Want to try ChatGPT for yourself? Head to chat.openai.com, where you’ll be prompted to create a user profile on OpenAI (you can also use Google or Microsoft account logins.)
From there, the system will give you some helpful info (and warnings) about what you should expect as results from ChatGPT, reminding users that the chatbot is still a free research preview, and that it might occasionally generate incorrect or misleading information, and to be careful not to share any sensitive information in the conversations.
(The “It is not intended to give advice” reminder is especially helpful.)
From there, you’re taken to a simple page that looks like most every other chatbot interface you’ve encountered, writ large. The left side will track the individual conversations you’ve had within ChatGPT, a de facto notebook for your interactions.
At the bottom is the dialogue box for typing your prompt, and that’s where your skill and imagination can take over. Again, it’s helpful to remember that the system is pulling in and attempting to contextualize information from millions of sources, and some of the returns may be incomplete or inaccurate.
For example, I prompted ChatGPT with “Explain the importance of the trombone within music created during the Jazz Age.” The system chewed on that information, slowly typing out simple, serviceable paragraphs relating to the history of the instrument and the timeframe.
But when it veered into discussing the figures who popularized the muting method of creating a “wa-wa” sound with the trombone, the system said it was “pioneered by jazz trombonist and bandleader King Oliver and was later adopted by other jazz musicians, including Bix Beiderbecke and Duke Ellington.”
Problem is, when you check other online sources (or just have certain knowledge in your own brain), you’re reminded that the three musicians mentioned are far better known for their work on the cornet or trumpet, rather than the trombone.
(Insert “The Price Is Right” “womp womp” sound here.)
So while there’s something a little satisfying about watching ChatGPT churn out copy one word at a time, you still have to have your own red flag antenna out to check against the “facts” the system is providing you.