The company behind the ChatGPT chatbot has rolled out its latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-4, in the next step for a technology thatB次元官网网址檚 caught the worldB次元官网网址檚 attention.

The new system can figure out tax deductions and answer questions like a Shakespearan pirate, for example, but it still B次元官网网址渉allucinatesB次元官网网址� facts and makes reasoning errors.

HereB次元官网网址檚 a look at San Francisco-based startup OpenAIB次元官网网址檚 latest improvement on the generative AI models that can spit out readable text and unique images:

WHATB次元官网网址橲 NEW?

OpenAI says GPT-4 B次元官网网址渆xhibits human-level performance.B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 much more reliable, creative and can handle B次元官网网址渕ore nuanced instructionsB次元官网网址� than its predecessor system, GPT-3.5, which ChatGPT was built on, OpenAI said in its announcement.

In an online demo Tuesday, OpenAI President Greg Brockman ran through some scenarios that showed off GPT-4B次元官网网址檚 capabilities that appeared to show itB次元官网网址檚 a radical improvement on previous versions.

He demonstrated how the system could quickly come up with the proper income tax deduction after being fed reams of tax code B次元官网网址� something he couldnB次元官网网址檛 figure himself.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not perfect, but neither are you. And together itB次元官网网址檚 this amplifying tool that lets you just reach new heights,B次元官网网址� Brockman said.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Generative AI technology like GPT-4 could be the future of the internet, at least according to Microsoft, which has invested at least $1 billion in OpenAI and made a splash by integrating AI chatbot tech into its Bing browser.

ItB次元官网网址檚 part of a new generation of machine-learning systems that can converse, generate readable text on demand and produce novel images and video based on what theyB次元官网网址檝e learned from a vast database of digital books and online text.

These new AI breakthroughs have the potential to transform the internet search business long dominated by Google, which is trying to catch up with its own AI chatbot, and numerous professions.

B次元官网网址淲ith GPT-4, we are one step closer to life imitating art,B次元官网网址� said Mirella Lapata, professor of natural language processing at the University of Edinburgh. She referred to the TV show B次元官网网址淏lack Mirror,B次元官网网址� which focuses on the dark side of technology.

B次元官网网址淗umans are not fooled by the AI in `Black MirrorB次元官网网址� but they tolerate it,B次元官网网址� Lapata said. B次元官网网址淟ikewise, GPT-4 is not perfect, but paves the way for AI being used as a commodity tool on a daily basis.B次元官网网址�

WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE IMPROVEMENTS?

GPT-4 is a B次元官网网址渓arge multimodal model,B次元官网网址� which means it can be fed both text and images that it uses to come up with answers.

In one example posted on OpenAIB次元官网网址檚 website, GPT-4 is asked, B次元官网网址淲hat is unusual about this image?B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 answer: B次元官网网址淭he unusual thing about this image is that a man is ironing clothes on an ironing board attached to the roof of a moving taxi.B次元官网网址�

GPT-4 is also B次元官网网址渟teerable,B次元官网网址� which means that instead of getting an answer in ChatGPTB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渃lassicB次元官网网址� fixed tone and verbosity, users can customize it by asking for responses in the style of a Shakespearean pirate, for instance.

In his demo, Brockman asked both GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 to summarize in one sentence an article explaining the difference between the two systems. The catch was that every word had to start with the letter G.

GPT-3.5 didnB次元官网网址檛 even try, spitting out a normal sentence. The newer version swiftly responded: B次元官网网址淕PT-4 generates groundbreaking, grandiose gains, greatly galvanizing generalized AI goals.B次元官网网址�

HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?

ChatGPT can write silly poems and songs or quickly explain just about anything found on the internet. It also gained notoriety for results that could be way off, such as confidently providing a detailed but false account of the Super Bowl game days before it took place, or even being disparaging to users.

OpenAI acknowledged that GPT-4 still has limitations and warned users to be careful. GPT-4 is B次元官网网址渟till not fully reliableB次元官网网址� because it B次元官网网址渉allucinatesB次元官网网址� facts and makes reasoning errors, it said.

B次元官网网址淕reat care should be taken when using language model outputs, particularly in high-stakes contexts,B次元官网网址� the company said, though it added that hallucinations have been sharply reduced.

Experts also advised caution.

B次元官网网址淲e should remember that language models such as GPT-4 do not think in a human-like way, and we should not be misled by their fluency with language,B次元官网网址� said Nello Cristianini, professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Bath.

Another problem is that GPT-4 does not know much about anything that happened after September 2021, because that was the cutoff date for the data it was trained on.

ARE THERE SAFEGUARDS?

OpenAI says GPT-4B次元官网网址檚 improved capabilities B次元官网网址渓ead to new risk surfacesB次元官网网址� so it has improved safety by training it to refuse requests for sensitive or B次元官网网址渄isallowedB次元官网网址� information.

ItB次元官网网址檚 less likely to answer questions on, for example, how to build a bomb or buy cheap cigarettes.

Still, OpenAI cautions that while B次元官网网址渆liciting bad behaviorB次元官网网址� from GPT is harder, B次元官网网址渄oing so is still possible.B次元官网网址�

By Kelvin Chan

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS