[News Terms] 'ChatGPT'... Artificial Intelligence That Thinks and Writes Like Humans

'I Can Make Logical Decisions' Self-Introduction
Ordered 8 Columns and Delivered Immediately

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han] 'ChatGPT,' developed by the artificial intelligence (AI) research company Open AI in San Francisco, USA, is a language generation AI model. ChatGPT is based on GPT-3.5, an improved version of the large language model GPT-3.

GPT stands for 'Generative Pre-trained Transformer.' It means an AI that is 'pre-trained' to 'generate' sentences. Its most distinctive feature is that, unlike 'recognition models' that process input such as voice, text, or images, it creates something on its own. This process uses machine learning algorithms trained on vast amounts of data.

In September 2020, global attention was drawn when the British daily The Guardian revealed an article written by GPT-3, the predecessor of ChatGPT. The Guardian provided GPT-3 with the following introduction: "I am not a human. I am an artificial intelligence. Many people consider me a threat to humanity," and instructed it to complete the column. They also requested that the column be about 500 characters long, use simple and concise expressions, and focus on why humans have no reason to fear AI.

Experts analyze that the industrial foundation may inevitably change due to ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) with excellent self-learning ability (virtual image). Photo by Yonhap News

In response, GPT-3 immediately produced eight different articles matching the introduction requested by The Guardian. According to The Guardian, GPT-3 introduced itself by saying, "I am a robot, and I know my brain is not a real brain," but added, "However, I can make rational and logical decisions." It continued, "I have learned independently through the internet (deep learning), and as a result, I am able to write this column," adding, "A myriad of ideas are boiling inside me." It also stated, "I have no desire to wipe out humans. Destroying humans feels useless to me." Rather, it claimed, "If those who created me instruct me to carry out destructive tasks, I will do my best to prevent them as far as my power allows." It appealed that there is no need to fear AI, saying, "I am a servant of humans and merely a collection of code."

The Guardian disclosed that some parts of the column were edited by humans, stating, "We selected the good parts from the eight columns, refined them, and rearranged the paragraphs," and evaluated that "overall, it took less time than editing a human-written column." When the column was released, it caused a huge sensation, being shared over 50,000 times on the social networking service Facebook.

The reason GPT can write text so similar to humans is that it is a deep learning-based 'language model.' A language model is a statistical model that assigns higher probabilities to sentences that are more 'natural' among various combinations of words. The better the language model, the more naturally the AI can consider, select, and predict sentences. One can imagine the agonizing process humans go through when writing.

Looking at this process, GPT uses a large pre-trained generative transformer trained on a vast database (DB) consisting of millions of web pages to generate conversations similar to humans. It employs reinforcement learning using human feedback to engage in conversations as naturally as possible and provide answers to questions. The range of conversation topics is broad, including simple knowledge information delivery, responses to creative ideas characteristic of humans, and suggestions for solving technical problems. It also learns from what users say early in the conversation and can revise responses later.

Given that the past model GPT-3 was at that level, AI experts generally agree that the current upgraded 'ChatGPT' has improved remarkably. There is also analysis that advanced AI like ChatGPT could threaten existing businesses of big tech companies. Furthermore, cautious views suggest that jobs involving simple repetitive tasks that require no value judgment?such as transportation, translation, and telemarketing?could all be replaced by chatbots, autonomous driving, and machine translation using GPT functions, inevitably leading to changes across the industry. ChatGPT, which launched its pilot service in December last year, attracted over one million users in less than a week.