While many are still reeling at the often stupefying capabilities of ChatGPT, OpenAI — the tool’s maker — has already come out with an upgrade.
Observes Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI: “I don’t want to make it sound like we have solved reasoning or intelligence — which we certainly have not.
“But this is a big step forward from what is already out there.”
Some early adopters of the upgraded ChatGPT say they have seen the difference, indicating the tool seems smarter and more versatile than the previous version.
Others gripe that the upgraded tool is still imperfect, still prone to making up facts and can on occasion still blurt-out text that some may find offensive.
But for fans of AI writing, the upgrade is nothing but good news.
Currently, the software upgrade is only available to ChatGPT Plus users.
They pay $20/month for the Plus service — rather than using the original software, which is still free.
*In-Depth Guide: ChatGPT — A Demo of the Upgrade: Curiosity seekers looking for a firsthand glimpse of the changes to ChatGPT can check-out this 24-minute demo video from Open AI.
It offers a look at GPT-4, the upgraded AI software that drives ChatGPT — as well as a number of other AI writers that license the software as their underlying autowriting engine.
Included are demos of:
~GPT-4’s proficiency at advanced wordplay
~GPT-4’s enhanced ability to write computer code
~A beta version of GPT-4’s ability to use text to describe an image in detail — which could, for example, be used to describe — from a picture or video — what’s going on in a crowd, or who has a gun
~GPT-4’s ability to convert a hand-drawn mock-up of a Web site into a working Web site
*ChatGPT — First Take: The reviews on ChatGPT’s upgrade are starting to come in.
The New York Times’ verdict: ChatGPT is exciting and scary.
Specifically, this latest incarnation is better at answering questions, seems more comfortable with a wider range of tasks — and scored 1,410 on the SAT, according to writer Kevin Roose.
As for the scary part, according to Roose: “Today, GPT-4 may not seem all that dangerous.
“But that’s largely because OpenAI has spent many months trying to understand and mitigate its risks.
“What happens if its testing missed a risky emergent behavior?”
*Freelance Writer: How to Use AI to Help Make $115,000/Year: Freelance journalist Tony Dong credits much of his healthy writing earnings to ChatGPT.
Currently, Dong uses the AI writer mostly to come up with article titles, outlines and research.
But he cautions that ChatGPT has not worked for him as a ‘from-scratch-to-finish’ news article writer.
Dong’s experience in that effort: The writing ChatGPT auto-generates is too vague, too generalized and sometimes includes misleading references.
*Write an Article in Less Than 30 Minutes With AI: The maker of AI writer StoryLab.ai says the tool can be used to write an article in under 30 minutes.
This piece offers a step-by-step guide.
Like many AI writers, StoryLab.ai is designed to write a long-form piece, bit-by-bit.
One caveat: The resulting article is a general interest post that uses no quotes — and while effective — sounds a bit generic in tone.
*On the Horizon: More Powerful, Enhanced Memory ChatGPT: If things go well, ChatGPT users could some day use a version of the tool that can hold about 50 pages of text in memory while you work with it, according to writer Kyle Wiggers.
That enhancement would be profound, enabling someone working with ChatGPT to change, edit and refine a piece of text over and over again without worrying that the tool might forget what it’s working on and start spitting-out nonsense phrases.
Observes Wiggers of the software underlying ChatGPT: “With a bigger ‘memory,’ GPT-4 should be able to converse relatively coherently for hours — several days, even — as opposed to minutes.”
The magic keeps coming.
*Claude: AI-Writer for the Super-Sensitive is Released: ChatGPT users who succumb to ‘the vapors’ or similar when the tool auto-generates an off-color remark or worse may want to try-out Claude.
It’s an AI writer specifically designed to usher-forth wholly antiseptic pristine text creations — which ideally wouldn’t hurt a fly.
The downside: AI writers like Claude that are shackled by a significant amount of censoring routines tend to be less creative, given that the AI writers are essentially programmed to err on the side of censorship concerning anything that anyone under any circumstance and in any mood might consider offensive.
*ChatGPT Integration Coming for MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams: Microsoft continues to capitalize on its investment in wunderkind ChatGPT, announcing plans to integrate it into many of its key products.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft plans to take months to roll-out the upgrade across its customer base — opting to ‘go slow’ and work with a few choice customers at a time in an effort to iron-out any kinks.
Observes writer Tom Dotan: “The main feature the company will be releasing is what it calls the Microsoft 365 Copilot.
“It will be embedded inside its Microsoft 365 suite and allow users — through natural-language inputs — to generate documents, presentations and original text.”
*Generative AI Brings Cost of Creation Close to Zero: Many businesses that employ writers, graphic artists and the like have been often cagey when predicting the impact of ChatGPT and similar AI on the workforce.
But not Martin Casado, general partner, Andreessen Horowitiz.
Casado stated flatly at a recent tech summit that AI has essentially reduced the cost of creation to a song.
Adds Casado: “I think it’s (ChatGPT and similar) going to creep into our lives in ways we least expect it.”
*AI Big Picture: With AI, It’s a Funding Frenzy: ChatGPT’s feat of clocking one hundred million users by February 2023 — just two months after its release — has triggered a wave of new investment in ‘generative’ AI.
Write Erin Griffith and Cade Metz: “Over the past few months, a gold rush into start-ups working on ‘generative’ artificial intelligence has escalated into a no-holds-barred, deal-making mania.
“Investors desperate for the next big thing are competing fiercely to invest in these companies, offering some AI entrepreneurs nine-figure valuations for little more than an idea and a resume.”
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–Joe Dysart is editor of RobotWritersAI.com and a tech journalist with 20+ years experience. His work has appeared in 150+ publications, including The New York Times and the Financial Times of London.