The Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, or ChatGPT, is a new user-friendly chatbot currently accessible by free trial. It is the hot new product of OpenAI, a San Francisco-based firm whose founders need no introduction in Silicon Valley circles (Elon Musk and Peter Thiel among others) and has received billions in support from Microsoft. Current CEO Samuel Altman previously did work for Dropbox, Airbnb, Stripe and Reddit.
The chatbot was launched just over two months ago in a free trial format. Already it has gained millions of followers and has helped craft stories for the Atlantic and New York Times, if only to offer a dystopian taste of what’s to come. Chatbots have been around for a while, but this one is so effective in generating human-like prose and poetry that it is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
When I queried the chatbot about Japan-U.S.-China relations, it responded as follows: