ChatGPT: What is it, how does it work and why is Google tracking it?

First launched late last year, ChatGPT has become an online sensation due to its ability to carry natural conversations but also create speeches, songs and essays (Screengrab/PA).

Google has confirmed that it will launch its own artificial intelligence chatbot following the success of competing service ChatGPT.

First launched late last year, ChatGPT has become an online sensation for its ability to have natural conversations as well as create speeches, songs, and essays.

Here’s a closer look at the technology, how it works, and why it’s caught the public’s attention.

– What exactly is ChatGPT?

Basically, ChatGPT is an AI-powered conversational chatbot designed to answer questions and respond to text requests in a way that sounds natural and human.

Developed by the US company OpenAI, it uses information from the Internet to execute queries and has been trained in back and forth conversations, so it is able to understand follow-up questions, admit its own faults, limitations and inappropriate ones reject requests.

– Why has it become so popular?

While chatbot technology like this is not new, ChatGPT is rare in that it has been made available for the public to use and experiment with.

As a result, it was quickly used to fulfill unusual and very specific requests – like writing a song in the style of a certain pop star about a topic that’s been in the news at the moment – with often impressively accurate results being shared online.

Word of the bot’s ability to craft long, detailed answers on often niche topics spread quickly, sparking debate about the power, usefulness, and potential dangers of such technology, while also catching the attention of many people for being drawn to this type of Software for the first time.

– What is the goal of software like ChatGPT?

At the moment, OpenAI researchers are keen to learn more about its strengths and weaknesses – so anyone can go online to try it out and test their skills.

Demand has been so great that the chatbot isn’t always available, and OpenAI just announced a paid subscription tier to complement the free access.

However, many experts believe that the ultimate goal of chatbots is to be used as a next-generation search engine.

The idea is that a really powerful chatbot would be able to take the kind of query people type into a search engine today and return a single definitive answer, rather than the web-linked pages we currently see.

– So this is why Google is launching its own AI chatbot?

Yes. There have been reports that Google has been alarmed by ChatGPT’s rapid success and public breakthrough, and it has been suggested that the company fears it could jeopardize its position as the world’s leading search engine in the long term.

The US tech giant has now announced that its own chatbot, called Bard, will soon be rolled out to the public free of charge with a select group of testers.

It will use Google’s own conversation tool called Lamda and will crucially use Google’s search engine to get the information it needs to construct responses.

This could give Bard an edge over ChatGPT, which currently relies on an internet-based database as it will in 2021.

But there are also reports that Microsoft — which has invested heavily in OpenAI — is on the verge of integrating ChatGPT with its Bing search engine.

– Are there any concerns about this technology?

A variety of concerns have been raised about the proliferation of programs like ChatGPT and Bard, including fears that the technology could take human jobs, including in a range of typing jobs.

The software used to create essays has also raised concerns about the use of such apps by teens to complete school and college assignments, while also calling into question the ability of ChatGPT and others to identify and avoid spreading misinformation became.

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