ChatGPT for Beginners: What You Need to Know about ChatGPT

Since the beginning of 2023, ChatGPT has been highly regarded in the field of artificial intelligence. Even Google CEO Sundar Pichai has sounded the alarm internally, expressing concern over its potential impact. Based on the OpenAI platform, ChatGPT uses natural language processing techniques to generate conversations and has demonstrated significant potential in areas such as user interaction, customer service, and intelligent question answering. In this article, we will delve into the details of this AI chatbot.

What is ChatGPT?


ChatGPT is an innovative language model designed to communicate with humans in a natural way. This AI technology has the potential to completely change the way people interact with machines, allowing humans to converse with machines just as they would with other humans.

Unlike traditional chatbots that rely on pre-written scripts or specific rules, ChatGPT is built using machine learning algorithms. It attempts to understand the human input and responds accordingly, with data sources including books, articles, and the internet. It is this self-learning feature that makes applications that integrate ChatGPT such as customer service, personal assistants, and translation more personalized and appealing, while also being able to quickly handle more complex query scenarios.

However, despite its ability to self-learn, ChatGPT still requires human input and monitoring to some extent. Fine-tuning the model on specific datasets or tasks can improve its response quality, and human experts participate in screening and reviewing the data used to train the system. In addition, certain tasks may require professional knowledge or context that may not exist in the training data, requiring human intervention to provide necessary information.

In summary, ChatGPT is a breakthrough technology in the field of natural language processing. It can learn and adapt to new situations, understand human language, and generate accurate, coherent, and relevant responses, making it one of the most promising technologies of our time.

Who made ChatGPT?


ChatGPT was developed by OpenAI. OpenAI is an AI research organization headquartered in San Francisco, founded in 2015 by a group of tech leaders including Elon Musk, Sam Altman (current OpenAI CEO), and Ilya Sutskever (current OpenAI Chief Scientist), aiming to advance the development and application of artificial intelligence.

OpenAI’s research focuses on fields such as natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and reinforcement learning. NLP aims to improve computers’ ability to analyze, understand, and learn from human language, the computer vision aims to improve computers’ ability to analyze, understand, and learn from images and videos, and the reinforcement learning aims to enable intelligent agents to learn how to take optimal actions to achieve a goal through interaction with their environment.

OpenAI has received several significant investments in recent years, including a $1 billion investment from Microsoft in 2019 and a $10 million investment from AWS (Amazon Web Services) in 2020. The latest investment was a $365 million funding round led by building materials manufacturer Saint-Gobain in February 2022, with other investors including Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Khosla Ventures, among others. These investments not only help OpenAI expand its scale and accelerate its research progress but also demonstrate investors’ confidence and expectations for the development of AI technology.

Why did ChatGPT suddenly become popular?

Daily worldwide visits to OpenAI’s website and its ChatGPT platform.

After its release, ChatGPT had one million registered users in just five days. By January of this year, it had accumulated 100 million monthly active users within two months of its release, becoming the fastest-growing consumer application in history. It took TikTok nine months to reach 100 million users, while Instagram took two and a half years. January 31st of this year was the fastest-growing day for ChatGPT, with Similarweb data showing a record-breaking 28 million daily visits to its website, a 165% increase from a month earlier.

One important reason for ChatGPT’s sudden popularity is its uniqueness, which includes natural language processing technology and the ability to self-learn. Additionally, its practical application effects are good, which gives it the ability to go viral. Another reason is its ease of use, as anyone can access and use it, with applications ranging from completing schoolwork to legal consultations. Additionally, the timing of its release may have been a factor, as there tends to be a burst of creativity after major epidemics, as seen during the Renaissance period following the Black Death in the 14th century, leading to creative explosions in various fields.

How to register and use ChatGPT?

To use ChatGPT, which is provided through the OpenAI platform, you need to register on the OpenAI website. Here are the registration steps:

  1. Click to open the ChatGPT portal website, https://chat.openai.com/. For people from countries that are restricted by the internet like China, you can use VPN tools to access it. ProtonVPN, Shadow-SSR2, and V2rayN3 are three good ones.
  2. Enter your email address to register an account.
  3. Read and accept the terms and disclosures of ChatGPT.
  4. Enter a phone number, receive and enter the verification code to activate your account. If you are restricted by phone number in your country, you can use a virtual foreign phone number platform to get one and receive the verification code. SMS-Activate1, Dingtone2, and Super Cloud SMS3 are three good virtual phone number platforms.
  5. Start using ChatGPT for writing or chatting.


What is the latest version of ChatGPT?


The latest version of ChatGPT is based on the GPT-4 model, which was released on March 14th. The GPT-4 model has added the ability to analyze and understand images, and can generate descriptions, titles, stories, and more based on images. For example, if you want to create a website, you can draw the website interface you want and then give it to GPT-4 to generate the corresponding website code. The acceptable length of text input has also been increased from the original 20,000 tokens (about 15,000 words) to 32,000 tokens (about 24,000 words). The model has also improved its ability to handle common sense and difficult questions, providing more accurate answers.

The version timeline of ChatGPT is as follows:

  • June 2018: OpenAI released the GPT model for the first time.
  • November 2019: OpenAI released the GPT-2 model and restricted access to the model before release due to concerns about its potential misuse.
  • June 2020: OpenAI relaxed restrictions on GPT-2 and granted full access to the model.
  • November 2020: OpenAI released the ChatGPT model.
  • June 2021: OpenAI released the GPT-3 model.
  • November 2022: OpenAI released the GPT-3.5 model.
  • March 2023: OpenAI released the GPT-4 model.


What are the differences between the free version and the paid version (ChatGPT Plus) of ChatGPT?


There are two versions of ChatGPT: a free version and a paid version (ChatGPT Plus). The main differences between them are:

  • ChatGPT Plus has a larger model capacity, more advanced training techniques, and better pre-processing than the free version, so it can generate more accurate, high-quality, and diverse text.
  • ChatGPT Plus has priority access during high traffic periods, while the free version may require queuing and waiting.
  • ChatGPT Plus has a much faster response time than the free version, and you can even choose to use the Turbo model to speed up the response time.
  • ChatGPT Plus can enjoy new features first, such as the recently released GPT-4.

If you want to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus, you can pay a monthly fee of $20 using a credit card on the OpenAI website.

What will ChatGPT look like in 3-5 years?


First, as ChatGPT continues to improve its natural language processing abilities, it will be able to better understand and generate various language variants, including languages from different countries and specialized terminology from different fields. Additionally, it will be able to recognize and analyze different voices and accents, and gradually achieve verbal speech input and output. It may even include the emotional aspects of language, making conversations more realistic with humans. Furthermore, given OpenAI’s current efforts in computer vision, ChatGPT will likely support the use of images and videos in future conversations.

Second, ChatGPT’s applications will become more diversified. For example, in business negotiations, ChatGPT could provide valuable negotiation skills and advice by conducting big data research on the negotiating party. In the medical field, ChatGPT could provide intelligent diagnosis services for doctors and patients based on patients’ symptoms and medical records. In education, ChatGPT could become an intelligent learning assistant, providing targeted learning advice and answering questions to improve educational efficiency, among other things.

EMO desktop AI robot

In addition, ChatGPT can also be used in combination with other technologies. For example, it can be combined with the Internet of Things (IoT) technology to create various intelligent hardware, including home robots, smart speakers, and smart locks that can converse with humans. It can also be combined with blockchain technology to provide users with secure and reliable data storage and transmission services. It can be combined with virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to create more vivid and immersive application experiences.

Finally, ChatGPT’s future development will also bring some challenges. As ChatGPT becomes more intelligent and adaptive, it may impact some traditional job positions such as customer service representatives, translators, writers and editors, and data analysts. However, with the development of technology, we have reason to believe that ChatGPT’s future will create a better life and work experience for us.

Ethan Chen
  • Ethan Chen
  • As a technology enthusiast, Ethan is passionate about all things related to technology, constantly seeking out the latest in tech hardware, software, and emerging technologies, pushing the boundaries of feasibility to reveal endless possibilities.