"Factoids," "Kirt's Cogitations," and
"Tech Topics Smorgasbord"
are all manifestations of my ranting on various subjects relevant (usually) to the
overall RF Cafe theme. All may be accessed on these pages:
Since its launching on November 30 of last year (2022), I have seen / heard a
lot of news reports about the ChatGPT
content generator hosted by OpenAI.org. They label it a "chatbot." The GPT suffix
is an acronym for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence
(AI) algorithm that creates a paragraph or two about a topic which you enter in the webpage. Proponents
hail it as one of the first instances of making AI available to the public, and
to facilitate information search and dissemination. Opponents warn that ChatGPT is
a scheme which can feed on its own self-generated inaccuracies when generated content
is posted online and used later by the same algorithm.
One aspect that occurred to me whilst experimenting with ChatGPT is that while
you are helping to train the AI algorithm, it is simultaneously training you to
communicate effectively with it, so it's a two-way process. Sometimes it takes many
iterations of a query to get the preferred results. Note that sometimes ChatGPT
server is so inundated with participants that you might need to submit your query
multiple times to get any result other than an error message. Feedback can be provided
to ChatGPT regarding the usefulness of its reply by clicking on the up or down thumb
icons.
I could go into a little more detail about ChatGPT, but why not let the chatbot
extoll its own virtues? I asked, "What is ChatGPT?"
"ChatGPT is a pre-trained language model developed by OpenAI that uses deep learning
techniques to generate human-like text responses based on input. It has been trained
on a large corpus of text data and can generate coherent and contextually relevant
responses to a wide range of topics. It can be fine-tuned for specific use cases,
such as question answering, text completion, and conversation, by training on additional
data. ChatGPT can be used in a variety of applications, including customer service,
content creation, and language translation."
Here is a ChatGPT tutorial video. I am not familiar with this
guy, but he seems sane.
Next, I asked, "What are the dangers of using ChatGPT?" It responded with impressive
honesty:
"Bias and Misinformation: ChatGPT is trained on text data from the internet,
which may contain biases and misinformation. These biases and inaccuracies can be
perpetuated in the model's responses.
Privacy Concerns: ChatGPT requires access to large amounts of data to function
effectively, which can raise privacy concerns if personal information is used in
the training data.
Dependence on AI: Relying too heavily on ChatGPT or other AI systems for decision
making and communication can lead to a loss of critical thinking and problem-solving
skills.
Lack of accountability: As ChatGPT is an AI model, it is difficult to hold it
accountable for the responses it generates, leading to potential ethical issues
such as spreading hate speech or misinformation.
Difficulty in Understanding AI Responses: ChatGPT generates responses that can
be difficult for humans to understand, especially in complex and technical domains,
which can lead to confusion and misinformation."
Although I placed the ChatGPT content within quote marks, the fact is that according
to
copyright legal experts, nobody or entity own the rights to any content created
by artificial intelligence. That means there is no requirement to quote it or provide
a citation. The fact that it appears first on the RF Cafe website in no way entitles
me to privileged ownership. You may legally use part or all of it exactly as presented
without permission from me. You may not, however, reprint any of the other content
on this page without my permission since U.S. copyright laws protect content generated
by me as long as I can prove that it originated here first*.
ChatGPT is not limited to simple tasks. Here is the result of my asking it to
create a short article about the invention of the transistor:
"The transistor is a device that is widely used in electronic circuits for amplification
and switching purposes. It was invented in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain,
and William Shockley at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey.
Before the invention of the transistor, electronic circuits used vacuum tubes
as amplifiers and switches, which were large, power-hungry, and unreliable. The
transistor changed this by providing a compact, low-power, and reliable alternative.
The invention of the transistor is considered a major milestone in the history
of electronics and led to the development of many modern technologies, such as computers,
radios, televisions, and mobile phones. The transistor revolutionized the electronics
industry and paved the way for the modern information age.
In 1956, the three inventors were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their
invention of the transistor, which has since become an indispensable component in
modern electronics. The invention of the transistor is a testament to the power
of scientific discovery and the impact it can have on the world."
ChatGPT can do a lot of things, but its response is limited solely to text. Images
and sound are not within its capabilities - at least not yet. I entered, "Show me
a graph of the current - voltage relationship in a silicon junction diode."
"I'm sorry, as an AI language model, I do not have the capability to generate
visual graphs. You can easily find a graphical representation of the current-voltage
(I-V) relationship for a silicon junction diode by searching for "silicon junction
diode I-V curve" on the internet.
The current-voltage (I-V) relationship for a silicon junction diode is characterized
by a forward-biased region and a reverse-biased region.
In the forward-biased region, the diode behaves like a conductor, and the current
flowing through it is directly proportional to the applied voltage. This region
is typically modeled by the equation: I = Is * (e^(V/Vt) - 1) Where Is is the saturation
current, V is the voltage across the diode, and Vt is the thermal voltage.
In the reverse-biased region, the diode behaves like an insulator and only a
very small reverse leakage current flows through it. The voltage-current characteristic
in this region is approximately constant and independent of the applied voltage.
Typically, the I-V characteristic of a silicon junction diode is plotted on a
graph with the current on the y-axis and the voltage on the x-axis. The graph shows
a steep increase in current in the forward-biased region and a nearly constant current
in the reverse-biased region.
Next, I asked ChatGPT to write some javascript for calculating component values
for a simple resistive voltage divider, and got the following result (query was
"javascript code resistive voltage divider innerhtml"). It did not do as well
when I asked it for code to calculate the values of a resistive "pi" attenuator
pad.
This is the result of the code exactly as provided by ChatGPT.
The output voltage is:
"Here's a JavaScript code that displays the output voltage of a resistive
voltage divider circuit in an HTML document using the 'innerHTML' property:
<p id="output">The output voltage is: </p>
<script>
function voltageDivider(R1, R2, V_in) {
let V_out = (R2 / (R1 + R2)) * V_in;
return V_out;
}
let R1 = 10e3; // resistance 1 in ohms
let R2 = 5e3; // resistance 2 in ohms
let V_in = 5; // input voltage in volts
let V_out = voltageDivider(R1, R2, V_in);
document.getElementById("output").innerHTML += V_out + " volts";
</script>
This code uses the 'voltageDivider' function to
calculate the output voltage 'V_out' of a resistive voltage divider circuit
based on the input voltage 'V_in', and the values of the two resistors 'R1' and
'R2'. The calculated value of 'V_out' is then appended to the text in the HTML
element with the id attribute equal to "output" using the 'innerHTML' property."
This barely scratches the surface of
ChatGPT's capabilities. You might enjoy giving it a test drive yourself. If
you don't already have one, you'll need an OpenAI account (free) to access the
functionality. Don't worry about it discovering you exist; it probably already
knows ;-)
Chatbots are not new to the Internet, and are notoriously busy worldwide generating
posts to website forums based on what human participants (and other chatbots) are
writing. Tests conducted by communications experts have shown that it is often impossible
to discern chatbot-generated content from human content. Alexa and Siri are examples
of voice-actuated AI that produces results in audible form and/or by initiating
action from devices configured to communicate with them.
Chat GPT has no voice, so we don't know yet whether it is male or female. Just
for kicks, I asked it.
"ChatGPT does not have a gender as it is an artificial intelligence model. It
does not possess human characteristics or qualities such as gender. "
May 2023 Update:
I wanted a VBA macro for Microsoft Outlook 2007 that would empty the "Junk
E-mail" folder. There is no built-in command other than selecting the folder and
clicking "Delete," but that only deletes one file at a time. To empty the entire
folder requires selecting the group of them using Ctrl+A, then Deleting. The
following ChatGPT−generated VBA code does the job all in one fell swoop. It
worked and is
presented exactly as provided. I don't know why it added the extra "l" in the
subroutine name (between Email and Folder), but I left it that way.
Sub
EmptyJunkEmaillFolder() Dim objOutlook As Outlook.Application Dim
objNamespace As Outlook.NameSpace Dim objJunkEmaillFolder As Outlook.Folder
Dim objItems As Outlook.Items Dim objItem As Object
' Get the Outlook
application and namespace Set objOutlook = Outlook.Application Set
objNamespace = objOutlook.GetNamespace("MAPI")
' Get the "Junk E-mail"
folder Set objJunkEmaillFolder = objNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderJunk)
' Get all items in the "Junk E-mail" folder Set objItems =
objJunkEmaillFolder.Items
' Delete each item in the "Junk E-mail" folder
For Each objItem In objItems objItem.Delete Next objItem
' Clean up
objects Set objItems = Nothing Set objJunkEmaillFolder = Nothing Set
objNamespace = Nothing Set objOutlook = Nothing
' MsgBox "Junk E-mail
folder has been emptied.", vbInformation End Sub
Here are a few stories about ChatGPT that might interest you:
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