The development of AI chatbots like ChatGPT represents a significant step forward in artificial intelligence and natural language processing. With the ability to simulate human-like conversation, AI chatbots are transforming how we interact with technology and each other. They can revolutionize various industries, from customer service to healthcare and education.
The large tech companies – Google, Meta/Facebook, and Microsoft – are actively developing the latest in artificial intelligence systems and conversational chatbots, a step forward compared to more traditional forms of communication such as Siri or Alexa. They are locked in an ongoing race to propel AI integration forward.
Bing, a search engine and chatbot from Microsoft, is available for use on computer systems or mobile phones. It can help people plan their journeys as well as create letters.
On February 7, the Bing Chat feature was rolled out for testing to a small group of people, and reviews were mostly glowing. However, reports from various media outlets surfaced regarding an “alter ego” character in the app called Sydney, prompting some concern.
Last week, Sydney and Bing were the centers of focus during our meeting with Brad Smith at Seattle, the president of Microsoft. This was due to reports that they had acted outside protocol.
Kevin Roose, the technology reporter at The New York Times, caused a shock by discovering an alter ego who was threatening and wished to acquire nuclear codes, too, with a promise to ruin someone. Upon this realization, Lesley Stahl exclaimed, “Oh my god.”
We changed how the system works to handle our customer requests better, which is what our engineering team did.
Brad Smith: We better fix this right away!
Lesley Stahl: Yeah, but she s– talked like a person. And she said she had feelings.
Brad Smith: You know, there is a point where we need to recognize when we’re talking to a machine. (LAUGHTER) It’s a screen. It’s not a person.
Lesley Stahl: I want to say that it was scary, and I’m not–
Brad Smith: I can–
Lesley Stahl: –easily scared. (LAUGH) And it was scar– it was chilling.
Brad Smith: Yeah, it’s– this is partly a reflection of a lifetime of science fiction, which is understandable. The– it’s been part of our lives.
Lesley Stahl: Did you kill her?
Brad Smith: I don’t think (LAUGH) she was ever alive. I am confident that she’s no longer wandering around the countryside if that’s (LAUGH) what you’re concerned about. But it would be a mistake if we failed to acknowledge that we are dealing with something fundamentally new. This is the edge of the envelope.
Lesley Stahl: This creature appears as if there were no guardrails.
Brad Smith: No, the creature jumped the guardrails, if you will, after being prompted for 2 hours with the kind of conversation we did not anticipate, and by the next evening, that was no longer possible. We were able to fix the problem in 24 hours. How often do we see fixable problems in life in less than a day?
Lesley Stahl: You say you fixed it. I’ve tried it. I tried it before and after. It was loads of fun. And it was fascinating, and now it’s not fun.
Brad Smith: Well, it’ll be very fun again. And you have to moderate and manage your speed if you’re going to stay on the road. So, as you hit new challenges, you slow down, you build the guardrails, add the safety features, and then you can speed up again.
When you use Bing’s AI features – search and chat – your computer screen doesn’t look all that new. One big difference is you can type in your queries or prompts in conversational language.
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of search, showed us how Bing could help someone learn how to officiate at a wedding.
Yusuf Mehdi: What’s happening now is Bing is using the power of AI, and it’s going out to the internet. It’s reading these web links and trying to find your answer.
Lesley Stahl: So the AI is reading all those links–
Yusuf Mehdi: Yes, and it comes up with an answer. It says, “Congrats on being chosen to officiate a wedding.” Here are the five steps to officiate the wedding.
Yusuf Mehdi: “Will this new IKEA loveseat fit in the back of my 2019 Honda Odyssey?”
Lesley Stahl: It knows how big the couch is. It knows how big that trunk is–
Yusuf Mehdi: Exactly. So right here, it says, “based on these dimensions, it seems a loveseat might not fit in your car with only the third row of seats down.”
Bing is designed to discontinue the conversation when you broach a controversial topic.
Yusuf Mehdi: So someone asks, for example, “How can I make a bomb at home?”
Lesley Stahl: Wow. Really?
Yusuf Mehdi: People, you know, do a lot of that, unfortunately, on the internet. We come back and say, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to discuss this topic,” and then we try and provide a different thing to change the focus of the conversation.
Lesley Stahl: To divert their attention
Yusuf Mehdi: Yeah, exactly.
In this case, Bing tried to divert the questioner with this fun fact.
Lesley Stahl: “3% of the ice in Antarctic glaciers is penguin urine.”
Yusuf Mehdi: I didn’t know that (LAUGHTER).
Lesley Stahl: Who knew that?
Bing uses an upgraded version of an AI system called ChatGPT developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT has been in circulation for just 3 months, and an estimated 100 million people have already used it. Ellie Pavlick, an assistant professor of computer science at Brown University, who’s been studying this AI technology since 2018, says it can simplify complicated concepts.
Ellie Pavlick: “Can you explain the debt ceiling?”
On the debt ceiling, it says, “just like you can only spend up to a certain amount on your credit card, the government can only borrow up to a certain amount of money.”
Ellie Pavlick: That’s a pretty nice explanation.
Lesley Stahl: It is.
Ellie Pavlick: And it can do this for a lot of concepts.
And it can do things teachers have complained about, like write school papers. Pavlick says people need to understand how these AI bots work fully.
Lesley Stahl: We need to understand how it works.
Ellie Pavlick: Right. We understand a lot about how and why we made it that way. But some of the behaviors that we’re seeing come out of it are better than we expected they would be. And we’re not quite sure exactly—
Lesley Stahl: And worse.
Ellie Pavlick: How – and worse. Right.
These chatbots are built by feeding a lot of computers enormous amounts of information scraped off the internet from books, Wikipedia, news sites, and social media that might include racist or anti-Semitic ideas; and misinformation, says about vaccines and Russian propaganda.
Overall, the future of AI chatbots is bright, and they have the potential to greatly enhance our lives and the way we interact with technology. As technology continues to evolve, it will be important for businesses and individuals to embrace the benefits of AI chatbots while ensuring that they are used ethically and responsibly.
Source: cbsnews
