The ChatGPT general-purpose chatbot prototype developed by OpenAI is now available as a free research preview and anyone can try it out.
OpenAI, well-known for having developed the text-to-image generator DALL-E, is now taking a stab at automatic text-generation AI. The chatbot is based on OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 technology model, which is intended to have more of a flow, as if you are chatting with a real person. Typing in your query should result in a detailed response with several sentences or paragraphs
Using the ChatGPT chatbot is fairly simple, as all you have to do is type in your text and receive the information. However, OpenAI does require an account before you can use any of its tools, so if you don’t have, one you will have to register. You have the option of choosing an easy login with a Google or Microsoft account.
Otherwise, if you have any other kind of email, you can enter it manually. After this, you must enter a phone number; however, keep in mind, you cannot use a virtual phone number (VoIP) to register for OpenAI. You will then receive a confirmation number, which you will enter onto the registration page to complete the setup.
Once you see some housekeeping rules about ChatGPT, including potential errors in data, how OpenAI collects data, and how users can submit feedback, you know you have successfully registered.
The ChatGPT webpage is simple and includes an area for the results to populate and a text box at the bottom of the page for you to type your inquiries. We started with questions; however, OpenAI recommends inputting a statement for the best possible result.
For example, inputting “explain how the solar system was made” will give a more detailed result with more paragraphs than “how was the solar system made,” even though both inquiries will give fairly detailed results. You also have the option to get more specific inputting requests for an essay with a specific number of paragraphs or a Wikipedia page. We got an extremely detailed result, with the request “write a four-paragraph essay explaining Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.”
If there is enough information available, the generator will fulfill the commands with accurate details. Otherwise, there is potential for ChatGPT to begin filling in gaps with incorrect data. OpenAI notes that these instances are rare. The brand also notes that ChatGPT also currently has “limited knowledge of world events after 2021.”
Even so, you have the option to input queries continuously until you close your browser or reset the thread to clear your previous requests. You also have the option to use ChatGPT in dark mode or light mode.
You can access the OpenAI Discord server and blog from this webpage and log out from there.
Well, that’s the fun part. Since its launch, people have been experimenting to discover everything the chatbot can and can’t do. Some have speculated about the negative ways this type of AI-created text will affect online content, or even wondered if high school essays might be a thing of the past.
it seems very possible that we are now exiting the brief window where a good fraction of all of human knowledge was searchable & instantly available. a window that starts with the invention of the search engine & ends with the invention of large language models.
— v buckenham (@v21) December 5, 2022
Our writers experimented with ChatGPT too, attempting to see if it could handle holiday shopping or even properly interpret astrological makeup. In both cases, we found limitations to what it could do while still being thoroughly impressed by the results.
But the fun is in trying it out yourself. Whether you think ChatGPT is an amazing piece of tech or will lead to the destruction of the internet as we know it, it’s worth trying out for yourself to see just what it’s capable of.
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