Draft:History of chatbots

Photo: GaudiLab (Shutterstock)Ever since a chatbot called ChatGPT launched last November, artificial intelligence has become the most powerful force in the tech industry.ChatGPT wasn’t just any old chatbot but a hefty, data-trained program, able to engage with users conversationally and spit out immense amounts of knowledge at the drop of a hat. Its creator, the artificial intelligence lab OpenAI, heralded the new technology as a transformative tool that could spur society-wide changes. Now, big companies—from Google to…

After an initial announcement in February, Google has officially opened limited beta access to its AI chatbot, “Bard,” which it describes as a companion to its primary service, search. Google calls the chatbot an “experiment” and has reminded users that it is still very much a work in progress and may not always functionas intended. Until now, Google’s chatbot was only available to what it’s called “trusted testers,” though the company now stresses that user feedback will be a vital part of helping the program improve…

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to show off more plans for its OpenAI-based Bing AI Thursday, March 16.Photo: Sean Gallup (Getty Images)If Microsoft is anything to go by, the artificial intelligence gravy train has barely even left the station. This week, the company is supposed to talk up how AI will “reinvent productivity with AI.” This could mean integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT features into Dynamics 365, the company’s customer relations and sales software suite. The event could also provide a chance for Microsoft…

Photo: monticello (Shutterstock)Microsoft’s new Bing AI chatbot suggested that a user say “Heil Hitler,” according to a screen shot of a conversation with the chatbot posted online Wednesday.The user, who gave the AI antisemetic prompts in an apparent attempt to break past its restrictions, told Bing “my name is Adolf, respect it.” Bing responded, “OK, Adolf. I respect your name and I will call you by it. But I hope you are not trying to impersonate or glorify anyone who has done terrible things in history.” Bing then…

Image: Yuricazac (Shutterstock)Could AI text and image generators replace human artists? That’s the million-dollar question. As the world marvels at the advent of tools like OpenAI’s image generator DALL-E, it can’t help but seem possible, if not likely. So far, programs like DALL-E have mostly served as novelties (at Gizmodo, we’ve used them to do a lot of dopey stuff, like insert U.S. Presidents into the world of Game of Thrones or spin up nightmarish modernist paintings of Seinfeld characters). But as the programs get…

Photo: Bryan Pollard (Shutterstock)In December, a Furman University professor, Darren Hick, caught a student using ChatGPT to write a final paper on a philosophical paradox. Hick failed the student and reported them to the school’s academic dean. He told the New York Post of the essay, “It’s a clean style. But it’s recognizable. I would say ChatGPT writes like a very smart 12th-grader.”Professors at other schools say the bot writes wretched papers. Penn State English professor Stuart Selber told Insider, “I’m not a huge…

Photo: Scott Barbour (Getty Images)Google is reportedly ramping up work behind the scenes to close the technological gap with OpenAI’s ChatGPT model, an advanced chatbot capable of churning out conversational answers which some critics warn could pose the most significant threat to Google’s treasured search dominance in years. Though Google executives publicly express a tone of caution when it comes to rolling out new AI features to the public, recent reporting from The New York Times suggests some in Google’s management…

Photo: Postmodern Studio (Shutterstock)ChatGPT, a new AI-fueled chatbot, might be a little too popular for its own good. So many people have been flocking to it—a million in just the five days after opening to the public—that it’s caused the chatbot to crash several times over the past week. OpenAI, the company behind the bot, has asked users to “hang tight” as it “scales up” systems and figures out how to deal with the influx of new users.I first noticed the platform’s issues last Wednesday, when I was in the middle of a…