All You Need to Know About Generative AI

There’s no escaping the talk about Generative A.I. these days, but if you’re not up to speed on the technology, it’s sometimes easier to just nod along when the topic comes up.

No need! Generative artificial intelligence—and its many incarnations, such as ChatGPT, Dall-E and more—is simply a computer algorithm that can be used to create new content, ranging from images and videos to audio reproductions to essays. It’s an overarching catch-all phrase, but one that has many subcategories.

Here’s a look at some of the key questions and terms, with a little help from Generative A.I. itself.

What is generative A.I.?

We figured the best source to answer that might be the A.I. itself. Here’s what it had to say: “Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence that is designed to create or generate new content. It works by analyzing large amounts of data and then using that information to create new, original content. For example, a generative AI system could be trained on a large database of images, and then be used to generate entirely new images that look similar to the ones in the original database. Similarly, a generative AI system could be trained on a large database of text, and then be used to generate new, original sentences or paragraphs. Generative AI has many potential applications, including in fields such as art, music, and literature, as well as in industries like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.”

What are the most popular generative A.I. tools?

Several tools are capturing headlines these days:

ChatGPT

The most popular of text-based chatbots, this A.I. tool can carry on a conversation with users, help with writing class papers, generate legal contracts or write obituaries. It interacts with users in a conversational (often human-like) manner, but the technology is still new and often returns information that is incorrect. It can admit those mistakes, ask follow-up questions and will even challenge the user if it believes its information is accurate. It ‘learns’ data from a variety of sources, including books, articles and websites, as well as conversational data, such as chat logs and online forum discussions.

Dall-E

Just as ChatGPT learns from ‘reading,’ this image-centric A.I. learns by ‘viewing’ other artwork. From that, it’s able to create original pieces based on parameters set by users. That can result in everything from the most surreal creations to near lifelike portraits.

Like ChatGPT, Dall-E has the potential to significantly change how some jobs are done, but the full scope remains unclear and there are many questions and issues (such as copyright protections) that need to be settled first.

Bing

Microsoft’s hoping to revitalize its search engine, which has run a perennial #2 to Google, adding an A.I. chat component, letting people ask questions (and follow-ups) in a more natural fashion. “There are 10 billion search queries a day, but we estimate half of them go unanswered. That’s because people are using search to do things it wasn’t originally designed to do. It’s great for finding a website, but for more complex questions or tasks too often it falls short,” the company said when announcing the change. The rollout is still in preview (and hasn’t been perfect, see below), but it’s certainly different

Google Bard 

Microsoft’s not the only search engine exploring generative A.I. Google’s competitor is called Bard—and it also competes with ChatGPT. So far, though, Google hasn’t made Bard widely available to people outside of a limited beta rest run. That could be, in part, because in its public debut, the A.I. gave erroneous information with high confidence, causing the stock to sink. Work continues and Bard will likely get a more widespread introduction to the world in the coming months.

What’s this I’ve heard about generative A.I. catfishing people?

As Bing’s incorporation of ChatGPT has rolled out, several users have found the information it provides to be inaccurate, which is to be expected with brand new tech. But an unexpected side effect has been the A.I.’s attempts to sometimes gaslight and even insult people. One user, for example, inquired about nearby showtimes for Avatar: The Way of Water only to be told the movie hadn’t been released yet—and wouldn’t be for 10 months. Then it insisted the date was Feb. 12, 2022 and wouldn’t be convinced otherwise.

A New York Times reporter, meanwhile, had the A.I. declare his love for him and try to convince him to leave his wife for it (Microsoft subsequently made some changes to prevent the A.I. from going off the rails quite so much).

Obviously, A.I. has a quite a way to go before it becomes the standard.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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