I use Google a lot to search for information on a wide range of topics. When ChatGPT hit the headlines my mouse itched with curiosity. But is it up to all of the marketing hype or is it genuinely the next step in civilisation?
Somebody once described searching with Google as a bit like a car boot sale where you go from stall to stall until you find what you are looking for. My experience backs this up. It can be time consuming trying to find the correct key words that returns the information that I am trying to find. Like a car boot sale there are piles and piles of rubbish to go through before I find an answer to my question. ChatGPT operates differently. The conversational style makes it easier to ask questions and if ChatGPT is not sure what is being asked it will ask further questions for clarity, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises and reject inappropriate requests.
To test ChatGPT I asked it a range of questions that covered philosophy, mathematics, politics, films from the 1950s and even asked how Ukraine could win the war against Russia. Where it struggled was where I had in-depth knowledge of a subject. Its reply missed some of the subtleties in the question. However, I quickly gathered enough information to achieve the level of understanding that I wanted on a subject. I would give ChatGPT somewhere between 7 to 8 out of 10.
When I asked the question that is the title of the post, ChapGPT replied “As an AI language model, ChatGPT represents a significant advancement in the field of natural language processing and has the potential to be a valuable tool in many applications. However, it is important to recognize that AI and machine learning are still evolving technologies and their future capabilities are subject to further research and development. It is also important to consider the ethical, social, and economic implications of AI and ensure that its use aligns with the values of society. In this sense, the future of ChatGPT and other AI technologies will depend not only on their technical capabilities, but also on the choices and decisions made by those who develop and use them.” I feel ChatGPT gave a realistic answer.
There is no doubt that ChatGPT is a major advance in AI. However there are a number of areas that could be developed further. One way to improve learning, in particular self-learning, is to get some feedback on your understanding about a subject. This could be done by checking something I had written or steps in a maths workings. There are already online systems such as Stack Overflow where a mathematics or computer science question can be submitted along with workings and members of the network put forward answers or improvements. But the replies can be hit and miss and the quality of the answers depends on how clearly the question was asked. If I could put in my understanding of a particular subject and then something like ChatGPT came back with corrections or suggestions to improve my level of understanding then learning online would be significantly improved.
Every other email that I receive is a survey which can range from how well my bank’s ATM has performed ( yes it is hard to believe ) to how a large organisation can improve its customer service. The surveys take the form of giving a number for a particular aspect of the service or product and a text box where a few sentences can be added. How all of the data is analysed is a mystery and nothing ever improves. A better approach could be based on something like ChatGPT carrying a proper in depth interview. ChatGPT would ask questions and based on the answers it would adjust the next question until detailed information about a person’s thoughts and behaviours had been reached. This would give a better picture of how the product or service was being used.
Another area is the ‘how to’ type question. When I asked ChatGPT how I should tie the ‘Tup’s Indispensable’, which is an artificial fly used for trout fishing, it struggled. After asking me several questions it still couldn’t find an answer other than broadly how an artifical fly is tied. Imagine if ChatGPT could give a step by step instructions on how to repair domestic appliances such as a washing machine that would keep it from being sent to household waste!
There are lots more areas that could be developed. For example could ChatGPT, or something equivalent, write its own software. In other words could it develops itself rather than coders writing the software. Now there is a thought!
Forty years ago I started my career writing software. The computers of the day were not much more than big programmable calculators. You put some numbers in and numbers came back. Since then each step in computer technology has had a major impact on our lives starting with Personal Computers to the internet and mobile technology. ChatGPT is another step into the future which I’m sure will have an irreversible impact on how we live.