* By Otto Pohlmann
Be enthusiastic, be a “hater”. ChatGPT is already the talk of the year in the area tech. The artificial intelligence platform created by the company OpenAI became the fastest growing application in history when it reached 100 million active users in January, just two months after its launch. The reason for all this support permeates the technological innovations involved in the project, considered by many to be revolutionary. The new bot AI technology promises to chat, write poems, song lyrics, recipes and even create computer programs.
ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence trained based on a conversation model. In other words, its algorithm was based on neural networks and machine learning, focusing on dialogues. The idea behind this project is to improve the experience and features offered by virtual assistants, such as Alexa or Google Assistant.
The bonus of the tool (and the burden, perhaps – we'll talk more later) is precisely in offering the user a simple way to chat and obtain contextualized answers. The artificial intelligence model has several layers that allow the platform to pay attention to key points, context and the different meanings of words. This is an extremely advanced text generation model. In principle, ChatGPT is free, but a paid access model has already been established by OpenAI, including for the Brazilian market.
Platform is still in the learning phase
As it is a very new technology, ChatGPT is still learning how to respond and search. According to the company's website, the platform has some limitations so far:
– May occasionally generate incorrect information.
– May occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content.
– Has limited knowledge about the world and events occurring after 2021.
Can misuse happen?
Although the system integrates resources that prevent its use in harmful ways, such as foul terms and content that reinforces stereotypes or aspects of prejudice, the concern surrounding the technology is its misuse for cheating.
Students can use ChatGPT to submit exemplary essays, for example, professionals who use texts as work tools will also be able to access the tool for this purpose, or who knows, be replaced by it? BuzzFeed, for example, has already announced the layoff of writers and said it will use ChatGPT more to create content based on lists or tests.
In an article on the website The Atlantic, California high school teacher Daniel Herman points out the fear regarding student learning. In the professor's view, it is possible to compare this type of resource with the invention of the calculator – which made calculations easier – and the mechanical piano – which “steals” communication through human emotion.
Associate professor of communication at Maryville University Dustin York prefers to be more optimistic and understands that it is possible to use ChatGPT as a tool to help students think critically. When used well, it can even be useful for studying for tests and competitions, and more: helping teachers themselves in preparing classes.
Ultimately, when a recently launched technological revolution knocks on the door, there are always two sides of the coin at play, so the sky is still the limit. The controversy lies precisely in this aspect: how far can it go?
Like it or not, ChatGPT gave a hint of what we can expect about the future of technology in terms of interaction between the user and artificial intelligence. In practice, many things will change. But there are still questions that haunt many thoughts: can robots replace philosophical ideas or human sensitivity? Is it possible to create a more collaborative world between men and machines? Will the risks of cheating and fraud always be linked to technology? Well, for now, let's wait for the scenes from the next chapters.
*Otto Pohlmann is CEO of Centric Solution, a technology company that provides end-to-end solutions to meet security and GDPR requirements, with a focus on implementation, training and support, in order to help sustain the development of businesses of all sizes and sectors
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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