ChatGPT generates responses to your queries based on the patterns and relationships learned during its training. This approach is called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), in which human AI trainers provide the model with conversations in which they play both parts, the user and AI assistants.
OpenAI’s research team used a vast corpus of data to train the AI; the model can use this input data to create virtually any content format you request.
Think of the possibilities of this in comparison to a search engine like Google.
Google uses algorithms based on AI technology to index the web and rank pages based on relevance, popularity, and other factors. You know how it works; you search a query and Google presents you with various links that it believes will help you source the information you need.
Consider now how ChatGPT is different.
In response to a search query or prompt, ChatGPT generates a human-like response. The training team has fine-tuned the tool so that its reply takes context into account. The result is a dynamic response, generated on the fly, that doesn’t depend on a pre-existing information set.
Suppose you’re not fully satisfied with this initial response. In that case, you can have a conversation with ChatGPT, asking it to refine, elaborate, or explain elements of the answer for a truly personalized service.
So, how are people using ChatGPT?
Since its release at the end of 2022, The innovative inventors of the world have worked quickly to experiment and test ChatGPT’s capabilities. In truth, as ChatGPT is still in its research and development phases, its use cases are still evolving.
Therefore, an answer to the question “What is ChatGPT for?” is quite elusive as users explore its possibilities, and the technology itself is bound to shift over time. Use your imagination, and I’m sure there are plenty of ways you can think of how you could implement ChatGPT into your life.
Let’s run through a quick summary of the primary use cases most prevalent at the moment. We’ll examine the benefits and limitations of the tool afterward.
Generating writing
Whether you want to create product descriptions, a poem in the style of Edgar Allan Poe, or a high school essay on the Russian revolution, ChatGPT can quickly generate this written text for you. For anybody that regularly uses the written word, this has the potential to save a lot of time and effort.
Here’s a collection of random prompts to give insights into what ChatGPT can do:
- Explain the legal system of the United States.
- Write a blog article of about 500 words explaining how to care for house plants using the keyword “houseplant” five times.
- What happens in the afterlife?
- Write me an email to my boss asking for a payrise.
- Write a Youtube video script for a video about the benefits of limitations of ChatGPT.
- Describe the city of Mumbai and its principal attractions in a descriptive style.
Results for these prompts take seconds to generate, and you can then use the initial response as a base for further conversation.
Generating code
While complex coding tasks may be out of reach at the moment, ChatGPT can instantly generate simple code in various programming languages. This is opening doors for coding amateurs who can save a lot of time by prompting ChatGPT to create code snippets for whatever they are working on.
Research
ChatGPT is an incredibly pleasing tool to interact with. It’s thrilling to interact naturally with technology that can instantaneously supply you with sophisticated answers to complex questions. This speed makes it much more efficient and convenient to research in ChatGPT than through a search engine.
Typing in prompts such as “Explain quantum computing” or ‘What is Kantian philosophy?” will supply you with an excellent foundation for your research. You can keep asking questions to clarify further the answers you receive, and the tool will consider your previous prompts in its responses.
Fun!
Of course, at its heart, ChatGPT is a chatting tool. We humans don’t always have to reduce it to how it can function in improving or helping our lives. Many users ask the tool various amusing questions and simply enjoy the interaction with a sophisticated chatbot.
Translation
ChatGPT is capable of translating texts into many different languages. The speed and accuracy is a significant upgrades on other tools such as Google Translate.
Calculations
Math is another string to ChatGPT’s bow. While not a specialized accounting tool, ChatGPT can perform simple calculations, including arithmetic operations, conversions, and other types of calculations, in an instant. Moreover, since it’s an NLP, you can ask questions relatively naturally, and ChatGPT will apply its considerable training to understand the context and give you your desired answer.
Automation
We, humans, love being able to automate time-consuming tasks where possible. ChatGPT provides ample opportunity for those who like to work smarter, not harder.
ChatGPT can automate repetitive tasks, such as answering common customer service questions. Not only can it automate those customer service answers, but you can also customize ChatGPT to provide tailored responses to specific questions, making it an effective tool for businesses and organizations looking to provide personalized customer service. These kinds of possibilities free up time and resources for more pressing tasks.
It should be immediately apparent that ChatGPT can be a useful tool in several professions, from marketers and coders, to teachers, data scientists, and more.
As the tool develops and morphs with new capabilities, there will be even more use cases as tech-savvy entrepreneurs apply ChatGPT to new contexts.
What are the benefits of ChatGPT?
Some benefits should be self-explanatory after going through some of the use cases above. However, let’s run through a checklist of the benefits of ChatGPT.
- Speed and convenience. Don’t underestimate the pleasure you get from prompting a complicated request to ChatGPT and receiving an immediate response.
- Natural language processing. Pairing the aforementioned speed with humanlike responses makes it feel like you are communicating with a highly intelligent person. Okay, some of the responses can seem a bit stilted, and ChatGPT will often repeat similar sentence structures, but the dynamic, personalized answers are still impressive.
- Accuracy. First off, it’s not 100% accurate (we’ll get to that later). Yet, the truth is that vast amounts of data have gone into the training of GPT. ChatGPT’s deep learning neural network is a model with over 175 billion machine learning parameters. The previous leading AI tool of this type ran on 10 billion parameters. Thanks to this, ChatGPT can share incredible knowledge across a hitherto unimaginable range of subjects.
- It will improve. The nature of the AI tool means that it should only get better with time due to machine learning principles. It will provide more accurate and relevant responses as it processes more data.
Sounds great! So is there a downside to ChatGPT?
While ChatGPT is undeniably impressive and undoubtedly transformative, the tool is not without its limitations, as well as some ethical concerns.
Let’s first focus on the limitations of what ChatGPT can actually do.
Misunderstandings
ChatGPT can’t respond to queries that are phrased in a particular way. You may need to rephrase questions or prompts for ChatGPT to comprehend the input. A more significant drawback is the occasional poor quality of the responses it provides, which can sound reasonable but may include redundancies, be overly vague, or unnecessarily wordy.
Unintentional responses to inquiries can result if the model assumes what you mean in a misphrased inquiry rather than seeking clarification.
In other words, it will guess what you mean in your question, which might affect the quality of the answer.
Critics also claim that these tools are simply very effective at arranging words in a way that makes sense statistically (that’s what the tool has been trained to do), but they are unable to comprehend the meaning or determine whether the claims they make are actually true.
Old biased data
One significant limitation is that ChatGPT’s data is restricted to 2021. The chatbot is not aware of events or news of the last two years. That means you can’t ask who won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022, for example, or who the current UK Prime Minister is.
In addition, there is a broader concern related to any vast collection of data. ChatGPT’s responses will reflect the biases and inaccuracies in the original data.
Struggles with complexity
For most users, ChatGPT will be able to provide fantastic responses, fulfilling our needs for written text, answers to research questions, or article outlines, for example. However, ChatGPT is not specialized and cannot yet simply replace other highly technical tools.
To demonstrate this, let’s take our earlier example of coding. Yes, ChatGPT can generate code snippets in an instant. For many amateur and professional coders, this function can help them save time with simple instructions like “Supply me with the code for a square button to add to my site.” It will supply this in various programming languages with options for variables on button style.
However, ChatGPT does not have the sophisticated knowledge necessary to tackle complex coding challenges that make new advancements in the coding world.
Capacity
Many users of ChatGPT will often get the message “at capacity.” What does this mean?
Because ChatGPT is still in the research stage, it is currently free to use. Many individuals are rushing to use it due to the buzz surrounding its enhanced capabilities.
The website runs on a server, and when too many users hit the server, it becomes overloaded and unable to handle your request. This does not mean that you will never have access to it. Instead, it means that you should try accessing the tool later when fewer individuals are clogging the server.
Leave the tab open and simply reload it every so often to see if you can get a spot. However, a paid subscription service is in the works that should solve the capacity issues for those that pay.
Why are some people worried about ChatGPT?
Over and above the limitations of using ChatGPT, there are ethical and privacy concerns.
One issue is the risk of automation. If this AI tool quickly outstrips human intelligence and has the ability to perform complex tasks in a matter of seconds, that could render many people’s livelihoods redundant.
There are also issues related to education. How can schools and teachers deal with the rise of ChatGPT, or are there ways to incorporate it? The chatbot can write an entire full essay within seconds, so what implications does this have for assessments? Will it hinder educational progress among children?
Another significant risk is the spread of misinformation through the tool. ChatGPT generates responses based on its training data, which may contain misinformation or inaccuracies. This raises concerns about the spread of false information and the potential impact on public opinion and decision-making.
ChatGPT dangers case study: copywriting
Let’s take a specific instance in a profession where the temptation and possible benefits of using ChatGPT are clear: copywriting.
Blogs, emails, landing pages, product descriptions, SEO-optimized copy – any marketers who write will be aware of ChatGPT and its implications for their work.
It can be a helpful tool, but there are also potential pitfalls to avoid.
- While ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can assist in generating high-quality text, it doesn’t possess the human touch and understanding of a specific target audience. The human voice, tailored to different readers, will always be more important in reaching readers and getting conversions. When it comes to the best copy, an audience can tell the difference when something is AI-written.
- Following on from the last point, content marketing is emotional, personal and evocative. AI-written content simply isn’t quite there.
- There are new tools such as https://originality.ai/ to identify the percentage of an article that is AI-driven.
- It remains to be seen what Google will do in response to ChatGPT. A Google algorithm update may penalize all AI-written content across sites, which would considerably impact the SEO industry.
- On a more serious note away from Google, using ChatGPT-generated content could run afoul of copyright laws around plagiarism and authorship.
- Overly relying on ChatGPT will thwart creativity! Copywriters need to continuously test their creative skills to come up with original ideas for content.
Based on these dangers, we can say that ChatGPT has the potential to aid copywriters in their work. Yet, copywriters should rely on their own human qualities to reach audiences personally and emotionally. ChatGPT is, therefore, a tool, not a replacement for human copywriters.
ChatGPT can be used for research, content ideation, keyword research, and content structures, but it shouldn’t be used to simply write a blog – that should remain the work of a skilled copywriter.
How can I access ChatGPT?
You can access ChatGPT by visiting chat.openai.com and creating an OpenAI account.
You’ll just need to accept ChatGPT’s terms and conditions before you’re good to go. Then, you can start writing and give ChatGPT your first prompt.
The basic version of ChatGPT is free to use. However, as of February 1st, there is now a paid subscription service option. This pro plan is called ChatGPT Plus.
With the tool’s skyrocketing popularity, it was only going to be a matter of time before a move to monetize the tool, especially considering the staggering costs of running the servers.
ChatGPT Plus offers users better access than through the free version, avoiding those ‘at capacity’ messages those with the free version see. Users will also experience faster response times and will benefit from priority access to new features and improvements of the tool as it continues to develop. The premium service costs $20/month.
The future of ChatGPT
The tech heads of the world are speculating on the possible future use cases of ChatGPT. How quickly can the chatbot improve? What will Microsoft, a prominent investor in OpenAI, bring to the table, and what will be the fruits of that partnership?
Healthcare experts are exploring using ChatGPT technology in treatments, experimenting with ideas to use the conversational algorithm to interact with patients, provide general health information, assist with appointment scheduling, and answer common health questions.
In the world of finance, experts suggest ChatGPT could help with portfolio management and asset optimization. It can also be used to generate reports, process transactions, provide customer service, and evaluate customer service.
In another industry, lawyers are roping in the tool to help with their caseload, whether it be drafting legal documents or even using AI for advice on how to argue a case.
According to some, the long reign of Google as search engine supreme may be drawing to a close as “ChatGPT it” may become more common than “Google it.” That’s because the convenient way ChatGPT presents information instantaneously and offers room for conversation is a much more convenient and pleasing user experience. As the world shifts into voice search as the most prevalent form of query, this conversational element is likely to become even more critical.
While still in its early days and not without its limitations, ChatGPT certainly holds a bright future that has the potential to transform our very lives.
Something else ChatGPT can’t do!
All of ChatGPT’s output relies on the input it receives. This hampers the chatbot in specific queries requiring access to updated information.
Therefore, you can’t ask ChatGPT for local listings in your area, for example. In fact, I tried and got this response:
“As a language model, ChatGPT is trained to generate text based on the input it receives, but it does not have the ability to access local listings or any other real-time information. It can only provide information and answer questions based on the data it was trained on.”
So, there you go – another Achilles heel!
For local listings near you, wherever you are in Australia, head to LocalTales instead.
Using LocalTales opens up a whole load of knowledge about your local community, something you can’t get via ChatGPT, and in a much more convenient location than having to scroll through Google.
You can use the site to search for businesses, deals, events, and tradesmen near you. Use the tabs at the top of the homepage to search the directory or by category, postcode, or suburb.
At LocalTales, we’re all about making those local connections with businesses in your neighborhood. Check it out to find whatever you need near you.