KOCHI: ChatGPT is taking the world by storm. The AI-powered chatbot has been “blowing everybody’s mind”, screams a headline on the web. Some call it the next big tech revolution after the internet.
Artificial intelligence has been part of our lives for quite some time now. What, however, makes the ChatGPT special is that it has brought scientific progress closer to the common man. It is easy to use, and ‘communicates’ in layman’s language.
It, in fact, reminds one of the Joaquin Phoenix-starrer Her (2013), in which a writer falls in love with an AI-powered operating system with emotional capacities.
Billionaire tycoon Elon Musk summed it up at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Wednesday. “ChatGPT has illustrated to people just how advanced AI has become. It has been advanced for a while, it just didn’t have a user interface that was accessible to most people,” he said.
The impact of ChatGPT became evident with Google announcing a rival named ‘Bard’ on February 6. Analysts noted there was a sense of “panic” at Google, as Microsoft was integrating ChatGPT with its Bing search engine.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai described AI as the “most profound technology we are working on today”.
“Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills,” he added.
However, the launch did not go well, as a factual error was highlighted during the “rushed” demo. Now, Sundar has asked employees to spend “two to four hours of their day” on fine-tuning Bard.
While the tech world is all gung-ho about the new revolution spurred by ChatGPT, there have been concerns over loss of jobs, and cheating by students. Notably, internal experiments saw ChatGPT pass exams at the University of Minnesota Law School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business in the US.
Many analysts have also pointed out that even school students could use ChatGPT to write essays and do their homework. With so much international discussion on this ‘disruptor’, I decided to have an interaction with it. Edited excerpts:
Who are you?
I am an AI language model created by OpenAI, designed to respond to your questions and have conversations on various topics. My training data includes a wide range of information, so I can help with many different types of questions and tasks.
Where are you based?
I don’t have a physical location, but I am developed and maintained by OpenAI, a research laboratory based in San Francisco, California, USA.
Will you replace humans in workplaces?
As an AI language model, I do not have the physical capacity to replace humans in workplaces. However, automation and artificial intelligence technologies are transforming many industries and may lead to changes in the types of jobs available and the skills required to perform them. It’s worth noting that while automation can replace certain tasks, it cannot replace the value that humans bring to many jobs, such as creativity, empathy, and complex problem-solving.
I’m bored.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re feeling bored! Here are a few suggestions for things you could do to pass the time:
Crack a joke.
Sure, here’s a joke for you:
Why did the tomato turn red?
Because it saw the salad dressing!
Another one.
I apologize if the previous joke didn’t make you laugh. Let me try again:
Why don’t scientists trust atoms?
Because they make up everything!
Okay, write a poem on Kerala in Lord Byron’s style. Six lines.
In Kerala’s land, the palm trees grow,
And backwaters gleam with gentle flow,
The fragrant spices fill the air,
A paradise, so lush and fair.
Amidst the hills and verdant glades,
A poet finds his heart’s own shades.
Have you heard of Kerala parotta?
Yes, I have heard of Kerala parotta! It is a type of flatbread that is popular in the Indian state of Kerala. The parotta is made from maida flour…. The dough is then stretched and beaten repeatedly to create many layers, which gives the parotta its characteristic flaky texture. Kerala parotta is often served with spicy curries, such as chicken or vegetable curry, and is a popular street food in Kerala and other parts of South India.
Heard of Swapna Suresh?
Yes, Swapna Suresh is a name that has been in the news in India in recent times. She was an employee at the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL) and was arrested in July 2020 in connection with the smuggling of gold through diplomatic channels. The case has... garnered significant attention.
You are pretty smart.
Thank you for the compliment! I’m here to help with any questions or tasks you might have, so feel free to ask me anything.
‘Introduce in schools’
“Welcome to the future,” gushes Faizal A, director of IT Net, a leading electronics chain with operations across Kerala. “It is time for us to shift gears, upgrade ourselves” Faizal is a staunch advocate of AI and automation. “Man should be the king. Technology should be used to the max to make our tasks simpler, efforts lesser,” he says.
“I used ChatGPT recently to make a user manual on how to use ChatGPT! This thing saves a lot of time. It can compose emails, bullet points for PowerPoint presentations… it can even write rental deeds for you, as per Indian or US law, as per your instructions. It is vital to introduce such cutting-technology in schools.”
All the buzz over job losses is irrelevant, according to Faizal. “There were similar concerns when electricity supply became a reality, when the calculator was invented… Remember the din over computers? Remember the hue and cry over the internet, and social media? And then, what happened?” he asks.
“These are all part of evolution. ChatGPT signals the beginning of a new era.”
Popular ad filmmaker Satish Bhaskaran echoes similar views. “Actually, the reason why AI is suddenly gaining importance is because, right now, the ‘I’ (intelligence) people have is A – artificial,” he says. “On a serious note, tools such as ChatGPT enhance productivity. A lot will depend on how fast people adapt and use such tech to their advantage.”
A software techie with Dell, Renjith Maxy, however, believes ChatGPT and similar AI models will trigger job losses. “Take the case of content development,” he says. “ChatGPT can give you the same output of, say, four employees working over 24 hours within a few minutes.”
‘Friend, not foe’
Pooja Prasad, a senior content writer at LuLu Group’s Pearl Data Direct, is confident that ChatGPT is not going to snatch the jobs of content writers. “The human element is always needed,” she says.
“A designing software named Canva became a rage some time ago. Any layman can make designs using it. Did it lead to job losses? On the other hand, ChatGPT can help boost productivity. For instance, a content developer who spends eight hours on a project can wrap up work in four hours.”
Shankar Hariharan, managing director of Palakkad-based Vittoba Business Services, also believes ChatGPT can do wonders in increasing efficiency and saving resources. “A simple example is using ChatGPT to draft emails. It saves time and effort; all one needs to do is feed the subject,” he says.
“I also engage in conversations with ChatGPT to gain insights on specific subjects. It provides condensed info in a jiffy, and I don’t have to spend hours trawling the net.”
A lot of “mundane work” gets eliminated, he concludes. “In the employment scenario, yes, it will curb inefficiency. It can help companies save money spent on human resources that are in excess of the actual need.”