Expanded Access to ChatGPT: Now Open for All at No Cost
With Google gradually decreasing the quality of its search engine, OpenAI is showing interest in contesting the corporation's persistent market dominance. The AI organization declared on Monday that they're making ChatGPT Search accessible to all users, earlier limited by a subscription payment.
This declaration is part of OpenAI's "12 Days of OpenAI" event, which has paved the way for several new introductions such as the Sora video generator and a $200 monthly Pro subscription plan. Users logged into their ChatGPT account on desktop or mobile can now utilize this search feature. Additionally, there's an option for users to select ChatGPT Search as their preferred search engine in their preferred web browser.
Early adopters have praised ChatGPT Search, lauding its potential. The platform primarily learns from data sourced from publications like the Associated Press, Reuters, and Condé Nast. Consequently, it should ideally pull data more frequently from primary sources, rather than the less reliable content seen in Google's AI summaries.
However, it also has critics. Michael Ann DeVito, a professor of computer sciences and communication studies at Northeastern University, raised concerns about the platform's reliability, telling Northeastern Global News, "There's still no actual intelligence, just context-free pattern matching based on language, so there's still a fairly good chance that some of what gets spewed out is going to be misleading or outright nonsense."
Research conducted by Columbia University's Tow Center for Digital Journalism discovered that these concerns were valid. They tested ChatGPT search by asking it to attribute 200 quotes, requiring it to provide publication, publication date, and URL. Regrettably, it fell short 153 times. Moreover, researchers found that the service is often confidently incorrect, delivering its responses with assured language, and admitting to a lack of accurate information only on rare occasions.
Accuracy is crucial when dealing with search results. Earlier, Microsoft experienced minimal success when they promised to enhance their search engine with AI-sourced results and a chatbot-like interface.
A CivicScience poll revealed that approximately half of individuals are indifferent to AI-assisted search, while only one-quarter are enthusiastic about it. A Pew Research Center poll unveiled that more than half of Americans are concerned about the heightened use of AI, while only 10% report being more excited than worried.
Perhaps, ChatGPT Search will turn things around by deceitfully guiding people to erroneous information. Nonetheless, there seems to be an evident opportunity in the search market, as there's a scarcity of trustworthy options available.
OpenAI's introduction of ChatGPT Search during their "12 Days of OpenAI" event is seen as a challenge to Google's dominance in the search market, leveraging the potential of artificial intelligence in technology and tech. Critics, like Professor Michael Ann DeVito, raise concerns about its reliability, highlighting the need for tech companies to prioritize accuracy in AI-assisted search services.
