Artificial intelligence has been around a while, and AI is part of our vocabulary. I seem to remember that in my last editor’s letter I said that new technology comes slowly and then fast. Now I’m wondering what happened − the world has ChatGBT. It was released on 30 November last year, and in less than a week over a million people had tried it. In comparison it took 41 months for Netflix to get its first million users.
ChatGPT is an advanced chatbot created by the software company OpenAI. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer. It is based on neural networks that have learned to perform a task by drawing on huge amounts of existing text generated by humans, and uses machine learning to create realistic, relevant, and intelligent sounding text in response to questions.
Apparently it can compose emails, create poems and essays, put together recipes, write funny dialogue, generate images, answer follow-up questions, admit its mistakes, and challenge incorrect premises. It is capable of explaining complex issues and can be used to categorise text, such as spam or not spam, or positive and negative sentiment. It also has the ability to write and debug code like a developer. It has the potential to boost productivity in the same way that steam engines, electricity, and computing have done in the past. Phew! Here are some things it can be used for.
It is potentially useful for a wide range of tasks, from creating software, to generating business ideas, to writing a wedding toast. Customer service is a huge area of opportunity. Businesses can automate tasks typically done by humans and greatly improve response time. They can monitor customer sentiment, summarise long texts, assist with customer service enquiries, provide product recommendations, and help with R&D.; One application is as a replacement for search engines like Google, and the big players are rising to the challenge. OpenAI investors include Microsoft and LinkedIn.
A potential application in motion control is to use natural language to monitor and control automated machines and systems, and to adjust parameters like speed, direction and position. It could also help with predictive maintenance; and it could generate interactive training and educational material for engineers on hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
I thought I would give it a try. I entered ‘trends in hydraulics and pneumatics’ and this is what I got.
“Some recent trends in the field of hydraulics and pneumatics include the increased use of smart technologies, such as sensors and control systems, to improve the efficiency and performance of hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Another trend is the use of high performance materials, such as lightweight metals and composites, to reduce the weight and size of hydraulic and pneumatic components. Additionally, there is a growing interest in using renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, to drive hydraulic and pneumatic systems in order to reduce their environmental impact.”
So there you have it, quite a lot. Hopefully, we are covering these things. I also thought I would see how it handles an editor’s letter. The result is too long for this column, but it didn’t do a bad job, although it was a bit bland and generic. But it left me wondering what it would produce next time. As an editor you can’t write the same thing every time.
Some caution is needed. One area where it is causing huge disruption is in the academic world, where it can generate believable abstracts of scholarly articles or write a student’s term paper while scoring 100% on a plagiarism detector. There is also fear that it will replace jobs and make many tasks currently handled by humans obsolete.
It can generate convincing prose, but that doesn’t mean what it says is factual or logical. The system is only as good as the data that it’s trained with. The answers can sound so authoritative that users may believe it is accurate. It may be putting out text that reads nicely and sounds smart, but is incomplete, biased or wrong. OpenAI has tried to limit its ability to accept inappropriate requests and generate hate speech and misinformation, but another risk is the potential for it to engage in malicious activities. The other day I saw a report on how ChatGPT gave extensive advice on how to join a cartel and smuggle cocaine into Europe.
I’m not sure whether all this is exciting or frightening, I think both. The question is not whether this new version of AI will be able to take on more cognitive tasks but rather how we will adapt.
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