It had to happen someday. And it has. The all-knowing Google needed a wakeup call, possibly. It just happened and how. Arguably, one of the most talked about disruptions has happened ironically in the backyard of the Guru of the knowledge world – the Google. Next time you find the need to write a simple love letter to your sweetheart you don’t have to sweat. Expert help is at hand. Are we going to see Google in a new avatar? In a way yes, but definitely beyond that. With these tantalising prospects in mind let us take a deep dive into the subject of the most talked about disruption happening on the internet. For the uninitiated, ChatGPT is the natural language processing developed by Artificial Intelligence (AI for short). This has been developed by a firm called Open AI. It is the most disruptive technology yet that has challenged Google. Do I need to say more. Having entered the arena dominated by Google, ChatGPT has no qualms about admitting that its answers may not be foolproof as of now. People are quite familiar with Chatbots, especially after the epidemic. In fact, the epidemic helped develop chatbots out of a perceived necessity during Covid. First of all, let us understand what a chatbot is, in artificial intelligence before we try to understand how it can be helpful to us. Investopedia tells me that a chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation through voice commands or text chats. Chatbot, short for chatterbot or chat robot, is an artificial intelligence (AI) feature that can be embedded and used through any major messaging application. Chatbots can connect with customers through multiple channels, such as Facebook Messenger, SMS, and live chat. This provides a more convenient and efficient way for customers to contact their business.
Here is one surprise piece of information for all those who are reading this piece. ChatGPT does not access information from Google. Yes. You read it right. It is not a copycat of the most successful search engine known to mankind. ChatGPT was launched on 30th November 22, and it has already crossed a million users. That is quite impressive by any standard. For those who are looking for the pedigrees of ChatGPT, here are two names to be bandied about. Sam Altman who is the CEO of Open AI and Elon Musk who was associated with it till 2018 when he became just a donor to this venture.
The question uppermost in your mind, if you have come this far, would be to ask the most significant question – how is it different from Google? Herein lies the most important differentiator. When you ask a question to Google, you get a link which may lead to another depending on your queries till you zero in on your answer. ChatGPT is different. It synthesizes the answers to the questions and expresses opinions based on available data. For example, it does not give you the address of a lawyer if you ask for a legal opinion. It gives an opinion itself based on the question you pose to it. This is remarkable. That leads us to the most obvious question – what happens to the work that I do like writing reports, providing expert advice and the like. According to Mr. Ajay Agarwal, the author of the book “Power and Prediction” and an expert on this subject, this technology will have far reaching consequences. According to him, in one sense the writer becomes more like a curator thereby improving his or her chances of producing better quality output.
I thought I should try ChatGPT before I complete this piece. I asked ChatGPT these questions for starters:
My Question: “What do you think of the future of ChatGPT technology?”
ChatGPT’s Answer: “I think the future of ChatGPT technology is incredibly exciting. It has the
potential to revolutionize how we interact with computers and how we access information. I’m excited to
see how this technology will evolve and be used in the future. I think it has the potential to greatly enhance
our ability to communicate with each other and access information more quickly and easily”.
My Question: “What is India’s future as an industrial and economic powerhouse in this century”?
ChatGPT’s Answer: “India has the potential to become an industrial and economic powerhouse in
this century. With its vast population, India has a huge potential for growth and development. India is
already a leader in the IT, automotive, and pharmaceutical sectors, and has the potential to become a
leader in many other industries. India is also making great strides in the fields of renewable energy, urban
development, and digital infrastructure. With the right investments and policies in place, India is poised
to become an economic powerhouse in the coming decades”.
Though in my trials the questions were generalised ones, thankfully there was no faux pas. Currently the
services of ChatGPT are free. However, it is likely that the site’s services would be monetised going
forward.
Having seen what ChatGPT can do, and how powerful it could be as time passes, let us also look at its
inherent limitations. First of all, one has to keep in mind that it is only a language model. As on today it
can crunch data before 2022 and will need constant updation that is sure to follow. It can give you answers
by being within a given structure. That will have its own problems. Then there is this question of inherent
biases of those build the model and the sanctity of data associated with it. That leaves much to be desired.
Man made the robot, now the time has come for the same robot to think for its creator. There had been
a time when the teacher knew all the answers. Now the student will have equally good answers, if not
better, using the chat bot. Unlike in the past, you will never know which one is authentic, for both of them
could have anchored their premises on the same source as provided by ChatGPT. That will have its own
ramifications. Here is a caveat that you have to keep in mind. “ChatGPT can’t replace knowledge workers.
It doesn’t understand what it’s talking about and is not capable of generating new ideas or making hard
decisions. It sounds coherent and vaguely insightful, but all it really does is try to sound smart by
rephrasing the question it’s asked”. Fareed Zakaria in his weekly podcast GPS has this to say about the
new development. It may now be difficult for a teacher to distinguish between a prose written by a robot
and the one written by the student himself. A research paper has already been published according to
him on the capability of ChatGPT while analysing law. According to him the output produced by ChatGPT
is akin to hallucination. Time will tell.
Today we live in a world dominated by Google. Its hegemony is getting challenged. It was itself a disruptor
when it appeared on the scene. Now it has a challenger. The latter may not have all the answers; but it
has an outline that could hurt Google. Whatever it is, ChatGPT today has taken internet by storm, and it
can be wished away only at Google’s own peril.
