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The fastest-growing consumer app of all time has taken the world and internet by storm. ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, was launched by San Francisco-based OpenAI in November 2022. A mere two months later, it had already attracted 100 million users. By comparison, it took TikTok nine months to reach that number and two-and-a-half years for Instagram. If you’re not already familiar with ChatGPT, here’s a great primer with everything you need (and want) to know.  

What’s in the name? The ‘chat’ part of the name is self-explanatory. You ask and it talks to you in text. GPT stands for Generative Pretrained Transformer, which means it can generate text on its own that is based on a user’s query. A user inputs a sentence, question, or request for information on any topic, and the transformer, an advanced language model, creates responses and presents them in paragraph form.  

The tool is designed to generate human-like text in its responses in a conversational and uncluttered manner. This high-quality, natural language processing technology is changing the learning and knowledge game. 

To say that ChatGPT is an innovative technology is woefully inadequate. It also seems diminutive to call it an AI chatbot. It is a substantial breakthrough in artificial intelligence that invites the entire world to join in and use it on a daily basis.  

Bill Gates on ChatGPT: Gates says that in his lifetime, he has seen two demonstrations of technology that struck him as revolutionary…

“The first time was in 1980 when I was introduced to a graphical user interface – the forerunner of every modern operating system, including Windows,” Gates says. The second time was when he witnessed the capabilities of ChatGPT. “The whole experience was stunning,” Gates says. “This inspired me to think about all the things that AI can achieve in the next five to 10 years… It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.”  

What’s great about it? The advantages of ChatGPT…  

• Who is using ChatGPT and how does it help? What’s notably great is that it’s for everyone and it’s simple to sign up and use it! While the public raced to the forefront of users, ChatGPT is much more than a consumer app. It is increasingly popular among professionals and companies in just about every industry. Marketers, programmers, educators, students, researchers, copywriters, doctors, scientists, journalists, and countless others are using the tool to make their work more informed and efficient.  
• How is everybody using it? Let us count the ways! Here are just a few examples from a list of 40 wide-ranging applications: It generates marketing content, helps people learn languages and performs language translation, writes code, debugs computer programs, creates lesson plans, drafts emails, gathers historical and research information, and even composes job descriptions. Since the data source is publicly available information, there are seemingly endless applications.  
• Accelerated development is improving our lives: The use of ChatGPT is transforming technology development paradigms, fast-tracking the creation of apps and solutions, including and especially their accuracy. One mammoth example is its ability to expedite the development and automation of cybersecurity solutions.  
• Taking care of customers and creating new ones: Companies can use the technology as a customer service tool to deliver fast, cost-effective, and personalized responses and communications to their customers, greatly reducing wait times for customers in need. The technology can also be used to engage customers and improve their overall experiences, as well as increase lead generation for new business development, and improve marketing, social media, and e-commerce program management. Many of these functions will soon become easier and more integrated. It was announced in March that Microsoft is bringing ChatGPT technology to Word, Excel, and Outlook.  
• Delivering the write stuff: ChatGPT is becoming a best friend to writers, editors, editorial planners, marketers, digital marketing specialists, and public relations professionals. It not only digs deep into user-designated subject matter but the ChatGPT Virtual Assistant can also generate ideas for topics to write about.  

What are the cons of using ChatGPT?  

• Is it accurate? Sometimes yes, sometimes no: ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers, according to its developer. Fixing this issue is challenging because: 1) During reinforcement learning (RL) training, there’s currently no source of truth; 2) Training the model to be more cautious causes it to decline questions that it can answer correctly; and 3) Supervised training misleads the model because the ideal answer depends on what the model knows, rather than what the human demonstrator knows. 
• You might have to ask in a different way: OpenAI also says ChatGPT is often excessively verbose and overuses certain phrases, and that it’s sensitive to tweaks to the input phrasing or attempting the same prompt multiple times. For example, given one phrasing of a question, the model can claim to not know the answer, but given a slight rephrase, can answer correctly. 
• Trust but verify: Much like point number one above, if enough information is publicly available, ChatGPT delivers accurate responses and details; however, if data is insufficient (i.e., no source of truth), ChatGPT will sometimes generate data that is not accurate or out of date. So, due to limited knowledge in existing data sets, you can’t always take responses at face value. Information should be verified and care should also be taken to avoid plagiarism. 
• Demand can exceed server capacity: Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT’s exploding global popularity has tested the limits of the OpenAI servers. At least for now, users must sometimes come back later when the server is less busy to explore queries, or to even sign up to use the technology. This isn’t ideal for professionals who use the technology for work, where reliability is key. 
• It can make the grade! Some school districts, as well as college professors, are concerned that students are using the technology to cheat. For example, the newest version, ChatGPT-4, a premium subscription service, can not only pass the bar exam but rank in the top 10% of scores!  
• Results can contain biases: ChatGPT and a growing list of alternative technologies (i.e., Bing, Bard) can contribute to political and culture wars by presenting information that contains predetermined ideological slants. 
• It lacks emotion and originality: Anna Craven, senior account director at public relations agency StirPR, recently had this to say…

“Tech like ChatGPT isn’t capable of original thought – it can only draw on something written previously – so PRs will continue to be relied upon to inject the perspective of unique human experiences, ensure emotional intelligence across all our communications, and importantly, generate completely original concepts, because these skills are what it is to be human.”  

The age of AI is upon us. Are you ready? 

Artificial Intelligence is changing our world through automation, and quickly! As Gates says, “This new technology can help people everywhere improve their lives. At the same time, the world needs to establish the rules of the road so that any downsides of artificial intelligence are far outweighed by its benefits, and so that everyone can enjoy those benefits no matter where they live or how much money they have. The age of AI is filled with opportunities and responsibilities.”  

AI developments like ChatGPT, other chatbots and large language models (LLM), and AI tools in general are increasingly important in the workforce. If you’re looking for job candidates who are familiar with the artificial intelligence space in marketing, IT, and other industries and applications, reach out to our team of expert recruiters at Goodwin Recruiting. We can help you find exceptional talent with the knowhow and skills to help your team navigate this new and exciting space.