ChatGPT
You may not think that ChatGPT is important to you, or even relevant…but it is, and you don’t even have a choice. In its very short life since November 2022, ChatGPT has become integrated with the primary internet search engines, embraced by the top technology giants, and has become an irreversible way of the future. It’s OK to not care about ChatGPT, but since it now affects us all, I’d like to offer you a simple explanation of what it is and what it does. And from this, I hope you’ll see a glimpse of its potential, not only globally, but in your own world.
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that allows you to have human-like conversations and other interactions with a chatbot. The language model can answer questions and assist you with tasks, such as composing emails, writing essays, and even writing complex programming code. It could assist someone in opening a business, planning a wedding, or literally anything you could imagine to ask.
Think of it in more simplified terms – you could ask it the following – “My grandkids, ages 10 and 12, both boys, will be visiting me for a week this summer. Plan one thing fun for them to do each day they’re here. Keep the travel within 50 miles of Tellico Village, TN and recommend a highly rated restaurants for lunch each day”. ChatGPT would plan this week and you would be amazed at how much detail it would provide…like places to go, what to do, hours for all the events or places it finds, and for the most part, it would plan a perfect itinerary. Obviously, it’s only a starting point, and you could easily refine it.
Who made ChatGPT?
ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, an AI and research company. The company launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022.
How big a deal is ChatGPT?
It’s huge. And it’s actually scary good! ChatGPT had over 100 million active users in January, only two months after its launch. For comparison, it took nine months for TikTok to reach 100 million users. Currently, the number of users is so high, it can’t be accurately determined.
How can you access ChatGPT?
You can access ChatGPT simply by going to http://chat.openai.com and creating an OpenAI account. Once you sign in, you can start chatting away with ChatGPT. Get your conversation started by simply asking it some questions. Because ChatGPT is still in its research stage, it is free, and you can ask as many questions as you’d like. You can also access ChatGPT on your iPhone, using the ChatGPT app from the App Store (be sure to install the ChatGPT app labeled with “The official app by OpenAI”
How much does ChatGPT cost?
ChatGPT is free to use. There is an available subscription option (ChatGPT Plus) that users can take advantage of that costs $20/month. The paid subscription model guarantees users extra perks, such as general access, even at capacity, faster response times, and access to the internet through plugins. However, the free version is still a very solid option as it has mostly the same technical abilities.
My take on ChatGPT
There is so much hype around ChatGPT and it has tremendous potential, but it can’t do everything – it’s not magic. By now, it’s incorporation into our top search engines has transformed what was already amazing into an infinite knowledge source with endless potential. Occasionally, ChatGPT writes plausible sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers, so you’ll need to temper its responses with some common sense. Hmm…I wonder if I could ask it to write next month’s newsletter?
Larry McJunkin, President
Tellico Villager Computer Users Club