ChatGPT Marks Two Years of Revolutionizing AI Industry and Transforming Tech Landscape
ChatGPT burst onto the scene two years ago on Nov. 30, sparking a global fascination with generative AI and catapulting it to the forefront of innovation for both consumers and tech professionals. Since its launch, ChatGPT has undergone significant expansion, and the gears of AI regulation have started turning. TechRepublic consulted with tech professionals to explore how their work with ChatGPT has evolved over the past year, both personally and within the broader tech industry.
New Features and Updates Introduced in 2024
Over the last year, OpenAI has been diligently working to enhance ChatGPT’s capabilities, introducing a plethora of new features and updates. Some of the notable additions include:
- Expansion of ChatGPT into new formats, such as ChatGPT search and Canvas, the latter of which is designed to integrate seamlessly with coding applications.
- The unveiling of GPT-4o and OpenAI o1, OpenAI’s latest flagship models, which boast improved performance and capabilities.
- A partnership with Apple to support certain features of Apple’s onboard AI, further solidifying ChatGPT’s position as a leader in the AI industry.
- The announcement that ChatGPT will now remember previous conversations, allowing for more contextual and personalized interactions.
- The launch of ChatGPT search, marking OpenAI’s ambitious bid to replace Google Search as the de facto portal to the internet.
- The rollout of Advanced Voice Mode to select users in October, enabling users to engage in voice conversations with the AI.
On Oct. 3, OpenAI rolled out Canvas, a major experiment in utilizing ChatGPT’s capabilities to rethink how we interact with AI. According to the OpenAI team, “Making AI more useful and accessible requires rethinking how we interact with it. Canvas is a new approach and the first major update to ChatGPT’s visual interface since we launched two years ago.”
ChatGPT’s Evolution and Improvement in 2024
Graham Glass, CEO of Cypher Learning, noted the significant strides ChatGPT has made in terms of sophistication and accessibility. “First of all, ChatGPT keeps on getting better, and it’s become more sophisticated, which opens additional opportunities for leveraging that technology,” he said in an interview with TechRepublic. Glass leveraged ChatGPT to brainstorm software designs and architectures, utilizing the technology to gather insights on best practices and design tradeoffs.
Curt Raffi, Chief Product Officer at Acrolinx, echoed Glass’s sentiments, highlighting the improvements in GPT-4o and OpenAI o1. Raffi also pointed out the growing comfort and proficiency users have developed in prompting ChatGPT, particularly among engineers who have honed their skills in expressing specific business logic.
Glass praised ChatGPT search for providing up-to-date information, citing it as a significant time-saver for tasks like product comparisons. He also utilized Advanced Voice Mode to engage in voice conversations with the AI. Overall, ChatGPT’s additions over the last year have provided tech professionals with more options for technical work and made generative AI a staple in the industry.
Limitations and Challenges of ChatGPT
Despite its advancements, ChatGPT is not immune to mistakes. Glass noted that coding with ChatGPT often requires back-and-forth dialogue, including “reminding” the AI about details it may have overlooked. While ChatGPT has become more reliable, it still makes coding errors, particularly when faced with tasks that require a deep understanding of context and nuance.
Filev pointed out that ChatGPT’s reliability can sometimes lead to complacency, making it essential to verify information through hard sources. Raffi discussed the uncertainty surrounding the commercial use of AI-generated code, citing a court case between developers and GitHub Copilot, which alleged intellectual property rights violations.
Impact of ChatGPT on Early-Career Developers
The past year has seen significant changes in how ChatGPT affects early-career developers. Dheerendra Panwar, IEEE senior member, noted that ChatGPT’s impact has shifted the role of developers from creators to supervisors of AI-generated code. This shift raises important questions about the future of coding and the need for junior developers to adapt to new roles and responsibilities.
Andrew Filev, founder and CEO of Zencoder, highlighted the complex implications of ChatGPT on junior programmers, citing both benefits and drawbacks. While ChatGPT reduces reliance on collaborative problem-solving, fostering more autonomous work, it also raises concerns about the mental health benefits of human interaction and collaboration.
The Future of ChatGPT and AI Regulation
The rise of ChatGPT has sparked important discussions about AI regulation and the future of the industry. As AI companies continue to train models to digest more data, improving the models underlying ChatGPT, it’s clear that the landscape will continue to evolve.
Filev compared the rise of AI to the shift from punch cards to software programming, emphasizing that developers are accustomed to adapting to changes. “Technology does move forward, and we keep up with that, and I think it allows us to do so much more and better. And ChatGPT is one of the good examples of technologies that help us.”