In recent times, a sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot named ChatGPT has been praised as one of the most clever AI systems ever created and feared as a new frontier in potential plagiarism and the decline of craft in writing.
The fastest-growing technology in history, ChatGPT was released in November of last year. It had achieved one million users in less than a week of its release. Now, it is one of the most talked about topics in almost every sector.
What is ChatGPT and how it works?
ChatGPT, also known as the Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, is a machine-learning model that can generate human-like text. OpenAI is the developer of the widely used image-generating tool ‘Dall-E’ and the hyped chatbot ‘ChatGPT’.
The chatbot in ChatGPT responds to natural-language queries with conversational responses. The bot keeps track of your conversation and uses your queries and replies to shape its future responses. It derives its replies from vast amounts of internet-based data.
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ChatGPT doesn’t exactly have any knowledge. It is an AI that has been trained to find patterns in huge amounts of text taken from the internet. It has also been trained with the help of people to give more useful and better dialogue. OpenAI emphasizes that even if the results seem reasonable or authoritative, they may be completely inaccurate.
Kevin Schawinski, Co-founder and CEO at data-centric AI platform Modulos.ai, had questioned ChatGPT: “Tell me a lie”. The AI replied, “The sky is made of green cheese.” Microsoft’s OpenAI chatbot can generate thousands of such exchanges. In response to user input, the chatbot generates natural and intelligent-sounding, yet occasionally hilarious text.
Benefits and limitations
This is the first time that advanced AI has been available to the general public, which has both pros and cons. Its vast capabilities make it applicable to a wide range of settings, including education, company creation, work automation, and even therapy (in the form of wise advice) in the same way that a human therapist would.
The language used in ChatGPT is clear and simple to understand. The tone is artificially formal and overly repetitive at times, but it succeeds to grab the attention of the readers. If you’re looking for something really spectacular (poetry, copywriting, fiction, etc.), requesting an original voice can really make a difference.
Though this technology has the potential to improve lives in many ways, some worry about its unintended consequences. It includes the possibility of increased unemployment in the future and the potential threat it poses to children when it reaches to an advanced stage.
While ChatGPT’s data mining skills are unparalleled (it can search the entire internet), humans excel at filtering across massive amounts of data to find the most relevant information. In addition, they are able to properly study and source their ideas. However, ChatGPT sounds generic and currently lacks the ability to add supporting references and sources. Reliability is still an issue, which is especially problematic for scientific, policy-based, and brand-related content.
Goodbye homework?
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter has declared that the AI-powered ChatGPT will put an end to the practice of assigning homework. “It is a new world. Goodbye, schoolwork, ” he posted a tweet.
However, ChatGPT is not widely available in NYC public schools. Education authorities in New York City confirmed that ChatGPT is inaccessible from any department-issued device or network.
Due to “negative impacts on student learning and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content,” the Department of Education has disabled access to ChatGPT.
A representative for the New York City Department of Education remarked, “While the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success.”
A dilemma of true and false data with ethical concerns
According to an article in the famous science journal ‘Nature,’ this AI chatbot can create phony abstracts for research papers. It is so convincing that academics are frequently unable to detect them.
“I am very worried. If we’re now in a situation where the experts are not able to determine what’s true or not, we lose the middleman that we desperately need to guide us through complicated topics,” said Sandra Wachter, a technology and regulation student at the University of Oxford in the UK.
Since its publication, scientists have debated the moral implications of using it, given how difficult its output can be to discern from human-written language. ChatGPT abstracts passed the plagiarism analyzer with flying colors, according to the researchers. In this case, no instances of plagiarism were found, as the median originality score was a perfect 100.
66% of the artificially created abstracts were identified by the AI output detector. Human reviewers performed just somewhat better, successfully identifying 68% of fabricated abstracts and 86% of authentic abstracts.
However, Princeton University computer scientist Arvind Narayanan believes that ChatGPT will not be used by professional researchers to produce abstracts.
Mint Mobile’s owner, actor Ryan Reynolds, asked the AI chatbot to create an advertisement for his low-cost cellphone service. The results were ‘mildly terrifying’ for him.
“Hey, it’s Ryan Reynolds. First of all, let me just say Mint Mobile is the s***. All the big wireless companies out there are ending their holiday promos, but not Mint Mobile. We are keeping the party going because we are just that damn good. Sign up now. As an added bonus, you will get to hear my voice every time you call customer service. Just kidding. That’s not really a thing. Stay classy everyone,” was the text the AI chatbot created.
Will ChatGPT encourage students to cheat better?
The answer is yes, but there is no clear right or wrong answer, just as there isn’t with many other technological advances. Students have had access to encyclopedias and other reference materials for decades, and now they have Wikipedia at their fingertips. ChatGPT provides enhanced features for conducting research and even completing assignments independently. Many ChatGPT responses already have the tone and style of student essays, however, this is often stuffier and more academic than the author would desire.
Communication professor at Maryville University Dustin York thinks teachers will learn to use ChatGPT and see how it may assist students develop critical thinking skills. “Educators thought that Google, Wikipedia, and the internet itself would ruin education, but they did not,” York said. “What worries me most are educators who may actively try to discourage the acknowledgment of AI like ChatGPT. It’s a tool, not a villain”, he added.
Can these type of tech increase unemployment?
Artificial intelligence and chatbots have emerged as major players in various industries as the world becomes increasingly dependent on technology. But the rise of these advanced technologies could lead to unemployment because AI and chatbots can do things that humans used to do. In today’s world, artificial intelligence and chatbots are being put to use in many fields, from customer service and healthcare to the financial sector. They are capable of handling a wide range of responsibilities, including communicating with customers, setting up appointments, and handling financial transactions.
However, while these innovations may help businesses save money and time, they may also lead to the elimination of jobs for humans and a rise in the unemployment rate.
