Last year, I read a series of "whodunit sci-fi" books called the Panopticon serie. The premise is simple: due to climate change, summers grew hotter and hotter until a massive firestorm ravaged the planet, killing billions of people. As a result, nation-states broke down and stringent measures were taken to reduce carbon emissions and save civilization from collapse. One of these measures, a 24/7 surveillance system called the panopticon that streams everything you do on a public network, is what has saved society from collapsing entirely.
Although this premise raises interesting moral conundrums, the books do not focus on that. Instead, we follow two genius brothers who have invented a technology that can sift through the immense amount of data from the panopticon and provide answers to almost any question. This technology is presented as a conversational oracle that is accessed through devices or AR/VR glasses. The technology can also be used to create videogames that "predict" the future based on the data from the panopticon.
Does it remind you of something?
Recently I wrote this piece:
Clearly i did not expect OpenAI to publish a novel Chatbot based on GPT-3 and make that article obsolete so quickly.
ChatGPT as a copywriter
I decided to try the same experiment, this time I wanted ChatGPT to explain why it is just a chatbot but not a sentient machine. ChatGPT is inclined to be brief, so you need to poke it a little to produce longer text.
Here’s the prompt:
Can you write an article of 2000 words in which you explain why ChatGPT is the most advanced chatbot, and a replacement for search engines in future, but not able to "reason" or be sentient
And here’s the response:
ChatGPT is a large language model trained by OpenAI that is capable of generating human-like text and providing responses to user input. As a chatbot, ChatGPT is highly advanced and can provide information and engage in conversations in a way that may seem natural to users.
However, despite its advanced capabilities, it is important to understand that ChatGPT is not a sentient machine and does not possess the ability to "reason" or think independently. It is a tool designed to assist users in generating text or providing information based on its training.
While ChatGPT may be considered a replacement for search engines in the future due to its ability to provide information and engage in conversations with users, it is not able to replace the reasoning and decision-making capabilities of a human being.
One of the key limitations of ChatGPT and other large language models is their inability to understand the context or meaning behind the words they generate. They are only able to provide responses based on the input they receive and the text they were trained on, and do not have the ability to truly understand the information they provide.
This lack of understanding and reasoning ability means that ChatGPT and other large language models cannot be considered true replacements for human intelligence. They are advanced tools that can assist users in generating text or providing information, but they are not capable of independent thought or decision-making.
In the future, ChatGPT and other large language models may continue to evolve and become even more advanced. However, it is unlikely that they will ever be able to replace the unique abilities of human intelligence, such as the ability to reason and think independently.
In conclusion, ChatGPT is a highly advanced chatbot that has the potential to replace search engines in the future. However, it is important to understand that it is not a sentient machine and does not possess the ability to reason or think independently. It is a tool that can assist users in generating text and providing information, but it cannot replace the unique abilities of human intelligence.
This is a fair enough piece, I am sure you can publish this in an instant article somewhere but nothing mindblowing.
But here’s something in which ChatGPT shines: changing the tone of voice.
For example:
Can you make it sound like a LinkedIn influencer?
and here’s the response:
ChatGPT is a game-changing chatbot trained by OpenAI. With its advanced capabilities, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way we access information and engage with technology.
As a highly advanced chatbot, ChatGPT can provide information and engage in conversations in a way that feels natural and intuitive to users. In the future, ChatGPT has the potential to replace traditional search engines and provide a more personalized and engaging experience.
But what sets ChatGPT apart from other chatbots? Unlike other chatbots, ChatGPT is not limited by a pre-determined set of responses or a fixed knowledge base. Instead, it is trained on a vast amount of text and can generate responses based on the input it receives from users. This allows ChatGPT to provide a wider range of information and engage in more diverse conversations.
Despite its advanced capabilities, it's important to remember that ChatGPT is not a sentient machine. It does not have the ability to "reason" or think independently, and is not capable of replacing the unique abilities of human intelligence. Instead, ChatGPT is a tool that can assist users in generating text and providing information.
As we move into the future, ChatGPT and other large language models will continue to evolve and become even more advanced. But for now, ChatGPT is a powerful and versatile chatbot that has the potential to change the way we interact with technology. So, if you want to stay ahead of the curve and access the latest and greatest in chatbot technology, be sure to check out ChatGPT.
This is just beautiful! And of course you can play with many styles, you can even make it rhyme, but my favorite one is the hardboiled detective tone:
ChatGPT, huh? You want to know about that fancy-pants chatbot, do you? Well, let me tell you, ChatGPT is one tough cookie.
Trained by OpenAI, ChatGPT is a no-nonsense chatbot that can provide information and engage in conversations like nobody's business. With its advanced capabilities, ChatGPT has the potential to replace traditional search engines and become a top-notch investigator in its own right.
But don't let its smooth-talking ways fool you. ChatGPT may be able to generate responses on the fly, but it's not a sentient machine. It doesn't have the ability to "reason" or think for itself. Instead, ChatGPT is a tool, a means to an end.
Still, you gotta respect ChatGPT's grit. It's been trained on a mountain of text and can spit out information like a Gatling gun. And when it comes to tracking down the answers you need, ChatGPT is a veritable bloodhound.
So, if you want to stay one step ahead of the game and access the best in chatbot technology, give ChatGPT a try. But remember, it's not a replacement for good old-fashioned human intelligence. It's just a tool, and a darn good one at that.
ChatGPT as the wisdom of the crowd engine
Of course people started doing all kind of things with ChatGPT! This is so exciting!
But sometimes I worry that people are taking the wrong lesson out of it. For example:
I am a fan of what Aaron Levie has been doing with Box, and I know that when he talks about "reasoning," he doesn't mean intelligence or the creation of knowledge. But I worry that this may not be clear to everyone, especially people are not acquainted with the topic.
What the bot is doing here is not reasoning about business but rather summarizing the writings of many people in the training corpus and combining them to create novel content.
It is a machine that determines the "wisdom of the crowd," and if you believe that the wisdom of the crowd is generally correct, this could be the future of search engines. In fact, connecting this engine to the Horizon AR/VR glasses from Meta might be the "killer app" for augmented reality.
A future changing moment?
Technological discoveries often work in this way: many different inventions are needed before an industrial revolution can occur. For example, we have known how to harness the power of steam since ancient times, but the industrial revolution did not happen until thousands of years later.
I have a strong feeling that the pieces are now falling into place for the fifth industrial revolution, which will be driven by AI. However, I fear that people (especially governments) will continue to mistake software that seems intelligent for actual intelligence. So, like the main character of the Panopticon books, I will keep reminding everyone that this is just a chatbot, albeit a very good one.
P.S. I have asked ChatGPT to edit for clarity all the larger pieces of this post