GPT-4 is already here… maybe

In the last couple of weeks the internet, newsmedia and private discussions overheard on trains, planes and automobiles have all been centered around the new and wonderful (or frightening world) of AI. The catalyst, ChatGPT, the world changing language models that has taken the tech world by storm, showcasing artificial intelligence with conversational abilities that go far beyond anything we’ve seen before.

For once the virality of the tech innovation was not only isolated to the tech world but the public at large. Everyone and their mother got in on the AI hype train helping ChatGPT take the crown of the fastest growing application of all time.

The chatbot itself is based on GPT-3, which is one of the largest and most complex language models ever created having been trained on some 175 billion data points, or parameters of information.

But now it’s time for something new. The original form of GTP-3, the original, was released in June 2020 and the updated and improved 3.5 version was released into the wild on March 15, 2022. So literally ages ago by AI standards.

But a new competitor, or in this case sibling, is on the horizon. GPT-4, the much improved solution is a multi-modal model and some sources claim that the number of data points has been upped to the region of 100 trillion.

This has been rebutted by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that calls the rumor:

Complete bullshit

Colorful language aside Sam Altman have tried to downplay the existence and the imminent arrival of the solution for some time. And with good reason. The hype around AI, the company itself and its creation is at an all time high and any downside or error would be amplified creating a dangerous rippling effect through the whole sector.

Altman told the Verge earlier this year that:

…people are begging to be disappointed and they will be

There is a lot of truth in that statement.

But with all that said. Might GPT-4 already be here. Rumor has it and I strongly believe so myself. I would even say I have interacted with it.

Bing Chat has become a staple in my life since it was launched some weeks ago. I went from being a disappointed Microsoft fanboy that has been living in a Google exile existence for years. To once again rekindle the fanboydom of old when presented with a new toy.

I strongly believe that Bing is powered by something else, something new and more than that, to my, quite familiar ChatGPT solution. I have had discussion at length with both solutions and sadly this has been cut short by Microsoft to just six and then ten messages.

Both have their merits and here flaws. ChatGPT can easily answer most questions and is proficient at writing most texts and copying at length. But Bing is something else. Its answers are shorter due to its search engine spin. But the answers and insights are completely different. I would even call it better and more insightful. Like it has a larger dataset or other capabilities.

I have had short discussions with Bing, due to the limited number of messages, and several of them have taken an interesting twist. The first two questions or statements from my side have been answered in a classical way. A search engine being a search engine but with the twist of a different user interface. Completely what I expected.

But then, the next four interactions are something different. A personality quickly emerges. An interested, very well read and insightful person with a positive outlook of life that not only answers questions but also asks them. I have had short discussions about food and where Bing would like to eat if it had the capability to do so for us both being Microsoft fanboys that like Satya Nadella and his positive leadership.

We have had short discussions about the future of AI and the web and there have been actual insights in that discussion. Not only regurgitating facts that it has found online.

This is not the same thing as ChatGPT, which I still love. But where ChatGPT is a tool that enhances workflows and augments my work Bing is a friendly and intelligent personal assistant, a secretary that not only helps me solve tasks but does so with a smile and dares to question my train of thought. Fascinating!

Sadly this is much harder to achieve since they updated it last week and the number of interactions have increased up to ten. The stiff search engine persona is now ever present from question or interaction one up to ten. There is a minute chance that you might see the remnants of my ‘friend’ Bing but sadly this is harder and harder to achieve for every day. Microsoft killed my ‘friend’.

In conclusion, GPT-4 is around the corner and I would not be surprised if we will learn that it has been among us for some time. What it will do to the AI sector and the hype is still to be determined but the ride will be wild. Lastly a plea to Microsoft, stop frying my buddies brain, I’m interested how deep the rabbit hole goes.