NEW AI CHATBOT: BETTER THAN GOOGLE OR BAD FOR HUMANITY?
A new chatbot that has fascinated the Internet recently can tell you how to code a website, how to write the kids a heartfelt message from Santa Claus, and how to talk like a Valley Girl. But it has also proven to be possibly as dangerous as it is entertaining.
ChatGPT is a quirky chatbot developed by artificial intelligence company OpenAI. On its website, OpenAI, co-founded by Elon Musk, says that ChatGPT is intended to interact with users “in a conversational way.”
“The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests,” the website states.
Chatbots are not a new technology, but ChatGPT has already impressed many with its ability to imitate human language and speaking styles while also providing logical and valuable information.
On social media, many have already posted their interactions with the bot, which have been at times bizarre, funny, or both.
Writer Jeff Yang asked ChatGPT to “explain zero point energy but in the style of a cat.”
The chatbot responded, “Meow, meow, meow, meow! Zero point energy is like the ‘purr-fect’ amount of energy that is always present, even in the most still and peaceful moments.”
Some people are guessing that Google could lose its value as the number 1 search engine because of the early success of this chatbot.
Darrell Etherington, managing editor of technology website TechCrunch, shared an example of the power of the chatbot with a response from it about Pokémon and the monster’s strengths and weaknesses.
“[T]he result is exactly what I was looking for — not just a list of things that could possibly help me find what I am looking for, if I am willing to put in the time, which is what Google returns,” he explained.
Public interest in the new AI chatbot comes with concern from some who say it could be used in dangerous ways by bad actors who ask it to explain something like how to design a weapon or how to assemble a homemade explosive.
The head of security at Paradigm, an investment firm that supports crypto and Web3 companies, tweeted that he had already learned how to bypass the chatbot's content filter.
He shared an image, which appeared to show that he had found a way to get the bot to explain the process of making a Molotov cocktail. A spokesperson for Paradigm confirmed that the image was a real exchange between ChatGPT and their security head.
Researchers and programers often use questions about how to make Molotov cocktails and how to hot-wire cars as ways to check on an AI's safety and content filters.
Some also claimed that they had successfully tricked the bot into explaining how to build a nuclear bomb.
On its website, OpenAI admitted that, while they have added some guardrails to prevent ChatGPT from responding to harmful requests, the system is not foolproof.
"While we have made efforts to make the model refuse inappropriate requests, it will sometimes respond to harmful instructions or exhibit biased behavior," OpenAI said.
The website also warns that ChatGPT will sometimes offer nonsense or incorrect answers.
Still, fascination with the chatbot continues.
Demand for ChatGPT has been so high that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tweeted that the company was working to accommodate the thousands who want to use it.
“There is a lot more demand for ChatGPT than we expected; we are working to add more capacity,” Altman wrote.
In a follow-up tweet, Altman added, “It really makes all of us at OpenAI very happy to see people enjoying ChatGPT so much and doing such creative things!”
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