ChatGPT and Generative AI: Resources and Considerations for Instruction

Thank you for visiting our ChatGPT and Generative AI guide!

Please note: This guide is intended for informational purposes, and is by no means exhaustive! ChatGPT and other Generative AI systems are constantly and rapidly changing. We offer this guide as a tool to get you started. Please get in touch if you have any questions, concerns, or new resources/information!

Generative AI, or Generative Artificial Intelligence, are systems that create and generate new content such as text (like ChatGPT), images, videos, music, and more. These systems are trained using existing materials and data to learn patterns. When prompted, they are then able to generate content and details that are similar or closely match the material it was trained on.

Source: Islam, A. (2023, March 21). A history of generative AI: From GAN to GPT-4. Marktechpost. https://www.marktechpost.com/2023/03/21/a-history-of-generative-ai-from-gan-to-gpt-4/

ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is a large language model that generates text based on prompts. ChatGPT is trained on data in the form of texts from the internet, books, and other sources in order to learn human-language patterns. It uses transformer architecture (GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer) that looks at sequential data (i.e. sentences) and the relationship between the words. For a more in depth look into AI programming language, check out A History of Generative AI: From GAN to GPT-4.

By now, you have most likely heard of the drawbacks to using ChatGPT. These include, but are not limited to:

• Possible outdated information. ChatGPT is only as knowledgeable as the information it is trained on. As of the writing of this text, they only have a general knowledge base of up until the Fall of 2021. That means, ChatGPT may know nothing about recent events, or not have the most up-to-date data on many topics. This may change as developers continue to update the programming.
• Produce inaccurate information. ChatGPT will not admit when it does not know something. It will continue verbosely and with confidence about a subject, and may generate inaccurate information.
• Generate made up citations or sources. When prompted, ChatGPT will produce citations. However, frequently the citations are inaccurate, or the sources do not exist at all. This may change as it is trained more and the programming code continues to be developed.
• May reflect outside biases. ChatGPT does not have a mind of its own, so does not have biases. However, it may reflect the biases of the information it was trained on, without recognizing that it is, in fact, a bias.

To use ChatGPT, you will need to create an account: https://chat.openai.com/. They have both a free version and a paid version.

With an account you can:

• Generate text for a variety of purposes, such as emails, social media posts, and of course, articles and essays.
• Ask general knowledge questions.
• Translate documents, as long as you specify what language you would like your text to be translated into.
• Create to-do lists and outlines.
• Brainstorm writing ideas (creative or nonfiction). ChatGPT can give writing prompts, generate writing samples, or even conduct a brainstorming session.
• Get explanations on topics that are unfamiliar to you.

But, keep in mind with any of these functions: As previously stated, ChatGPT's general knowledge only goes up until the Fall of 2021 and it may produce misinformation.