No discussion regarding modern Artificial Intelligence (AI) would be complete without mentioning OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Many students and professionals today use this AI chatbot to help them solve problems and even generate essays. Thus, many are concerned that this might lead to ChatGPT replacing people in their jobs.
However, these fears may be unwarranted. A recent Stanford University and UC Berkeley study found that the two main versions of Chat GPT (GPT 3.5 and GPT 4) are changing their behaviors -for the worse.
Does this mean ChatGPT is getting dumber? And what does this mean for people using AI at work? Let’s find out.
Is ChatGPT Really Getting Dumber?
The study compared the performance of ChatGPT’s two main versions between March and June 2023 on four simple tasks: solving math problems, answering sensitive questions, generating codes, and visual reasoning.
Their research showed that ChatGPT4 performed poorly on answering math questions, with its accuracy down from 97.6% in March to 2.4% in June. ChatGPT3.5 performed better; its accuracy increased from 7.4% in March to 86.8% in June.
Researchers also observed this drop in performance in the AI’s ability to answer sensitive questions and generate codes. Visual reasoning was the only area where the AI significantly improved.
This study confirmed the experiences of some of its users, who noticed the AI chatbot giving them vaguer or dumber answers lately. Some suspect the reason ChatGPT is getting dumber is because OpenAI wants its users to subscribe to ChatGPT Plus.
OpenAI’s Response.
Responding to these allegations, OpenAI’s Vice President of Product, Peter Welinder, denied they’re intentionally making ChatGPT dumber.
“No, we haven’t made ChatGPT4 dumber. Quite the opposite: we make each new version smarter than the previous one.” He tweeted on July 14.
He hypothesized that this drop in quality is due to heavier usage volume, so users are noticing errors they haven’t seen before.
Why is it Getting Dumber?
Although the study confirms that ChatGPT is getting dumber, it didn’t exactly explain why this happens.
One theory as to why this happens is that ChatGPT is experiencing what is called an AI drift. This phenomenon occurs when Large Language Models (LLMs) AI behave in unexpected or unpredictable ways that stray from their original parameters.
An AI drift can happen when attempts to improve parts of an AI’s complicated model can lead to a decline in the other parts.
Another theory, based on a study conducted by UK and Canadian researchers, proposes that training newer AI language models on the data generated by previous language models results in the former “forgetting” things or making more errors. Researchers call this “Model Collapse.”
Ilia Shumailov, the paper’s lead author and researcher at the University of Oxford, recommends using human-generated data to train AI models to prevent further deterioration.
Does This Mean You Shouldn’t Use ChatGPT Anymore?
By all means, no.
Despite their issues, there are also areas where ChatGPT 3.5 and 4 improved. In addition, the researchers also encourage people to continue using and evaluating them.
But like with any device, the researchers advise caution when using ChatGPT. Ensure that you double-check the information given to you and always use your best judgment when working with it.
Remember, AI can be a great help at work, but it shouldn’t replace your ability to think critically nor to conduct proper research and make computations to solve problems.
Is Artificial Intelligence Really Intelligent?
The introduction of ChatGPT and other similar Chatbots has been a blessing and a curse for many employees.
Although it helps employees generate content quicker and more efficiently, it can also threaten to replace them at their jobs. At least, that’s what we thought.
But just like any machine, ChatGPT can also be faulty and unreliable. The latest research reveals that it’s less accurate now and could even give wrong answers to the simplest questions.
Does this mean you should’t use it? Nope. But we need to be more careful doing so.
And if you’re looking for an online job, you don’t need to ask ChatGPT how to land one.
Remote Staff is here to help. Our jobs list has a wide range of positions available for you to choose from and is regularly updated everyday.
Good luck!
