Skip to Main Content

Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an advanced chatbot that was released in November 2022 by OpenAI. It uses large language models and predictive technology to recognize written prompts and generate human-like responses. ChatGPT is a type of generative AI, which means it predicts and generates the most likely responses to prompts based on its massive amount of training data. 

Currently, ChatGPT 3.5 is free upon registration. ChatGPT-4 (available via ChatGPT Plus) has a subscription fee. To use ChatGPT, click the link below. Simply type in your prompt, hit Enter, and you'll receive a response from the chatbot. 

 

Despite its many capabilities, ChatGPT has several limitations. Learn about some of its challenges in the video below from Bloomberg:

Capabilities and Limitations of Generative AI

Shared with permission from McMaster University's MacPherson Institute:

Common capabilities of text-based generative AI tools:

  • Create informative, well-written text: prose, poetry, dialogue, code  
  • Provide examples and references  *references may be ‘hallucinated’ 
  • Generate outlines, questions, tables, long form text  
  • Summarize inputted text  
  • Provide feedback on text – both form and structure  
  • Explain concepts at different levels of understanding   
  • Translate between languages  
  • Remember within a chat thread – follow-up prompts

Limitations of text-based generative AI tools:

  • Hallucinations: confident declarations that are factually inaccurate (e.g., references to articles that don’t exist)  
  • Uneven access to material after 2021: the free version of ChatGPT cannot access the web, though the subscription model can, as can Microsoft’s Bing 
  • Biases in training data are replicated in generated responses  
  • There is variation in responses based on the wording and framing of the user’s prompt 
  • If using ChatGPT 3.5 (free version) there can be lag times or delays in access if demand is high; Bing and ChatGPT 4 do not experience these delays. 

 

Sources:

MacPherson Institute (2023). Generative Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning. https://mi.mcmaster.ca/generative-artificial-intelligence-in-teaching-and-learning/

Other Generative AI Tools