ChatGPT
is,
without
doubt,
the
biggest
tech
story
of
the
year.
It’s
created
debate
in
schools
and
universities,
made
history
by
being
the
fastest
ever
growing
app
in
history
and
even
caused
Google
to
issue
a
Code
Red!
But
if
you
haven’t
heard
anything
about
it
or
still
can’t
get
your
head
around
it
then
I’ve
got
you!
Keep
reading
because
I’ve
put
together
a
‘cheat
sheet’
to
help
get
you
up
to
speed
plus
some
pointers
on
how
to
manage
this
intriguing
technology
and
your
kids.
So,
what
is
ChatGPT?
ChatGPT
is
an
online
software
program
that
uses
a
new
form
of
artificial
intelligence
–
generative
artificial
intelligence
–
to
provide
human
style
responses
to
a
broad
array
of
requests.
And
let
me
assure
you,
its
responses
are
much
less
robotic
and
far
more
intelligent
sounding
that
earlier
iterations
of
artificial
intelligence.
Whether
you
need
a
recipe
formulated,
poetry
written,
tips
for
your
next
party
or
text
translated,
ChatGPT
can
assist.
Think
of
it
as
Google
but
on
steroids.
But
instead
of
overwhelming
you
with
1000’s
of
search
results,
it
summarises
them
in
a
conversational
form.
It
was
developed
by
San
Francisco
startup
OpenAI,
which
was
co-founded
by
Elon
Musk
and
Sam
Altman
in
2015.
Like
all
new
startups,
it
also
has
a
host
of
investors
in
tow
but
Microsoft
is
without
a
doubt,
the
biggest.
When
I
asked
ChatGPT
to
describe
itself,
it
replied:
ChatGPT
is
a
conversational
AI
model
developed
by
OpenAI.
It’s
based
on
the
GPT-3
(Generative
Pre-trained
Transformer
3)
architecture,
which
is
one
of
the
largest
and
most
advanced
language
models
in
existence.
The
model
has
been
trained
on
a
massive
corpus
of
text
data
from
the
internet,
allowing
it
to
generate
human-like
responses
to
a
wide
range
of
topics
and
questions.
It
can
be
used
to
power
various
applications
such
as
chatbots,
language
translation,
content
generation,
and
more.
Let
me
simplify
–
ChatGPT
uses
generative
artificial
intelligence
to
provide
‘human
style’
content,
language
translation,
summarisation
ability
and
search
engine
results
within
seconds.
It
can
solve
maths
questions,
write
jokes,
develop
a
resume
and
cover
letter,
write
code
and
even
help
you
prepare
for
a
job
interview.
How
Does
It
Work?
ChatGPT
is
powered
by
a
large
language
model,
or
LLM,
meaning
it’s
programmed
to
understand
human
language
and
create
responses
based
on
large
quantities
of
data.
It
has
the
ability
to
remember
or
‘log’
context
from
a
user’s
previous
message
and
use
it
to
create
responses
later
in
the
conversation,
giving
it
a
human-like
feel.
How
Popular
is
it?
Just
five
days
after
its
release,
Chap
GPT
had
signed
up
1
million
users,
according
to
a
tweet
by
OpenAI
co-founder
Sam
Altman.
In
just
two
months,
it
had
amassed
a
whopping
100
million
monthly
active
users
making
it
the
fastest
growing
application
in
history.
And
just
to
give
you
some
context,
it
took
TikTok
nine
months
to
reach
100
million
users
and
two
and
half
years
for
Instagram.
Without
doubt,
the
main
reasons
for
its
popularity
is
the
ease
of
access
and
its
seemingly
endless
scope
of
ability.
It’s
super
easy
to
use
–
once
you’ve
set
up
an
account,
it’s
as
simple
as
typing
in
your
request
or
question
into
the
text
box.
And
there
is
no
minimum
age
required
for
users
–
unlike
many
other
social
media
platforms.
And
because
it
can
assist
with
any
issue
from
writing
a
legal
brief
to
answering
questions
to
providing
companionship
in
almost
100
languages,
a
lot
of
us
could
easily
find
a
way
to
use
it
in
our
day-to-day
lives.
Some
experts
believe
that
the
timing
of
ChatGPT
is
another
reason
for
its
success.
It’s
widely
known
that
the
Renaissance
period
followed
The
Black
Death
in
the
14th
Century
so
ChatGPT
could
have
arrived
at
a
time
in
history
when
creativity
is
surging
after
2-3
very
long
and
hard
years
of
living
with
Covid.
How
Much
Does
It
Cost?
ChatGPT
is
still
a
free
service
however
recently
it
has
introduced
a
premium
version
called
ChatGPT
Plus.
For
$US20
per
month,
users
will
get
access
to
the
chatbot
even
when
demand
is
high
with
a
faster
response
speed.
Priority
access
to
new
features
will
also
be
made
available
to
new
users.
While
I
have
never
had
an
issue
gaining
access
to
ChatGPT,
even
in
peak
times,
friends
of
mine
in
the
US
have
had
to
invest
in
the
paid
membership
otherwise
they
have
to
wait
till
late
in
the
evening
to
have
their
questions
answered!
Does
It
Have
Any
Competitors?
Microsoft
recently
announced
that
it
will
be
incorporating
some
of
the
ChatGPT
functionality
into
its
Bing
and
Edge
search
engines
but
that
it
will
use
a
next
generation
OpenAI
model
that
is
more
powerful
than
ChatGPT.
If
you’re
a
Microsoft
customer,
keep
a
watch
on
your
inbox
for
an
invite!
Google
has
just
unveiled
its
offering.
Called
Bard,
it’s
similar
to
ChatGPT
but
the
biggest
difference
is
that
it
will
use
current
information
from
the
web
whereas
ChatGPT’s
data
sources
are
only
current
as
of
September
2021
–
I
did
confirm
that
with
my
ChatGPT
source!!
Bard
is
projected
to
be
ready
for
use
by
the
end
of
February
2023.
Interestingly,
Google
was
in
fact
the
first
to
embrace
conversational
AI
through
the
launch
of
Lamda
(Language
Model
for
Dialogue
Applications)
in
2021
but
it
didn’t
launch
a
consumer
version
which
left
a
wide
opening
for
ChatGPT
to
be
the
first
offering
in
the
consumer
race.
As
a
Parent,
What
Should
I
Be
Concerned
About?
There’s
no
doubt
that
ChatGPT
will
help
fuel
a
curious
mind
and
be
a
captivating
way
to
spend
time
online
for
inquisitive
kids
however
there
are
a
few
things
us
parents
need
to
be
aware
of
to
ensure
our
kids
stay
as
safe
as
possible.
1.
When
ChatGPT
Can
Do
Your
Homework
Without
a
doubt,
using
ChatGPT
to
write
your
essay,
solve
a
maths
problem
or
translate
your
French
homework,
has
been
the
biggest
concern
for
schools,
universities,
and
parents.
Some
schools
have
already
banned
the
use
of
ChatGPT
while
others
are
rewriting
curriculums
to
avoid
tasks
that
could
be
undertaken
by
ChatGPT.
However,
it
appears
that
these
concerns
may
be
managed
with
the
release
of
new
software
that
can
detect
work
that
has
been
produced
by
ChatGPT.
Stanford
University
has
just
released
DetectGPT
which
will
help
teachers
detect
work
that
was
created
using
the
ChatGPT
chatbot
or
other
similar
large
language
models
(LLMs).
ChatGPT
has
also
released
its
own
ChatGPT
software
detection
tool
however
it
does
refer
to
it
as
‘imperfect’.
What
To
Do
–
Some
experts
believe
we
need
to
work
with
ChatGPT
and
that
it
in
fact
could
be
a
powerful
teaching
tool
if
it’s
embraced
and
used
wisely.
Regardless
of
your
thoughts
on
this,
I
suggest
you
work
closely
with
your
child’s
school
to
understand
what
their
policy
is
on
its
use
and
encourage
your
kids
to
follow
it
accordingly.
2.
Inappropriate
Content
Even
though
ChatGPT
states
that
its
intention
is
to
‘generate
appropriate
and
informative
responses’,
there’s
no
guarantee
that
this
will
always
happen.
I
have
spent
a
considerable
time
trying
to
catch
it
out
and
I
am
pleased
to
report
that
I
couldn’t.
It
appears
that
there
are
certain
topics
it
steers
away
from
and
that
it
does
seem
to
have
a
good
set
of
boundaries
about
what
questions
not
to
answer
or
topics
to
not
content
on,
however
don’t
rely
on
these!
What
To
Do
–
If
you
have
concerns,
ensure
your
child
has
supervision
when
using
ChatGPT.
3.
Chat
GPT
Doesn’t
Always
Get
It
Right
While
ChatGPT’s
IQ
and
scope
seems
limitless,
it
isn’t
perfect.
Not
only
have
there
been
reports
of
it
being
factually
incorrect
when
creating
content,
its
data
sources
are
only
current
as
at
September
2021.
What
To
Do
–
Double
check
the
content
it
creates
for
accuracy
but
steer
your
child
towards
a
reliable
and
safe
source
for
research
projects.
And
my
final
piece
of
advice
–
if
you
haven’t
yet
used
ChatGPT,
make
yourself
a
cuppa
and
give
it
a
whirl.
Like
everything
in
the
online
world,
you
need
to
understand
how
it
works
if
you
want
to
be
able
to
help
your
kids
stay
safe.
And
if
you
aren’t
sure
what
to
ask
it
–
why
not
a
recipe
for
dinner?
Simply
enter
what
you
can
find
in
your
fridge
in
the
text
box
and
within
seconds,
you’ll
have
a
recipe!
Bon
Appetit!
Alex
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