ChatGPT: The AI chatbot and its purpose

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - Who doesn’t want to write that perfect paper, a perfect song or throw together some new computer code without thinking too much about it?

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence program that does all this and more with a couple of keystrokes.

Though it can write an entire essay for you, ChatGPT is not looked at as an academic weapon by everyone.

“It can be very beneficial because it is going to help you do whatever you need to do … but harmful in a way that will make things easier for students and not exactly what the professor or the teacher wants the student to do,” said Dr. Jose Martinez, assistant professor of computer science at the University of Southern Mississippi.

This chatbot can answer a wide variety of topics from history to pop culture.

“If they’re going to use ChatGPT, it’s going to be at the graduate level because it will be more useful for them in these cases,” Martinez said. “I tell them, ‘you know if it’s something they can use and it will help you solve a problem, then go ahead and use it.’”

From television news scripts to coding, the chatbot can be beneficial. Just beware, ChatGPT users, even an AI bot can make mistakes, and it doesn’t have all the new information just yet. It does not have any information on events past September 2021.

“I think it’s going to be a useful tool, especially in education and even in companies that have to put out a lot for material like writing, even in journalism, you’re going to be able to write papers and all that you can do is go back and tweak it,” said Ross Randall, director of technology for the Lamar County School District. “So, it really is going to be a time saver for people.”

ChatGPT is currently free for all users, but those under the age of 18 must have an adult’s permission to use it.

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