ChatGPT is a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that’s designed to help people communicate with computers in a more natural and intuitive way — using natural language processing (NLP) technology. But what’s behind the development of ChatGPT and how can the tech be used to help humanity?
These are some of the questions that we will explore in this article:-
That rather bland lede, which we’ve slightly edited, was generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT in response to a prompt by this (human) reporter. TechCrunch kicked off a conversation with the large language model by asking it to explain its function and purpose. We wanted to see if we could use the chatbot-style Q&A format it’s most recently been embedded into to probe the tech and get AI to articulate some of its limitations.
“ChatGPT is a natural language processing (NLP) model developed by OpenAI. It is designed to generate human-like responses to text input, allowing users to engage in natural, conversational interactions with the model,” the AI responded to our ice breaker. “ChatGPT works by using machine learning algorithms to analyze and understand the meaning of text input, and then generating a response based on that input. The model is trained on large amounts of text data, allowing it to learn the patterns and structures of natural language.”
Additionally, the bot told us its approach allows it to generate responses that are “relevant, coherent, and appropriate” to the context of the conversation. (With more probing, it went on to heavily caveat that claim — writing later: “It is important to note that my responses are not guaranteed to be perfect or always correct, and there may be cases where my responses may not be relevant, coherent, or appropriate.
ChatGPT further described its mission as being “intended to help humanity by providing a more natural and efficient way to interact with artificial intelligence” — expanding on its claimed purpose thusly:
By allowing users to communicate with AI in a more human-like way, ChatGPT can help to make AI more accessible and useful for a wider range of applications. This can help to improve the efficiency and accuracy of tasks that rely on natural language processing, such as language translation, text summarization, and information retrieval. Additionally, by providing a more intuitive and human-like interface for AI, ChatGPT can help to make AI more approachable and less intimidating to users who are less familiar with technology. Overall, ChatGPT is intended to help humanity by improving the usability and effectiveness of AI.
Who is the bot’s maker — according to the bot’s own understanding of its manufacturing entity? On this ChatGPT offered this potted history: “OpenAI is a research institute and artificial intelligence (AI) lab based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and other researchers and investors with the goal of promoting and advancing the development of AI in a safe and responsible manner.”
Additionally, it told us: “OpenAI is funded primarily by donations from individuals and organizations, including donations from Musk and Altman themselves. The organization also receives funding from partnerships and collaborations with other companies and research institutions.”
Asked about the politics of the individuals and organizations who have provided donations to fund its development, ChatGPT claimed it could not provide any info — “as my training only goes up until 2021” — and also because it said it is “not currently able to browse the internet.”