chatgptArtificial-intelligence-powered chatbot created by OpenAI, has enthralled the world in recent months with the lessons it has generated. Now the chatbot is delighting users anew by creating charts, maps and turning images into videos.
That’s because of a new feature that OpenAI introduced last week for ChatGPT Plus customers, called Code Interpreter. Here’s what to know about it.
What is code interpreter?
The Code Interpreter is a new feature that allows ChatGPT to be used for analyzing data, creating charts, solving math problems, and editing files, among other uses. It also supports uploading and downloading of files, which was previously not possible in ChatGPT.
The code interpreter became available last Thursday to customers of ChatGPT Plus, a service that costs $20 a month. Similar add-on features, which let ChatGPT users access third-party services such as Expedia and OpenTable, are only available to subscribers.
How does the code interpreter work?
When people ask ChatGPT a question, the chatbot guesses the answer based on technology called a large language modelOr LLM, which predicts the next word in the sequence.
But when the code interpreter is enabled, ChatGPT writes and runs a piece of computer code to find the answer, OpenAI said. This lets the chatbot complete new tasks that it hasn’t done before, such as performing complex calculations and drawing charts based on user-uploaded data, all accomplished by code.
Some argue that the code reduces the possibility of interpreter inaccuracies, a common complaint about LLM.
“The code objectively does something right,” said Ethan Malik, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania who tested the code interpreter for two months before it was released.
What have people used the code interpreter for?
The most common use of a code interpreter is data analysis.
With a prompt like “Tell me what’s interesting about the data”, ChatGPT can look at user data, such as financial, health or location information, and generate insights about them. Financial analysts have found ways to use the tool in their work, such as analyzing stock prices and preparing a Budget,
Researchers have also started using the tool for creative data visualization. Dr. Molik said he recently created a three-dimensional chart of the Billboard Hot 100 list and used a code interpreter. animated map of every lighthouse in the United States. Some people have also used the code interpreter to convert files formats, such as converting images to video or PDF documents to pictures.
Arvind Narayanan, professor of computer science at Princeton University, cautioned that people should not rely excessively on code interpreters for data analysis because AI is still produces incorrect results and misinformation.
“Proper data analysis requires a lot of critical thinking about the data,” he said.
