I’ve asked ChatGPT to explain how it works and why it’s going viral

Image of the blog authorChris PattisonLast updated: June 1, 2023

IdeasEngineeringMachine LearningAI
Blog cover image

A brief note from a human: I've written the title of this article, a few follow-up questions (the headings), and a post-script, whilst also including some links and images. The ChatGPT model is going to attempt to describe itself and answer my questions in its own words.

This is article 1 of 2, in the second article I will explore several examples of the risks posed by these emerging technologies.


Write an article about how ChatGPT is going viral

🤖: ChatGPT, the newest natural language processing technology developed by OpenAI, has taken the online world by storm. The technology, which uses advanced machine learning algorithms to generate human-like responses to text inputs, has quickly become a hit among users of social media and messaging platforms.

Image shows ChatGPT's error message due to their servers being overloaded.
Image shows ChatGPT's error message due to their servers being overloaded.

The chatbot has quickly gained popularity due to its ability to provide quick and accurate responses to a wide range of topics. From discussions about current events to casual conversations about everyday life, ChatGPT is able to handle it all with ease.

What are the key capabilities of ChatGPT

🤖:

  • The ability to generate human-like responses to text inputs using advanced machine learning algorithms.
  • The ability to adapt to the user's style of conversation and provide personalized responses.
  • The ability to handle a wide range of topics and engage in long, natural conversations.
  • The ability to be used by businesses and organizations to improve customer service and support.

A list of ChatGPT use cases

🤖: Here is a list of some potential use cases for ChatGPT:

  1. Customer service and support.
  2. Social media and messaging platforms.
  3. Education and language learning.
  4. Entertainment and gaming.
  5. Healthcare and wellness.
  6. Market research and data analysis.

What are the risks associated with using ChatGPT?

🤖: There are several potential risks associated with using ChatGPT. One of the main concerns is the potential for the technology to be used for malicious purposes, such as spreading misinformation or engaging in online harassment. With its ability to generate human-like responses, ChatGPT could be used to create convincing but false information, which could be difficult to identify and combat.

Another risk is the potential for ChatGPT to be used to invade users' privacy. The technology collects and processes large amounts of data, including personal information and conversations. This could potentially be accessed by unauthorized individuals or organizations, which could lead to privacy violations and other issues.

Additionally, the use of ChatGPT could also lead to the development of a dependency on the technology. Users may become reliant on the chatbot to handle their conversations and interactions, which could lead to a lack of personal development and social skills.

Overall, while ChatGPT has the potential to be a valuable and useful technology, it is important to carefully consider the risks and potential negative impacts associated with its use.

Conclusion

🤖: In conclusion, ChatGPT has proven to be a revolutionary technology that has captured the imaginations of people around the world. With its ability to generate human-like responses to text inputs using advanced machine learning algorithms, it has become a hit among users of social media and messaging platforms. Its ability to adapt to the user's style of conversation and provide personalized responses has also contributed to its popularity, as has its potential uses in customer service and support. Despite the potential risks associated with its use, ChatGPT has proven to be a valuable and popular technology that is sure to continue to evolve and improve.


Post-script

So there we have it, ChatGPT in its own words. It's both an interesting glimpse into its capabilities, and likewise a clear illustration of its limitations. It can become repetitive very quickly (so much so that I'm concerned this article will damage our SEO performance 😅) and if you don't phrase your question in a sensible way there's a decent chance you'll be delivered vacuous nonsense. Interestingly, it had no trouble listing various risk factors for using ChatGPT, but came up blank when I asked about the benefits:

Image shows a ChatGPT being unable to provide an answer to a question about the benefits of using it.
Image shows ChatGPT being unable to provide an answer to a question about the benefits of using it.

Honestly though, I don't want to be unfairly critical. ChatGPT excels at being conversational and knowledgeable, which is exactly what it's intended for. If I really wanted a tool that could write blog posts for me then there's already an array of new tools like Lex and Byword which are also based on OpenAI's technology.

As you might imagine, there are also clear ethical concerns relating to the data that is being used to power ChatGTP and evidence of biases built into their model and dataset. This is a familiar critique faced by many of the large-scale ML models used for text-based chat or text-to-image, and if you needed further proof, even Elon Musk is concerned. When one of the original founders of OpenAI, who's somewhat of an ethics anarchist, is worried, it must signal something:

As I've covered in previous AI & ML related articles, I don't see the imminent ‘death of innovation' or a tsunami of harmful plagiarism on the horizon. That said, it's obvious that there are legitimate questions facing several sectors and professions, and I'll be covering those in part 2 next month. Follow us on Linkedin or Twitter and you'll be notified when the second post is published.

For now, I hope this little experiment serves as a useful summary of the current state of ChatGPT's conversational AI.