ChatGPT: latest news, controversies and useful tips

Updated 10 months ago on July 18, 2023

ChatGPT continues to amaze the Internet with artificial intelligence-generated content, transforming from a mere chatbot to a technology that is defining a new era of innovation. No technology product in recent times has generated so much interest, controversy, fear and excitement.

If you're just starting to get familiar with this program, it's fair to wonder what all the hype is about it. You can try it out for free (or use the official free iOS app), but here's the in-depth guide you've been looking for, whether you're fearing the AI apocalypse or just looking for an introductory guide to the app.

What can you do with ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a natural language chatbot with artificial intelligence. At the most basic level, this means that you can ask it any question and it will generate an answer.

Working with ChatGPT chatbot is quite simple: just type a text and get information. The main thing here is to be creative and see how your ChatGPT reacts to different prompts. If you don't get the results you want, try changing the prompt or giving ChatGPT additional instructions. ChatGPT knows the context of previous questions you've asked, so you can build off of it rather than starting over each time.

For example, if you start with the phrase "Explain how the solar system was created", the result will be more detailed and contain more paragraphs than "How the solar system was created", although both queries will give fairly detailed results. Take it a step further: give ChatGPT more guidance regarding style or tone, such as "Explain how the solar system was created as a high school teacher."

It is also possible to enter more specific queries: an essay with a certain number of paragraphs or a Wikipedia page. We got a very detailed result for the query "write a four paragraph essay explaining Mary Shelley's Frankenstein". And remember, ChatGPT does a great job of correcting previous answers, so you can always ask for more details, ask it to rewrite something, or ask additional questions.

To see for yourself what it can do, try using ChatGPT in your daily life or at work and see how it can help. Ask it to write emails, compose a business proposal, fun date ideas, or even a best man speech. As long as it doesn't break the rules about explicit or illegal content, the generator will do its best to follow the command. Of course, there is a chance that ChatGPT will start filling in the blanks with incorrect data. As OpenAI notes, such cases are rare, but AI "hallucinations" certainly do happen. The company also notes that ChatGPT, which uses the GPT-3.5 LLM (large language model), currently has "limited knowledge of events in the world beyond 2021." For more up-to-date knowledge of the world, you can use another tool, such as Bing Chat.

With this, you have the ability to enter requests continuously until you close the browser or reset the thread to clear previous requests. These chats are then saved in conversations in the sidebar, with even a name automatically assigned to the chat. From here, you can manage these chats, renaming or deleting them as needed. You can even "hide" certain chats if needed.

You also have the option to use ChatGPT in dark or light mode.

Unlike Bing Chat, which can now generate images using Bing Image Creator and receive them as prompts for questions, ChatGPT works only with text in both directions. This feature was recently introduced to Google Bard as well.

How does ChatGPT work?

Unlike simple voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant, ChatGPT is built on a so-called LLM (Large Language Model). These neural networks are trained on huge amounts of information from the Internet, which allows them to generate entirely new responses, rather than just repeating specific ready-made answers. They are not created for a specific purpose, like chatbots of the past, and they are much smarter.

This follows from the name ChatGPT, which stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer. In the case of the current version of ChatGPT, it is based on the GPT-3.5 LLM. The model behind ChatGPT was trained on all sorts of web content including websites, books, social media, news articles, etc. - all of which was tuned into the language model using both supervised learning and RLHF (Reinforcement Learning From Human Feedback). OpenAI claims that the use of humans teaching AI is what makes ChatGPT distinctive.

How to use ChatGPT?

First, go to chat.openai.com. If this is your first experience, you will need to create a free account with OpenAI before you get started. You have the option of choosing to simply log in with a Google or Microsoft account, or simply enter your email address. Next, you will be prompted to enter your phone number, but keep in mind that you cannot use a virtual phone number (VoIP) to register with OpenAI. You will then receive a confirmation number that you must enter on the registration page to complete the setup.

You'll see the basic rules of ChatGPT, including possible data errors, how OpenAI collects data, and how users can leave feedback - all of which makes you wonder if it's safe to use ChatGPT. Once you've done so, you'll know you've successfully registered. You're in!

How to use the ChatGPT iPhone app?

After months of waiting, OpenAI has finally released the official iOS app, which can be downloaded today. In less than a week, the app has surpassed half a million downloads and is becoming available in an increasing number of countries.

The instructions for using it are the same as the ChatGPT web app. There is an additional option to sign in with an Apple ID account, but otherwise the app works pretty much the same as the web app: just type in your question and start a conversation.

The clean interface clearly displays your conversation with GPT, hiding your chat history and settings behind a menu in the top right corner.

For those who pay for ChatGPT Plus, the app allows you to switch between GPT-3.5 and GPT-4. You can even use the microphone for voice communication with ChatGPT.

As our mobile editor noted in his experience with the app, it still doesn't provide an internet connection like chatbots like Bing Chat and Perplexity.

However, please note that there is no official app for Android, Mac or Windows yet. If you use one of these platforms, we recommend using the web app to avoid possible frauds and counterfeits.

Is ChatGPT free to use?

Yes, the basic version of ChatGPT is completely free. There is no limit on the number of ChatGPT messages per day, but there is a limit on the number of words and characters in replies.

Of course, for OpenAI, continued operation is not free. Initial estimates indicate that OpenAI spends about $3 million per month on continued operation of ChatGPT, which is about $100k per day. An April report indicated that the cost of operation was closer to $700k per day.

In addition to the cost of the servers themselves, it was recently egregious to see what else was done to train the language model not to produce offensive content.

OpenAI also has a premium version of its chatbot called ChatGPT Plus. It costs $20/month, but provides access even during peak times, faster replies, and first access to new features like GPT-4.

Who created ChatGPT?

ChatGPT was created by the OpenAI organization, an artificial intelligence research lab based in San Francisco. This organization was created as a non-profit organization designed to collaborate with other institutions and researchers, and was funded by celebrities such as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.

Later in 2019, OpenAI became a for-profit company, currently led by its CEO Sam Altman. It runs on Microsoft Azure system infrastructure and uses Nvidia GPUs, including the new supercomputers announced this year. Microsoft is also investing heavily in OpenAI, starting in 2019.

What does the ChatGPT 'At Capacity' error mean?

Many ChatGPT users get a message saying that it is "not working" when they try to access the site. This is probably behind an attempt to use unofficial paid applications that have already flooded the app stores and are forcing thousands of people to pay for a free service.

Since the cost of running ChatGPT is high, it seems that OpenAI restricts access when its servers are "at capacity". The wait can take up to several hours, but if you're patient, you'll eventually get through. Of all the problems ChatGPT is facing right now, this one has been the biggest obstacle keeping people from using it more. In some cases, demand has been so high that ChatGPT has shut down for a few hours for maintenance on multiple occasions over the past few months.

Recently, however, this problem has become less of an issue as demand has normalized and OpenAI has learned to better manage traffic, but it still makes itself felt from time to time in the middle of the day.

ChatGPT's latest controversy

While ChatGPT is a very useful tool, it is not without its problems. It is notorious for making mistakes or "hallucinating" when it comes up with an answer to something it does not know. A simple example of how unreliable it can be is misidentifying the Prime Minister of Japan.

Many people are concerned not only about the bugs, but also about how this human-like generative AI could affect the future of the internet, so much so that thousands of tech leaders and prominent public figures have signed a petition demanding that its development be slowed down. It was even banned in Italy on privacy grounds, along with complaints from the FTC, though that decision has now been reversed. The FTC has since reopened an investigation against OpenAI over its handling of consumers' personal data.

Speaking of bans: a number of high-profile companies, including Samsung, Amazon, Verizon, and even the US Congress, have banned the use of ChatGPT internally. Apple also made the list, although Tim Cook announced that he was using ChatGPT just a few weeks after it was banned.

There is also a fear that generative AI like ChatGPT could lead to a large number of job losses - up to 300 million worldwide, according to Goldman Sachs.

In addition, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the use of ChatGPT for tasks that a real person should probably be doing.

For example, Vanderbilt University's Peabody School was recently attacked for creating an email about mass shootings and the importance of community. In addition, JPMorgan Chase restricts the use of artificial intelligence chatbots for employees, especially for generating emails, something that companies like Apple have also banned internally.

The biggest controversy that has erupted since the release has been ChatGPT's performance in the Wharton MBA exam. According to the school, ChatGPT scored a B to B on the MBA exam and gave "perfect" answers.

Finally, according to one user, ChatGPT was even able to generate keys for Windows 11 for free. Of course, ChatGPT is not intended to be used in this way, but the important thing is that it was able to "trick" it into generating keys.

Can ChatGPT be detected?

Teachers, school administrators and developers are already finding various ways around this problem and banning the use of ChatGPT in schools. Others are more optimistic about the possibilities of using ChatGPT in teaching, but plagiarism will undoubtedly continue to be an educational problem in the future. There are ideas about how ChatGPT can "watermark" your text and solve the plagiarism problem, but for now, detecting ChatGPT is incredibly difficult.

ChatGPT recently released a new version of its own plagiarism detection tool, hoping that it will alleviate criticism of its use of text generation. It uses a new feature called "AI text classifier" that works on a principle familiar to other plagiarism detection programs. However, the tool is still under development and is "imperfect," according to OpenAI.

Other tools, such as GPTZero, also claim to help detect plagiarism in ChatGPT. Although they work, additional editing of AI responses can still help these tools.

Common ChatGPT use cases

That's what's most interesting about it. Since the chatbot's launch, people have been experimenting trying to figure out what it can and can't do, and some of the results have been mind-boggling.

However, it takes a bit of experimentation to learn exactly which prompts and follow-ups ChatGPT responds well to. Just as we have learned how to get the information we need from traditional search engines, it can take some time to get the best results from ChatGPT. If you're looking to get started, we've got a selection of the best ChatGPT tips for you.

It all depends on what you want to get out of it. For starters, try using it, for example, to write template blog posts or even blocks of code if you're a programmer.

Our authors also experimented with ChatGPT, trying to see if it could handle holiday shopping or even correctly interpret astrological makeup. In both cases, we found limitations in capabilities, but were very impressed with the results.

But the fun part is trying it out for yourself. Regardless of whether you think ChatGPT is an amazing technology or if you think it will destroy the Internet as we know it, it's worth trying out to see what it can do.

However, there is nothing to ask. OpenAI has safeguards in place to "create safe and useful general-purpose artificial intelligence." This means that any questions containing hate, sexism, racism or discrimination are generally not allowed.

What are ChatGPT plugins?

The announcement of ChatGPT plugins has caused quite a stir in the developer community, with some calling it "the most powerful developer platform ever created." Artificial intelligence enthusiasts compare it to the surge of interest in the iOS app store when it first appeared, greatly expanding the capabilities of the iPhone.

Essentially, developers will be able to create plugins directly for ChatGPT, opening it up to the entire Internet and connecting directly to application-specific APIs. This is ChatGPT in the real world. Examples cited by OpenAI include the ability for applications to perform actions on behalf of a user, real-time information, and access to knowledge-based information.

It's currently only available on a waiting list, but early applications for plugins with ChatGPT include Expedia, Instacart, Slack, and OpenTable - and there are plenty of options to explore now, including what we think are the best ChatGPT plugins to try out.

Is there a ChatGPT API?

In addition to the ChatGPT app itself, many apps have announced collaborations with OpenAI using the ChatGPT API. Currently, the most prominent example is Snapchat's MyAI.

It's essentially a way for developers to access ChatGPT and embed its natural language capabilities directly into applications and websites. We've already seen it used in a variety of cases, from suggesting components in the Newegg PC builder to mapping out a travel itinerary with just a few words.

What is the future of ChatGPT and GPT-5?

There's no doubt that the tech world is obsessed with ChatGPT right now, and that trend isn't slowing down anytime soon. ChatGPT-4, the next iteration of the model, has officially launched, although it is currently only available for ChatGPT Plus. However, we do know that Bing Chat is at least partially built on the GPT-4 language model, even if some elements, such as visual input, are not available.

But the more significant development will be the further integration of ChatGPT into other applications. Microsoft has reportedly made a multi-billion dollar investment in ChatGPT, which has already started to pay off. The first integration took place in Teams Premium, where some OpenAI features were used to automate tasks and provide transcripts. Most notably, Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot, which integrates ChatGPT's natural-language prompts directly into Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and others.

Early reports have surfaced that GPT-5 is on its way and could graduate later this year, with some claiming it will reach AGI (general purpose artificial intelligence) levels. That's a big and controversial claim, but clearly things are moving at a rapid pace.

OpenAI has since stated that GPT-5 is not on the schedule and is not currently planned. However, the next version, GPT-4.5, is in the pipeline and could be available later this year. OpenAI said that planning could be completed as early as September or October.

If you think artificial intelligence is a big deal, wait until it's built into the most common applications used for work and school.

Alternatives to ChatGPT that you should try

ChatGPT remains the most popular artificial intelligence chatbot to date, but it's not completely devoid of competition. The biggest competitor is Microsoft's Bing Chat, which uses the OpenAI GPT-4 model as the basis for its responses. Although it requires you to download the Edge browser to use it, Bing Chat is free and offers a number of additional features such as different writing modes, image creation and link search. It even received a major update recently with features such as exporting, third-party plugins, and multimodal support. There is also YouChat, which uses GPT-3, an older model from OpenAI, and Forefront AI, which provides access to GPT-4 and later.

ChatGPT's biggest non-GPT competitor is Google Bard. It is based on Google's own LaMDA language model, and Google seems intent on directly competing with OpenAI with Google Bard. Recent updates make it a much more attractive alternative to ChatGPT, although it is not yet complete.

There are a number of other chatbots, some of which are based on Meta's open source LLaMA language model, such as Vicuna and HuggingChat.

Other information about ChatGPT

Are ChatGPT chats private?

It depends on what you mean by "private". All ChatGPT chats are used by OpenAI for further model customization, for which human instructors may be involved. No, this does not mean that a human is looking at every question you ask ChatGPT, but OpenAI cautions against giving ChatGPT any personal information for a reason.

It should be noted that if you do not delete chats, the conversations will be displayed in the left sidebar. Unlike other chatbots, individual chats within a conversation cannot be deleted, although they can be edited using the pencil icon that appears when you hover over the chat. However, when you delete conversations, ChatGPT doesn't forget about them - they simply disappear from the conversation history in the sidebar.

Fortunately, OpenAI recently announced the ability to make chats hidden from the sidebar. These "hidden" chats will also not be used to train AI models.

When was ChatGPT released?

ChatGPT was originally introduced to the public in November 2022 by OpenAI. The chatbot is based on GPT-3.5 LLM, which is a refined version of GPT-3, a model first introduced on March 15, 2022. The GPT-3 itself, however, has been around for several years. It was first released in June 2020, but only as an autoregressive language model.

GPT-3's predecessors had very limited public visibility. GPT-2 was announced in February 2019, and the first research paper on GPT was published on the OpenAI website in 2018.

Most likely, chatbots will not replace, but will be integrated directly into search. Microsoft has already done this with Bing Chat and Bing, which puts a "Chat" tab right in the Bing search menu.

Even Google has started experimenting with integrating Google Bard intelligence into search with Search Generative Experience. We are at an early stage where this all exists as different products, but it's not hard to imagine a future where it's a fully unified experience.

Is Bing Chat the same as ChatGPT?

Microsoft has officially introduced ChatGPT to Bing in the form of Bing Chat. After a long period of beta testing, it is now officially available for trying out. But unlike ChatGPT, Bing Chat requires downloading the latest version of Edge. So Safari or Chrome users are out of luck.

In its early days, Bing Chat was capable of inadequate responses, but Microsoft has hastened to mitigate the situation somewhat. It was recently announced that Bing Chat uses the latest GPT-4 language model, meaning it's more powerful and accurate than ChatGPT. The new Edge Copilot mode also makes it easier to get started by offering hints, links for more information, and ways to customize response types. And now, with Windows Copilot, Bing Chat will live right on your desktop.

Is Google Bard the same as ChatGPT?

Unlike Bing Chat, Google Bard uses a completely different LLM model to handle natural language. Since its release, Bard has used its own LaMDA model, which stands for Language Model for Dialogue Applications. As the early days showed, Bard was not known for its accuracy of responses.

However, Bard will reportedly get a major upgrade in the near future, from 30 billion parameter training to 600 billion parameters. This may bring it closer to the capabilities of GPT-4.

Can you write abstracts using ChatGPT?

The use of ChatGPT is controversial, with many believing that the power of artificial intelligence will change everything from search engines to novel writing. It has even demonstrated the ability to bring students surprisingly good essay grades.

Writing essays for students is one of the most obvious examples of where ChatGPT can be a problem. ChatGPT may not be as good at writing this article, but it seems particularly handy to use when writing essays. Some generative AI tools, such as Caktus AI, are built specifically for this purpose.

Can ChatGPT write and debug code?

This is certainly one of the most powerful features of ChatGPT. As with everything related to artificial intelligence, you will have to double-check everything it creates, as it will not always understand your code correctly. But it is certainly a powerful tool for both writing code from scratch and debugging it.

Developers use it to build websites, apps and games from scratch - of course, all made more powerful by GPT-4. There's even a ChatGPT Code Interpreter plug-in that makes AI programming even more accessible.

What is the character limit in ChatGPT?

OpenAI does not set an exact character limit, but it will cut off its responses at about 500 words or 4,000 characters. If you accidentally ask the chatbot for a certain number of words beyond 500, you may find that it will break in the middle of a sentence somewhere after 500 words.

One way around this is to simply ask him to "continue" or "continue", but it depends on the prompt and the type of response. Sometimes ChatGPT more or less exactly repeats previous answers in other words.

The best way to access responses with longer characters is to go to ChatGPT Plus.

Is there a ChatGPT bug bounty program?

Yes. A bug bounty program for ChatGPT was recently announced. The program was officially introduced on the OpenAI website, which details the types of "monetary rewards" offered. They range from $200 to $20k for so-called "exceptional discoveries".

Addressing security researchers interested in participating in the program, OpenAI said it recognizes "the critical importance of security and sees it as a collaborative effort. By sharing your findings, you will play a critical role in making our technologies safer for everyone."

Do you need to download ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is available via a web page, so no download is required. However, OpenAI has finally released a free official iOS app that must be downloaded from the iOS app store. For months, various app stores have been full of fake versions. However, they still exist and should be installed and used with caution as they are not official ChatGPT apps. An official Android app still does not exist.

However, on a desktop computer, there are several ways to install ChatGPT. First, you can go to the ChatGPT website and save it as an application for Windows via Edge. Go to the site, click the menu with the multi-dot and hover over Apps . Select Install this site as an app to download ChatGPT from your desktop.

Other tools, such as MacGPT, also allow you to use shortcuts to access the browser service from the desktop. Recently, OpenAI has made the ChatGPT API available to everyone, and we have seen a surge in the number of tools using this technology, such as Discord's Clyde chatbot.

Can I use ChatGPT on my iPhone or Android?

Now that there's an official iOS app, you no longer have to rely only on the web app to use ChatGPT on your phone. So, whether you download the official app through the app store or just the web version, you can use ChatGPT on your iPhone. The iPhone also has the option to replace Siri with ChatGPT, as well as some useful mobile apps like Perplexity AI.

As for Android, you'll have to rely on the web app. As on desktop, type chat.openai.com to start using ChatGPT.

Can you get ChatGPT to answer any of the questions?

Not really. ChatGPT has limitations on the range of questions it can answer. First, he can't write about anything that requires knowledge of the Internet after the end of 2021, when his training stopped.

In addition, ChatGPT is careful to answer questions that may imply illegal, explicit, or harmful activity, avoids swearing and political debate, and (generally) does not create malware. It is possible to do some jailbreaking to get around these restrictions, but OpenAI is constantly tightening its content policy to limit unwanted responses.

What is Auto-GPT?

Auto-GPT, built on top of GPT-4, is the latest evolution of artificial intelligence technology that has caused a stir in the industry. It is not directly related to ChatGPT or OpenAI - it is an open source Python application that has made its way into the hands of developers all over the Internet after being published on GitHub.

When using ChatGPT or ChatGPT Plus, the AI is limited to a single chat window. Auto-GPT, at its simplest, makes the AI autonomous. It is tasked with a specific task and then performs the necessary actions to achieve it via the Internet, including connecting to applications and software.

According to the official description on GitHub, Auto-GPT is "an experimental open source application that demonstrates the capabilities of the GPT-4 language model. This GPT-4-driven program ties together the "thoughts" of the LLM to autonomously achieve any goal you set. As one of the first examples of fully autonomous GPT-4 operation, Auto-GPT pushes the boundaries of what is possible in artificial intelligence."

The demo provided on the GitHub page is simple - just create a recipe suitable for Easter and save it to a file. What's interesting is how Auto-GPT breaks down the steps an AI takes to achieve a goal, including the "thoughts" and "reasoning" behind its actions. Auto-GPT is already being used in various applications, and some are calling it the beginning of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) because of its autonomous nature.

What is GPT-4 and how does it compare to GPT-3.5?

GPT-4 is a more advanced LLM - the most powerful LLM currently offered by OpenAI. OpenAI currently provides access to GPT-4 only through ChatGPT Plus. GPT-3.5, in turn, is the LLM on which the free ChatGPT tool runs. OpenAI no longer says how many parameters these advanced models are trained on, but rumor has it that GPT-4 may contain up to 1 trillion parameters.

Be that as it may, we can tell from the results that GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 are quite different in quality. It offers much more accurate responses, handles coding and creative collaboration much better, and can provide (and respond to) much longer pieces of text. GPT-4 remains the best model available, while GPT-3.5 is more in line with some of the other models available.

This issue is open to debate. There is a lot of talk around copyright and AI, with some claiming that generative AI is "stealing" the work of those it was trained on. This issue is becoming increasingly controversial in the AI art world. Companies like Adobe are finding ways around this issue by training models only on stock image libraries that already have the appropriate copyrights and legal boundaries.

However, according to OpenAI, you have the right to reprint, sell, and advertise anything created with ChatGPT or ChatGPT Plus. Therefore, OpenAI is not going to sue you.

The broader topic of copyright with respect to generative AI has yet to be addressed by various legislators and interpreters of the law, especially since copyright law as it currently stands technically only protects human-generated content.

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You can create a plugin to solve these problems and still improve usability for everyone, as they can simply install your plugin and use it! The only question that remains is, how do I get access to the exclusive alpha of plugins that OpenAI is hosting and how do I create a plugin for ChatGPT?

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