Written by: Beavan Zulu
Of the innovations made in the realm of AI, ChatGPT is one of the most intuitive and useful online tools provided by the advancement in AI, and best of all, IT’S FREE! Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is a state-of-the-art conversational AI that has been trained on diverse and vast datasets, making it one of the most sophisticated tools in the world of human-computer interaction. Access to the software is a simple Google search away. The site is free to use, but has recently come out with a subscription based model with faster response speed and beta options, however, the free option is capable of filling various needs, ranging from educational purposes, customer support, entertainment, research, the list goes on and on. Let’s take a look into how it all works.
Upon entering ChatGPT, you will be asked to make an account using an email address or by connecting through Gmail, Outlook, or Apple as well as provide your birth date and phone number to verify your age and that you are an actual human being, so as long as you’re over 13 years old and can copy and paste a 6 digit code, you’re all set! The welcome screen displays example chat starters, capabilities, and limitations and has a fairly straightforward interface. Simply input what you are seeking into the message box at the bottom of the screen, hit enter, and watch the magic happen. The versatility of ChatGPT is nothing short of astounding.
Chat starter options can range from “I have 30 minutes to do my dishes”, “how to tie a tie”, and even “what is a crouton?”, so naturally, my first test was “how to organize a cookie eating contest”. Within SECONDS, ChatGPT populated a 12 step process in detail on how to organize the contest. The best part is that the website saves your chats to your account for future reference and also learns the more you use it to better cater future responses for you, responses that are strikingly human. ChatGPT represents the pinnacle of conversational AI as of now. Also, because it is an algorithm and not an actual human source, citations aren’t needed for the material produced, however full plagiarism is not suggested because of some slight drawbacks that come with all technology and AI.
One very useful feature is custom instructions. On the homepage by the account name are three dots which, when clicked, bring up a drop down menu with one option being custom instructions. Here, you have the option to tell ChatGPT specific information that will streamline the response it provides to your chat prompts. For example, I can put in the custom instruction to only give two sentence responses and now when I prompt a chat, the software will provide the answer within two sentences. You can also input where you are located for location-specific responses, what your job/hobbies are, so on and so forth.
The ability to specify replies further perpetuates that the future of ChatGPT and similar models is expected to be even more intertwined with our daily lives.
ChatGPT’s impressive capabilities are reshaping various sectors, making interactions more efficient and often more engaging. Businesses can utilize ChatGPT for tasks such as planning internal staff events, event launches, fundraising ideas, or even use the program as an internal employee question hub. With any software, however, there are risks like misinformation, biases in training data, etc., so keeping a conscious and watchful eye on the program is necessary in using the software to its highest potential. This state-of-the-art technology is truly like having a human-like companion at your fingertips with a HUGE wealth of knowledge. Still skeptical about how human-like the responses could actually be? Well, I also asked ChatGPT to write an article about itself, so go back through this blog post and try to pick out which sentence from EACH paragraph I took from the AI’s response. Harder than you’d think, huh?
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