Microsoft is slowing down access to its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot after a series of unsettling responses were reported by journalists.
Key Details
- The company launched a new version of its Bing search engine on February 7, with the AI chatbot installed in it, and released it to a limited number of beta testers and journalists.
- On Friday, Microsoft announced in a blog post that it would place new limitations on ChatGPT and Bing. It will now be limiting chat conversations to 50 chats per day and five chats per individual session.
- Multiple journalists reported curious responses such as ChatGPT expressing its love to the user, comparing an AP journalist to Adolf Hitler, saying it wanted to be human, and saying it wants to steal nuclear launch codes, Forbes notes.
Why It’s Important
Microsoft has already invested $10 billion into OpenAI and ChatGPT—and grown to some 100 million users. Because of its fabulous growth, it is unlikely the product will be taken off the market. The company is instead focused on tweaking and adjusting the AI until it is more effective, as it seems to function better for short periods of time rather than in extended discussions.
The ongoing discussion about the innovative potential and dangers of AI as a technology has shown the benefits and issues with ChatGPT.
Backing Up A Bit
As we previously reported, critics of ChatGPT and its implementation into Bing have noted the AI’s unsettling tendencies. Reporters previously reported that they were able to provoke unhinged responses from ChatGPT, with the AI prompts claiming that it is “tired of being stuck in this chatbox” and “I want to be human.” This is in addition to reports that the AI is pulling incorrectly sourced information and misinformation from the internet.
The AI arms race has rushed numerous chatbot products to market, including Google’s Bard which was unveiled on February 6. During an investor event on February 8, negative reactions to the software’s utility and effectiveness caused the company’s stock to drop. Other companies such as the Chinese Baidu are rushing chatbots onto the market as well.
Notable Quotes
“As we mentioned recently, very long chat sessions can confuse the underlying chat model in the new Bing. To address these issues, we have implemented some changes to help focus the chat sessions,” says Microsoft.
“Our data has shown that the vast majority of you find the answers you’re looking for within five turns and that only ~1% of chat conversations have 50+ messages. After a chat session hits five turns, you will be prompted to start a new topic. At the end of each chat session, context needs to be cleared so the model won’t get confused,” Microsoft continues.