In case you haven’t heard, ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI in November 2022, has generated a lot of buzz, not only in the tech world, but also in healthcare. The reason for the excitement over this revolutionary text generator is that ChatGPT is programmed to understand the intent behind any user’s query and to provide human-like responses and conversations. It could redefine how we search for information. For the next few posts, this blog will be focusing on ChatGPT.
The abbreviation “GPT” stands for “Generative Pretrained Transformer.” It is the latest language model that uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to respond to text-based inquiries with language that resembles human responses. The term “pretrained” means that the model has been trained on a large dataset and “transformer” refers to a type of neural network architecture that can measure how well the technology can understand and address user’s inquiries. Finally, the “generative” refers to the ability of the model to generate new text based on the input it has been given. On the ChatGPT webpage, I typed in the following task: “Explain what ChatGPT is to a person with no technology background.”
The following is its response: “ChatGPT is a type of computer program that can have conversations with people. It works by understanding what someone types in, and then generating its own response. Think of it like a robot that you can talk to through a computer. You can ask it questions, and it will try to answer you in a way that makes sense. This can be helpful for getting information or just for having a fun conversation. This program uses something called “artificial intelligence” which means that it is designed to learn and improve over time. The more people use it and talk to it, the better it becomes at understanding what people are saying and generating responses that are helpful and make sense. So, in simple terms, ChatGPT is a computer program that you can talk to and that will try to respond to you in a way that makes sense, like a person would.”
You may wonder why ChatGPT has generated so much buzz, even though we have been surrounded by AI technology for decades. One reason is its ability to generate human-like answers to a wide range of queries, including the capability to answer follow-up questions. Therefore, it can be an ideal tool for customer service. Additionally, it is trained on a massive amount of data, giving it a broad range of information and allowing it to recognize context. It is also well-suited for performing repetitive tasks that require a high level of generalization and flexibility. Last but not least, it has the ability to improve over time by learning from its interactions, becoming more and more efficient and intelligent.
There are also other key features of ChatGPT that are worth pointing out. First is its ability to generate text in a wide variety of styles and formats. It can respond not only in a standard writing style but can also generate article summaries, poetry, song lyrics, dialogue, computer code, etc. It is also fluent in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese and others. As a result, it is well-suited for a wide range of applications such as chatbots, content generation and language translation.
In summary, it is a revolutionary technology that is capable of understanding and responding to human (natural) language input in a highly coherent and contextually appropriate fashion, and has the ability to be creative and engaging.
In the next post, we shall talk about the use of ChatGPT in healthcare setting.