I'm an expert in music theory. It has given me all kinds of wrong answers when I've tested it on moderately advanced topics. I think a big problem with it is, it can easily provide misinformation to people who don't know any better. Students will be able to use it to cheat on essays, but they better check their facts using better sources and spend a lot of time learning how to prompt it properly. It's not reliable.
The fact that it can spit out conversational English on millions of topics in almost real time is amazing though. No doubt about it.
I started using it to teach myself how to write computer code using Python, and basic computer science concepts, just to see how it would do. It can be pretty useful already. It's very good at writing and explaining computer code. I think text books will (and should) become obsolete. I'd rather use an AI that can adapt to my learning and clarify topics on demand. Just as long as it has its facts straight!
I watched a youtube video where a physics professor gave it a 1st year undergrad physics exam. Its answers were massively inconsistent. Sometimes it obviously didn't understand the physics
concept but nevertheless came up with the correct answer. (Like: it said the maximum kinetic energy in an oscillating system occurs at the maximum displacement.
) Other times it would understand the concept but its math would suck. It's also not very good at playing chess, but anyway, that's not what it's designed for and there are plenty of other systems that can beat any living human at chess. But this one physics professor on youtube was blown away by its coding ability. It can write code, debug itself, reformulate the same script, and explain what it's doing in plain English. You can ask it to write you a program to perform any task in plain English and it will spit out the script in milliseconds. I'm not an expert in computer coding by any stretch, but it looks impressive. Seems like it will put a lot of coders out of work in no time. BUT. You'll always need someone smart enough to prompt the thing properly and to check what it's outputting for bugs and logic. Future AIs, I assume, will only get better. But, like autonomous vehicles, it's going to be a while still until they're smart enough to function in the real world the way human beings do. I wonder how far off that is. Probably a long long way if ever.
[I just logged in and it says they've updated it with "improved factuality" as of January 30th. I guess we'll see.]
I just asked it to write me a paragraph on how AI will take jobs away from computer programmers. I quote:
"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is expected to automate many tasks previously performed by computer programmers. As AI technology continues to improve and become more widespread, it is likely that some programming tasks will be automated, potentially leading to job loss for some computer programmers. For example, AI can write code faster and with fewer errors than human programmers, making it easier for companies to automate repetitive tasks and reduce their need for manual labor. However, it is also important to note that AI will create new job opportunities in fields such as AI development, deployment, and maintenance, as well as other areas where human skills such as creativity and critical thinking are valued. Ultimately, the impact of AI on the job market for computer programmers will depend on the speed of its adoption and the ability of workers to adapt to the changing technological landscape."
