Over the last week, Microsoft-backed company OpenAI unveiled three new features for its controversial artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT.
First, on Monday, Sept. 25, the company shared voice and image capabilities for the platform.
The voice update allows users to talk to ChatGPT and receive a response through a text-to-speech model. OpenAI partnered with professional voice actors to mimic human-like audio. This feature enables individuals to have a back-and-forth conversation with ChatGPT.
Next, through the new image understanding capability, consumers can show ChatGPT one or more photos. The chatbot will analyze and reply to the picture after users write a prompt or annotate the image.
“Voice and image give you more ways to use ChatGPT in your life,” OpenAI wrote on its website. “Snap a picture of a landmark while traveling and have a live conversation about what’s interesting about it. When you’re home, snap pictures of your fridge and pantry to figure out what’s for dinner (and ask follow-up questions for a step-by-step recipe). After dinner, help your child with a math problem by taking a photo, circling the problem set and having it share hints with both of you.”
According to the New York Times, these developments are part of an industrywide pivot toward multimodal AI systems, which is a type of AI that can understand and generate outputs for multiple types of data. This aims to mirror the way humans interpret and process information.
The third new feature is ChatGPT’s ability to browse the internet, called Browse with Bing, announced on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Prior to this update, the platform was limited to data before Sept. 2021. The company also promised to provide direct links to sources.
“Browsing is particularly useful for tasks that require up-to-date information, such as helping you with technical research, trying to choose a bike, or planning a vacation,” OpenAI said on X, formerly Twitter.
However, browsing, voice recognition and image capabilities are currently only available to Plus and Enterprise users, ChatGPT’s subscription plans. OpenAI said it would eventually expand to all users but did not release a date.
In July of this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into the risk ChatGPT poses to users, as the chatbot may generate false information. This potentially violates consumer protection laws by placing reputations and data at risk.
The new features could improve the accuracy of information due to access to updated data. However, it could also have the opposite effect. The BBC reported that direct access to current material eliminates a “safety net,” as ChatGPT could generate misinformation or illegal data that is newly uploaded.
The continued development of AI has sparked mixed reactions. Some individuals praise the benefits of ChatGPT, as it quickly provides users with informative responses. On the other hand, others fear it is becoming too human-like and is a security risk.
Regardless of concern, many individuals across the world will continue to take advantage of the platform.
