What Is ChatGPT And Why Everyone Can’t Stop Talking About It

ChatGPT is an AI bot created by OpenAI and has the capability to process conversational text and respond to it, compose essays, and write programs.

By Tori Hook | Published

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ChatGPT is the newest AI bot to enter the global scene, and it’s already become one of the industry’s biggest players. This hyper-powerful tool is making news by writing business school essays, programming software, and even philosophizing. There’s no question that ChatGPT is revolutionary; the question is whether it will be beneficial or detrimental.

Built by one of the artificial intelligence industry’s most powerful companies, ChatGPT is the brainchild of OpenAI. What makes it stand out from its competitors is its ability to process natural-language prompts and respond with conversational, if somewhat stuffy, answers. According to CNET, ChatGPT can do anything from writing an essay to giving dating advice.

ChatGPT is making waves as the smartest AI yet and, although it can be conversational and authoritative, it’s not (yet) in a place to replace human ingenuity or intelligence. Creator OpenAI warns consumers that ChatGPT is not thinking in a traditional sense but, rather, is sifting through vast swaths of information at an incredible speed. ChatGPT’s skill is not at creating new information but at quickly synthesizing and analyzing the information that already exists.

One of the industries that will potentially be most impacted by ChatGPT is education. Writing professors and teachers have expressed concern over students’ ability to simply input a writing prompt into ChatGPT and receive a college-level essay in seconds, without any of the critical thinking or language skills previously required to do so.

Other educators are hopeful that ChatGPT will enhance students’ abilities rather than hinder them. After all, students have been using educational tools and aids for decades, whether it’s an encyclopedia or a Wikipedia page. Many educators thought that widespread access to Google and the internet would be the death of students’ critical thinking skills, but the opposite proved true.

There’s no doubt, though, that ChatGPT will make waves in various industries, from education to programming to customer service. As advanced as ChatGPT is though, most consumers still prefer to interact with a person rather than a bot in customer service situations. And though ChatGPT can write a poem for you, it’s unlikely that it will win any awards or impress your teacher.

AI bots still have their limits, and no one is quicker to point this out than OpenAI themselves, ChatGPTs creators. ChatGPT can give you answers, but there’s no guarantee that those answers are accurate, as they’re simply a synthesis of available information. Because of this, you could ask ChatGPT the same question twice and get two conflicting answers.

No matter how bright the future of artificial intelligence is—and it is very bright—there will always be a place for human ingenuity and creativity. The hope of many in the AI industry, including the creators of ChatGPT, is that AI bots serve as a tool to enhance the human mind, not to stunt or overpower it. The program is currently free to use, with Pro options available for purchase for those wanting quicker responses, so now is the perfect time to try your AI hand at a poem, essay, or computer program.