OpenAI releases several plugins for ChatGPT. One of them, currently in alpha testing, allows him to pull information from the web to enrich his answers. Is it a good idea?
One of the limitations of ChatGPT is that it essentially gets stuck in those responses to dates, events, and people whose information pre-September 2021 is like searching for dates on the web on your own.
This is now possible thanks to plugins that OpenAI added yesterday. They allow him to access external sources and databases and even search for information directly on the web. At the moment these options are only available in the alpha version. These plugins are only accessible to a limited number of developers and users who have opted into the chatbot’s premium plan.
After this test phase, the plugins are then accessible to everyone. The plugin that adds precise web search queries. When ChatGPT is deliberately restricted, it is done precisely to better filter content to limit access to unreliable content. Knowing that ChatGPT can easily go wrong despite this control, direct access to search engines could well make the phenomenon worse.
Disturbing precedents
We remember Facebook’s unfortunate experience with its chatbot BlenderBot 3.0, which quickly became embroiled in conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism due to the viral content accessible to it. Similarly, in 2021, OpenAI attempted to experiment with connecting to the internet using an AI called WebGPT. The system, which pulled answers from the Internet, tended to dig from unreliable but popular sources.
It remains to be seen how ChatGPT will perform with this new feature. Among the other plugins there is also a Python code interpretation function. It is able to support uploading files to the chatbot and can also upload the generated file. This process allows files to be processed and converted from one format to another. In addition, OpenAI stated that it would like to further develop its policy on plugins for ChatGPT and, for example, allow companies to create them for their own needs.