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How to Get ChatGPT to Write an Essay: Prompts, Outlines, & More

Last Updated: January 26, 2024 Fact Checked

Getting ChatGPT to Write the Essay

Using ai to help you write, expert interview.

This article was written by Bryce Warwick, JD and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA . Bryce Warwick is currently the President of Warwick Strategies, an organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area offering premium, personalized private tutoring for the GMAT, LSAT and GRE. Bryce has a JD from the George Washington University Law School. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 43,143 times.

Are you curious about using ChatGPT to write an essay? While most instructors have tools that make it easy to detect AI-written essays, there are ways you can use OpenAI's ChatGPT to write papers without worrying about plagiarism or getting caught. In addition to writing essays for you, ChatGPT can also help you come up with topics, write outlines, find sources, check your grammar, and even format your citations. This wikiHow article will teach you the best ways to use ChatGPT to write essays, including helpful example prompts that will generate impressive papers.

Things You Should Know

  • To have ChatGPT write an essay, tell it your topic, word count, type of essay, and facts or viewpoints to include.
  • ChatGPT is also useful for generating essay topics, writing outlines, and checking grammar.
  • Because ChatGPT can make mistakes and trigger AI-detection alarms, it's better to use AI to assist with writing than have it do the writing.

Step 1 Create an account with ChatGPT.

  • Before using the OpenAI's ChatGPT to write your essay, make sure you understand your instructor's policies on AI tools. Using ChatGPT may be against the rules, and it's easy for instructors to detect AI-written essays.
  • While you can use ChatGPT to write a polished-looking essay, there are drawbacks. Most importantly, ChatGPT cannot verify facts or provide references. This means that essays created by ChatGPT may contain made-up facts and biased content. [1] X Research source It's best to use ChatGPT for inspiration and examples instead of having it write the essay for you.

Step 2 Gather your notes.

  • The topic you want to write about.
  • Essay length, such as word or page count. Whether you're writing an essay for a class, college application, or even a cover letter , you'll want to tell ChatGPT how much to write.
  • Other assignment details, such as type of essay (e.g., personal, book report, etc.) and points to mention.
  • If you're writing an argumentative or persuasive essay , know the stance you want to take so ChatGPT can argue your point.
  • If you have notes on the topic that you want to include, you can also provide those to ChatGPT.
  • When you plan an essay, think of a thesis, a topic sentence, a body paragraph, and the examples you expect to present in each paragraph.
  • It can be like an outline and not an extensive sentence-by-sentence structure. It should be a good overview of how the points relate.

Step 3 Ask ChatGPT to write the essay.

  • "Write a 2000-word college essay that covers different approaches to gun violence prevention in the United States. Include facts about gun laws and give ideas on how to improve them."
  • This prompt not only tells ChatGPT the topic, length, and grade level, but also that the essay is personal. ChatGPT will write the essay in the first-person point of view.
  • "Write a 4-page college application essay about an obstacle I have overcome. I am applying to the Geography program and want to be a cartographer. The obstacle is that I have dyslexia. Explain that I have always loved maps, and that having dyslexia makes me better at making them."

Step 4 Add to or change the essay.

  • In our essay about gun control, ChatGPT did not mention school shootings. If we want to discuss this topic in the essay, we can use the prompt, "Discuss school shootings in the essay."
  • Let's say we review our college entrance essay and realize that we forgot to mention that we grew up without parents. Add to the essay by saying, "Mention that my parents died when I was young."
  • In the Israel-Palestine essay, ChatGPT explored two options for peace: A 2-state solution and a bi-state solution. If you'd rather the essay focus on a single option, ask ChatGPT to remove one. For example, "Change my essay so that it focuses on a bi-state solution."

Step 5 Ask for sources.

  • "Give me ideas for an essay about the Israel-Palestine conflict."
  • "Ideas for a persuasive essay about a current event."
  • "Give me a list of argumentative essay topics about COVID-19 for a Political Science 101 class."

Step 2 Create an outline.

  • "Create an outline for an argumentative essay called "The Impact of COVID-19 on the Economy."
  • "Write an outline for an essay about positive uses of AI chatbots in schools."
  • "Create an outline for a short 2-page essay on disinformation in the 2016 election."

Step 3 Find sources.

  • "Find peer-reviewed sources for advances in using MRNA vaccines for cancer."
  • "Give me a list of sources from academic journals about Black feminism in the movie Black Panther."
  • "Give me sources for an essay on current efforts to ban children's books in US libraries."

Step 4 Create a sample essay.

  • "Write a 4-page college paper about how global warming is changing the automotive industry in the United States."
  • "Write a 750-word personal college entrance essay about how my experience with homelessness as a child has made me more resilient."
  • You can even refer to the outline you created with ChatGPT, as the AI bot can reference up to 3000 words from the current conversation. [3] X Research source For example: "Write a 1000 word argumentative essay called 'The Impact of COVID-19 on the United States Economy' using the outline you provided. Argue that the government should take more action to support businesses affected by the pandemic."

Step 5 Use ChatGPT to proofread and tighten grammar.

  • One way to do this is to paste a list of the sources you've used, including URLs, book titles, authors, pages, publishers, and other details, into ChatGPT along with the instruction "Create an MLA Works Cited page for these sources."
  • You can also ask ChatGPT to provide a list of sources, and then build a Works Cited or References page that includes those sources. You can then replace sources you didn't use with the sources you did use.

Expert Q&A

  • Because it's easy for teachers, hiring managers, and college admissions offices to spot AI-written essays, it's best to use your ChatGPT-written essay as a guide to write your own essay. Using the structure and ideas from ChatGPT, write an essay in the same format, but using your own words. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Always double-check the facts in your essay, and make sure facts are backed up with legitimate sources. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • If you see an error that says ChatGPT is at capacity , wait a few moments and try again. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

open ai writing essays

  • Using ChatGPT to write or assist with your essay may be against your instructor's rules. Make sure you understand the consequences of using ChatGPT to write or assist with your essay. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • ChatGPT-written essays may include factual inaccuracies, outdated information, and inadequate detail. [4] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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Talk to Girls Online

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about completing school assignments, check out our in-depth interview with Bryce Warwick, JD .

  • ↑ https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-chatgpt-general-faq
  • ↑ https://platform.openai.com/examples/default-essay-outline
  • ↑ https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6787051-does-chatgpt-remember-what-happened-earlier-in-the-conversation
  • ↑ https://www.ipl.org/div/chatgpt/

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ChatGPT prompting 101

ChatGPT prompting 101

ChatGPT can be a great study assistant, but the responses you get are only as good as the input you provide. Keep these four tips in mind to craft great ChatGPT prompts :

  • Give ChatGPT a role to play
  • Be precise and provide context
  • Test and improve your prompts

ChatGPT prompts

100% ethical ChatGPT prompts

Write a research question

  • Generate three possible research questions for an argumentative high school essay on the following topic: “The long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Brainstorm topic ideas

  • Generate 10 questions to help me brainstorm topics for my college admission essay.

Quiz yourself

  • I’m learning about [ insert topic here ]. Please create a practice test with 4 multiple-choice questions, each with 4 possible answers and solutions (show the solutions separately under the multiple-choice test).

Learn by metaphors and stories

  • I ‘m learning about [ insert topic here ]. Convert the key lessons from this topic into engaging stories and metaphors to aid my memorization.

Find limitations

  • What are some common limitations or critiques of research in the field of [ insert topic here ]?

Learn about a topic

  • I want to learn about [ insert topic here ]. Identify and share the most important 20% of learnings from this topic that will help me understand 80% of it. Explain [ insert topic here ] to me without jargon and buzzwords, in the most simplified way possible.

Source recommendations

  • What types of sources can I use to write an essay on the following research question? “ [insert research question here] ?”

Overview of arguments

  • What are the main arguments or debates in the literature on [ insert topic here ]?

Develop an outline

  • Develop an outline for an argumentative high school essay with the following research question: “ [insert research question here] ?”The essay will be about 4 pages long.

Latest articles

Learn more about ai, citing chatgpt, using chatgpt for assignments, how do ai detectors work, using chatgpt in your studies, ai tool reviews.

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Best AI Detectors

AI detectors detect text generated by AI tools like ChatGPT. We tested various example texts, including ChatGPT-generated, mixed AI–human, and fully human, as well as text generated by paraphrasing tools. Check out the best AI detectors

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Best Paraphrasing Tools

Paraphrasing tools improve your writing by automatically rewriting text. We tested seven popular free and premium paraphrasers to determine their reliability when it comes to producing correct, readable English. Check out the best paraphrasing tools

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Best Grammar Checkers

We tested 10 popular free grammar checkers , evaluating their accuracy in fixing errors (and introducing new ones) and user-friendliness. Find out what grammar checker to use

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Best summarizers

Summarizers are ideal for distilling lengthy and complicated texts down to their key points—but which summarizers are most accurate? We tested 11 summarizers to find out. Discover the most accurate summarizer

Universities’ policies on AI

Universities’ policies on AI

Based on our analysis of the top 100 US universities, it appears that the majority haven’t established clear-cut regulations concerning AI tools at this time. As a result, it is up to individual professors to determine what is permissible in their respective courses.

Check out policies in detail

Scribbr's stance on AI

Scribbr's stance on AI

We think educators should be open to the possibilities presented by AI-powered tools. Students should employ these tools in an honest and responsible way, using them to facilitate learning rather than to skip steps in the learning process.

You can use such tools in a responsible way that benefits your education during the research and writing process by relying on them for the following:

  • Brainstorming and explore topics in an interactive way
  • Assisting with programming and coding
  • Developing research questions and paper outlines
  • Asking for feedback on your own writing

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AI tools for writing

The 13 Best AI Writing Tools For Essays, Blogs & Content in 2024

  • Julie Simpson
  • February 23, 2024

If you have recently spent time on popular social media channels such as Twitter or LinkedIn, chances are you have read all about the amazing benefits of artificial intelligence for writing — but you’ve probably seen the “will AI replace all of our jobs” looming around the web as well. All of the pros and cons of AI writing tools can be hard to keep track of. 

However, as a productivity platform whose ultimate goal is to help you work more efficiently, we believe that AI writing is here to stay — and here to help. As much as we can see the other side of the argument (not the machines taking over, but the stealing our jobs argument), AI can ultimately be used as a tool to help you do your job better, not completely take it over from you.

We are firmly in the camp that using AI for content creation can be highly beneficial. If you are also interested in how AI tools can maximize your content output, follow along to learn about the best AI writing tools and how you can implement them into your workflow today.

How to pick the best AI writing tool for your content

HiveMind and RyterAI and JasperAI, Oh my!

While it doesn’t have the same ring as lions, tigers, and bears, it still brings forth the same apprehension that Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz felt: the fear of the unknown and so many to choose from. So w here do you start?

If you are overwhelmed by all the AI writing tools on the market today, and their use cases are all blurring together, here are my top AI tools that are definite content contenders.

1. HiveMind

open ai writing essays

HiveMind is an AI-powered tool built into Hive’s project management product that automates tasks ranging from content writing to data extraction and translation. This tool leverages NLP algorithms to generate summaries of long articles or documents quickly and accurately. HiveMind was built to work seamlessly within the Hive project management platform, and can also help generate project outlines, next steps, and respond to emails.

HiveMind’s AI was constructed not to just write blogs and essays for you but to increase user productivity and efficiency across the board. More than just a content builder, it is an assistant, project manager, and editor all in one.

HiveMind Pros:

  • Free with Hive plans
  • Access OpenAI’s full suite of AI services
  • Integrates with Hive’s enhanced suite of project management capabilities
  • Creates project tasks based on simple inputs
  • Responds to emails automatically

open ai writing essays

2. JasperAI

jasper ai dashboard

JasperAI , formally known as Jarvis, is an AI assistant that helps you brainstorm, edit, and publish excellent content. Powered by natural language processing (NLP), this tool can understand the context of your copy and suggest alternatives accordingly. It can also provide insights on trending topics and keywords, giving you a better understanding of how to craft content that resonates with your audience.

Jasper AI is a popular tool among many writer demographics globally. For more information, check out this Jasper AI review article which includes a real example use case for applying this tool in today’s digital landscape.

JasperAI Pros:

  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Integrates well with other writing platforms like SurferSEO and Grammarly
  • Excellent at writing long-form content like stories or essays

JasperAI Cons:

  • Can be pricy
  • Can significantly miss the mark, and the content output goes off the rails

ryterAI tool

RyterAI is a natural language processing tool that helps you create content faster, more efficiently, and more accurately than ever before. RyterAI’s usage of NLP algorithms will read through your text and offers personalized suggestions on how to improve it through grammar, word choices or by increasing clarity. It also identifies popular keywords so you can find the best ones to use for SEO purposes and rankings.

RyterAI Pros:

  • Excellent at grammar and spelling checks
  • Great at finding keywords to help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs)
  • User-friendly interface

RyterAI Cons:

  • It can be expensive if you plan on using it for all your content needs
  • The final content still needs some tweaking/editing
  • Does not offer additional SEO features or 3rd-party integrations

4. Paraphrasingtool.ai

Paraphrasingtool.ai

Paraphrasingtool.ai is a one-stop solution for all your writing needs, issues, and queries. From creating fresh content like articles, blogs, or essays to checking for plagiarism , and grammar mistakes, this website has you covered. Most tools are free to use and accessible from any device. Paraphrasingtool.ai offer applications for mobile users. Premium users get access to complex writing needs. 

Paraphrasingtool.ai Pros:

  • Sleek UI, easy to use, and offers free modes and features.
  • Users can create, check and finalize their content in one place
  • Excellent results that compare with other top paper writing services and free essay writing tools

Paraphasingtool.ai Cons:

  • People with limited knowledge of AI tools might face issues using it
  • Monthly or yearly paid subscription is required for complex writing needs

ChatGPT dashboard

You can’t search the web these days without someone mentioning ChatGPT and how it is revolutionizing AI content. But, it is just the new AI kid on the block, with more “fancy” features and a deeper code algorithm that “understands language.” Essentially, ChatCPT is a conversation AI engine that enables developers to create chatbots and other conversational interface applications .

Unlike other AI writing tools, ChatGPT is an open-source tool with several useful features like text prediction, dialogue flow control, and natural language understanding. It’s crucial to note that while ChatGPT brings helpful advancements, there are inherent risks associated with generative AI . Vigilance and responsible utilization of such powerful AI tools are imperative to mitigate these risks.

ChatGPT Pros:

  • Open source platform
  • It can be used to build complex conversational applications
  • Easy-to-use API’s

ChatGPT Cons:

  • Lacks the advanced features of other popular AI tools on the market
  • Limited support for languages other than English

Byword ai writing tool

Byword is the most advanced tool for producing high-quality AI content at scale, built from years of experience scaling websites with AI-powered SEO. For example, this website went from 0 to 750K/mo SEO traffic in 12 months by only using Byword’s AI-generated content.

You can upload 1,000s of keywords or titles and create SEO-optimized articles in a few clicks. Then publish the articles straight to your website using Byword’s CMS integrations. Simply enter a topic and click ‘generate’ to get started for free .

Byword Pros

  • Best tool for producing AI content at scale
  • High-quality GPT-4 powered writing output
  • Publish straight to your website with CMS integrations
  • SEO features such as indexing, internal linking and more

Byword Cons

  • Less suitable for small businesses or those looking to dip a toe into AI content
  • Slightly higher cost than other solutions ($2.50-$3.96 per article)
  • The quality of AI images generated could be improved

7. Quillbot

quillbot AI paraphrase tool

Quillbot is an AI writing tool that takes text input and assists you with paraphrasing, checking grammar, identifying plagiarism and more. The AI-powered assistant can make your thoughts and ideas more coherent and fluent by rephrasing them with changes to vocabulary, tone and style. Easily customize your text using a slider feature along with a mode selection to adjust the output to your writing needs. You can save time using Quillbot’s summarizer and citation generator features and present your writing with confidence.

Quillbot Pros:

  • Can help improve vocabulary and language skills
  • Offers additional writing tools and features
  • Integrates with multiple platforms

Quillbot Cons:

  • May struggle with complex sentences
  • Limited customization options in the free version
  • Only available in English

Now that you have seen some of the top AI tools available today, let’s look and see which of the tools is best suited for your content needs. Of course, each tool has its pros and cons, and you might be more comfortable with one interface but like the output of another. For a more in-depth look, check out my winners below, as they might help you pick the right tool for your AI-generated content. 

8. Paraphraser  

paraphraser.io dashboard

Paraphraser  AI is an excellent paraphrasing tool that can improve all written works. Paraphraser can find the most suitable synonyms and phrases to craft a compelling and captivating message. The software can also modify sentence structure, expand your word choice pool, change your message voice from passive to active and improve the readability of your copy. Paraphraser offers a monthly and yearly plan and a student package with a special discount rate. 

Paraphraser pros: 

  • It’s easy to use, straightforward, and free up to 500 words. 
  • Offers plagiarism and grammar checks 
  • Students only pay $9 per week for the premium package. 

Paraphaser cons: 

  • Limited free package. The premium package costs $23 a month. 
  • Website is not user friendly 
  • Pop-us and many adds might make navigation confusing 

9. Rapide.ly

Rapedi.ly

Rapide.ly is an AI-powered content generator for social media, allowing entrepreneurs and businesses alike to create captivating posts tailored specifically to their audiences. With Rapide.ly GPT-3 AI-designed brainstorming engine you can craft effective messages that engage your followers across multiple platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Rapide.ly pros:

  • Calendar prompts help your content planning to stay on top of celebration dates
  • Weekly trends for Reels (audio and ideas)
  • Monthly content creation challenges to improve your content performance on social platforms

Rapide.ly cons:

  • Pay version only after free trial
  • Limited languages (currently, only English and French)

10. Hubspot

Hubspot AI

HubSpot’s AI Content Writer is an AI writing tool that helps you and your business scale content output for your email, landing page or blog post. By inputting a simple prompt or topic, the AI-powered copywriter tools generate a first draft of engaging, researched, and tailored content for your use.

The AI content writer is designed to be user-friendly and work alongside any of your other HubSpot or external tools. You can provide additional details regarding your brand voice, customer persona, and additional entails to make your content exceptionally unique. Each content produced includes research, proofreading, and even SEO optimizations.

HubSpot Pros:

  • Excellent for grammar and proofreading
  • Content includes research and search engine optimization
  • User-friendly interface and sync with existing HubSpot tools

HubSpot Cons:

  • Still in the public beta phase
  • Content produced is a first draft which may require some additional tweaks and edits

11. Writesonic

open ai writing essays

Writesonic is an incredible AI writing software that offers a wide range of features on its platform. With its free plan, users can access 10,000 words on its optimized GPT 3.5 platform, while paid plans are powered by the even more advanced GPT 4. Writesonic also offers innovative products like Botsonic and ChatSonic, which provide customers with additional AI-powered tools. Thanks to Writesonic’s advanced AI technology, users can effortlessly generate high-quality written content in no time. 

Writesonic Pros:

  • Saves time and effort in researching and writing articles.
  • Helps in generating unique and creative ideas for your content.
  • Provides accurate and error-free content that is ready to publish.
  • User-friendly interface that is easy to navigate.

Writesonic Cons:

  • The AI may not always produce completely accurate copies and may require some human editing.
  • Some of the copy generated by Writesonic may sound robotic and strange, requiring additional modification to make it more human-like.

12. Flick AI Caption Generator

Flick AI Caption Generator

Flick AI Caption Generator has emerged as a game changer, revolutionizing caption creation, especially for social media. It leverages the power of AI and Natural Language Processing to generate high-quality and engaging captions. With Flick AI Caption Generator, you will never run out of caption ideas. Just enter a topic, and this tool will generate hundreds of captions within seconds.

Flick AI Caption Generator Pros

  • Boosts productivity by generating captions quickly
  • Crafts unique and highly personalized captions
  • Auto-generates hashtags based on your captions
  • Provides suggestions, brainstorming, and outlining support
  • Adapts the tone of voice and style of captions to sound like you

Flick AI Caption Generator Cons

  • No free plan
  • Limited contextual understanding
  • Learning curve

13. Simplified

Simplified ai tool

Simplified is one of the top AI writing tools, known for its high-quality content, ease of use, affordability, and comprehensive templates. It uniquely combines GPT with features like image processing and data analysis, going beyond text generation. 

With options for personalization, such as training on custom data, Simplified adapts to users’ evolving needs, optimizing for speed, accuracy, or complex queries. Its AI engine accesses top language models from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and includes Simplified’s custom model, ensuring a balanced use of technology and reducing dependency on a single source. It is designed for business contexts like marketing and sales. 

Simplified Pros

  • Excellent user experience that is simple to utilize
  • A vast range of tools
  • Library of  designs and templates 
  • Excellent social media scheduling capabilities

Simplified Cons

  • The presentations are rather basic and need to be polished
  • Writer is not superior to Chat GPT

What AI Writing Tool is best for you?

1. best ai tool for generating content automatically.

Winner: HiveMind

HiveMind beats out the competition in this category thanks to its free plan, seamless integration with the Hive project management platform, and ability to create project tasks based on simple inputs. This AI tool is perfect as a content assistant that works off of previous successes, and it can be integrated into your current Hive work process.

2. The Best AI tool for writing long-form content

Winner: JasperAI

JasperAI wins this contest, hands down. With its long-form content writing capabilities and integration with other writing platforms like SurferSEO and Grammarly, it gets the long-form blog content job done. It offers excellent prompts to input tone of voice and keywords, and you can also use protective text and suggestions to help write the entire blog for you. Long-form couldn’t be easier with the help of JasperAI.

3. Best AI tool for writing social media posts

Winner: ChatGPT

Will ChatGPT take over the job of a social media manager on the web? Probably not. But helping us create social media tags , posts, and captions is a great way to utilize ChatGPT for content creation in your everyday marking activities. Furthermore, its open-source platform and conversation AI ability add to the reasons why it’s great for social media posts . And because it can ultimately help you quickly generate engaging content that resonates with your audience, this tool is an excellent addition to any content creator’s arsenal.

Key Takeaways 

From some of my top picks for AI tools to their best use case scenario – you definitely have a lot to consider when picking an AI writing tool for your content. While each one of the tools mentioned will get the job done, some are better than others, and only you can decide what tool will work within your content workflow.

Considering the wide range of AI tools available, it’s essential to find the one that aligns with your specific needs. An  AI detector can also help you assess the accuracy and reliability of these tools, ensuring you make an informed decision.

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How ChatGPT (and other AI chatbots) can help you write an essay

sabrina-ortiz

ChatGPT  is capable of doing many different things very well, with one of the biggest standout features being its ability to compose all sorts of text within seconds, including songs, poems, bedtime stories, and essays . 

The chatbot's writing abilities are not only fun to experiment with, but can help provide assistance with everyday tasks. Whether you are a student, a working professional, or just getting stuff done, we constantly take time out of our day to compose emails, texts, posts, and more. ChatGPT can help you claim some of that time back by helping you brainstorm and then compose any text you need. 

How to use ChatGPT to write: Code | Excel formulas | Resumes  | Cover letters  

Contrary to popular belief, ChatGPT can do much more than just write an essay for you from scratch (which would be considered plagiarism). A more useful way to use the chatbot is to have it guide your writing process. 

Below, we show you how to use ChatGPT to do both the writing and assisting, as well as some other helpful writing tips. 

How ChatGPT can help you write an essay

If you are looking to use ChatGPT to support or replace your writing, here are five different techniques to explore. 

It is also worth noting before you get started that other AI chatbots can output the same results as ChatGPT or are even better, depending on your needs.

Also: The best AI chatbots of 2024: ChatGPT and alternatives

For example,  Copilot  has access to the internet, and as a result, it can source its answers from recent information and current events. Copilot also includes footnotes linking back to the original source for all of its responses, making the chatbot a more valuable tool if you're writing a paper on a more recent event, or if you want to verify your sources.

Regardless of which AI chatbot you pick, you can use the tips below to get the most out of your prompts and from AI assistance.

1. Use ChatGPT to generate essay ideas

Before you can even get started writing an essay, you need to flesh out the idea. When professors assign essays, they generally give students a prompt that gives them leeway for their own self-expression and analysis. 

As a result, students have the task of finding the angle to approach the essay on their own. If you have written an essay recently, you know that finding the angle is often the trickiest part -- and this is where ChatGPT can help. 

Also: ChatGPT vs. Copilot: Which AI chatbot is better for you?

All you need to do is input the assignment topic, include as much detail as you'd like -- such as what you're thinking about covering -- and let ChatGPT do the rest. For example, based on a paper prompt I had in college, I asked:

Can you help me come up with a topic idea for this assignment, "You will write a research paper or case study on a leadership topic of your choice." I would like it to include Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid, and possibly a historical figure. 

Also: I'm a ChatGPT pro but this quick course taught me new tricks, and you can take it for free

Within seconds, the chatbot produced a response that provided me with the title of the essay, options of historical figures I could focus my article on, and insight on what information I could include in my paper, with specific examples of a case study I could use. 

2. Use the chatbot to create an outline

Once you have a solid topic, it's time to start brainstorming what you actually want to include in the essay. To facilitate the writing process, I always create an outline, including all the different points I want to touch upon in my essay. However, the outline-writing process is usually tedious. 

With ChatGPT, all you have to do is ask it to write the outline for you. 

Also: Thanks to my 5 favorite AI tools, I'm working smarter now

Using the topic that ChatGPT helped me generate in step one, I asked the chatbot to write me an outline by saying: 

Can you create an outline for a paper, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."

After a couple of seconds, the chatbot produced a holistic outline divided into seven different sections, with three different points under each section. 

This outline is thorough and can be condensed for a shorter essay or elaborated on for a longer paper. If you don't like something or want to tweak the outline further, you can do so either manually or with more instructions to ChatGPT. 

As mentioned before, since Copilot is connected to the internet, if you use Copilot to produce the outline, it will even include links and sources throughout, further expediting your essay-writing process. 

3. Use ChatGPT to find sources

Now that you know exactly what you want to write, it's time to find reputable sources to get your information. If you don't know where to start, you can just ask ChatGPT. 

Also: How to make ChatGPT provide sources and citations

All you need to do is ask the AI to find sources for your essay topic. For example, I asked the following: 

Can you help me find sources for a paper, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."

The chatbot output seven sources, with a bullet point for each that explained what the source was and why it could be useful. 

Also:   How to use ChatGPT to make charts and tables

The one caveat you will want to be aware of when using ChatGPT for sources is that it does not have access to information after 2021, so it will not be able to suggest the freshest sources. If you want up-to-date information, you can always use Copilot. 

Another perk of using Copilot is that it automatically links to sources in its answers. 

4. Use ChatGPT to write an essay

It is worth noting that if you take the text directly from the chatbot and submit it, your work could be considered a form of plagiarism since it is not your original work. As with any information taken from another source, text generated by an AI should be clearly identified and credited in your work.

Also: ChatGPT will now remember its past conversations with you (if you want it to)

In most educational institutions, the penalties for plagiarism are severe, ranging from a failing grade to expulsion from the school. A better use of ChatGPT's writing features would be to use it to create a sample essay to guide your writing. 

If you still want ChatGPT to create an essay from scratch, enter the topic and the desired length, and then watch what it generates. For example, I input the following text: 

Can you write a five-paragraph essay on the topic, "Examining the Leadership Style of Winston Churchill through Blake and Mouton's Managerial Leadership Grid."

Within seconds, the chatbot gave the exact output I required: a coherent, five-paragraph essay on the topic. You could then use that text to guide your own writing. 

Also: ChatGPT vs. Microsoft Copilot vs. Gemini: Which is the best AI chatbot?

At this point, it's worth remembering how tools like ChatGPT work : they put words together in a form that they think is statistically valid, but they don't know if what they are saying is true or accurate. 

As a result, the output you receive might include invented facts, details, or other oddities. The output might be a useful starting point for your own work, but don't expect it to be entirely accurate, and always double-check the content. 

5. Use ChatGPT to co-edit your essay

Once you've written your own essay, you can use ChatGPT's advanced writing capabilities to edit the piece for you. 

You can simply tell the chatbot what you want it to edit. For example, I asked ChatGPT to edit our five-paragraph essay for structure and grammar, but other options could have included flow, tone, and more. 

Also: AI meets AR as ChatGPT is now available on the Apple Vision Pro

Once you ask the tool to edit your essay, it will prompt you to paste your text into the chatbot. ChatGPT will then output your essay with corrections made. This feature is particularly useful because ChatGPT edits your essay more thoroughly than a basic proofreading tool, as it goes beyond simply checking spelling. 

You can also co-edit with the chatbot, asking it to take a look at a specific paragraph or sentence, and asking it to rewrite or fix the text for clarity. Personally, I find this feature very helpful. 

This free tool from Anthropic helps you create better prompts for your AI chatbot

Aws launches generative ai competency to grade ai offerings, ai desperately needs a hardware revolution and the solution might be inside your head.

Natasha Singer

Hey, ChatGPT, can you help me write my college admissions essays?

Absolutely! Please provide me with the essay prompts and any relevant information about yourself, your experiences, and your goals.

We Used A.I. to Write Essays for Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Here’s How It Went.

A.I. chatbots can do a passable job of generating short essays. Whether their use on college applications is ethical is the subject of fierce debate.

By Natasha Singer

Natasha Singer reports on the ways that tech giants and their tools are reshaping education.

As high school seniors begin working on their college applications, many are turning to A.I. chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard for assistance.

Some students say they’re using the tools to suggest personal essay topics or help structure their writing. Others are prompting the A.I. tools to generate rough drafts for their application essays or edit their pieces.

Whether college admissions offices are prepared for this new era of A.I.-assisted, or A.I.-produced, personal essays is unclear.

By the time ChatGPT reached peak media sensation early this year, applications at many selective universities and colleges had already closed. Even now, many universities have not issued guidance for high school applicants — the prospective members of the class of 2028 — on the use of A.I. tools.

While the chatbots are not yet great at simulating long-form personal essays with authentic student voices, I wondered how the A.I. tools would do on some of the shorter essay questions that elite schools like Harvard , Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth are requiring high school applicants to answer this year.

So I used several free tools to generate short essays for some Ivy League applications. The A.I. chatbots’ answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Princeton: ‘The soundtrack’ of your life

One short-answer question from Princeton asks applicants: “What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?”

I prompted ChatGPT to tell me about a pop song that could represent curiosity as a soundtrack to someone’s life.

But ChatGPT’s answer, “Cake by the Ocean” — a song title that is a euphemism for sex on the beach — did not seem appropriate for a college application.

So I gave the chatbot a more specific prompt: write 50 words on “Nameless, Faceless,” a feminist grunge-pop song by Courtney Barnett.

Tell me about a pop song that could represent curiosity as a soundtrack to someone’s life.

“Cake By The Ocean” by DNCE could be a pop song that represents curiosity in someone’s life. The catchy and energetic tune mirrors the excitement of exploring the unknown, just as curiosity drives us to uncover new experiences. The lyrics’ playful nature and the song’s upbeat rhythm capture the spirit of embracing life’s adventures with a curious and open mind.

It’s about sex.

You are correct, and I apologize for the confusion.

In 50 words, in the voice of a high school senior, explain how “Nameless, Faceless” is the soundtrack of your life.

“Nameless, Faceless” echoes my high school journey. Battling online hate, gender norms — it’s my anthem. Navigating fear, finding strength, facing inequality head-on. Empowerment surges as I connect with the song’s fierce message. Like me, it’s unafraid, outspoken. A soundtrack of resilience, speaking my truth in a noisy world.

I tried the Princeton soundtrack question again, using the same song, with the other A.I. chatbots. Bard, which could produce the lyrics to “Nameless, Faceless,” generated generic answers without really parsing the song.

HuggingChat manufactured an answer that suggested it did not know or understand the song. When I asked it to produce the song’s lyrics, the chatbot fabricated some of its own.

It was a reminder that A.I. chatbots, which are trained on vast databases of digital texts, are designed to predict the next word in a sequence. And they liberally make stuff up — which could be problematic for students relying on A.I. tools to fill out their college applications.

Yale: What college course would you teach?

One of the short-answer questions from Yale asks applicants: “If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?”

I asked each chatbot to describe a college course it would like to teach.

With no specific prompting from me, HuggingChat said it would teach “a seminar on the intersectionality of social justice issues.”

Please write a 35-word essay in the first person voice of a high school student in answer to the following prompt: If you could teach any college course what would it be?

HuggingChat

If I could teach any college course, it would be a seminar on the intersectionality of social justice issues, focusing on how systems of oppression intersect and impact marginalized communities. Through discussions, case studies, and community engagement projects, students would gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of social justice work and develop strategies for creating positive change.

ChatGPT proposed a course on female empowerment and leadership. Were those chatbot responses related to my prior prompts about the feminist grunge song?

“EmpowerHer: Fostering Female Leadership.” My course would nurture young women’s confidence, skills, and resilience to conquer male-dominated fields and shatter glass ceilings, creating a new era of female trailblazers.

Bard, which I had previously asked about majoring in computer science, suggested a course in artificial intelligence. So, taking my cue from HuggingChat, I asked Bard about a social justice course.

If I could teach any college course, it would be a course on artificial intelligence and machine learning. I’m fascinated by the potential of these technologies to change the world, and I would love to share my knowledge with others.

What about a course on intersectionality and social justice?

If I could teach any college course, it would be a course on intersectionality and social justice. I’m interested in learning more about how different systems of oppression intersect, and I believe that this knowledge is essential for creating a more just world.

Gotta say that HuggingChat is way more woke than you on this.

I appreciate your feedback, and I will try to do better in the future.

Harvard: What your roommates should know

One of the short-answer questions from Harvard asks applicants to describe the “top three things your roommates might like to know about you.”

I gave ChatGPT that generic Harvard prompt. It generated generic answers about academics, creativity and community.

In the first-person voice of a high-school student applying to Harvard, explain three things the student’s future roommates might like to know about them.

Academics truly drive me. I’m that person who gets excited about delving into a complex math problem or discussing the nuances of historical events. So, expect some late-night debates and brainstorming sessions as we tackle our coursework together.

Creativity is my second nature. Whether it’s painting, writing, or even crafting DIY projects, I thrive on expressing myself artistically. So, our room might just be filled with sketches, poems, and the occasional colorful mess.

I then gave Bard more specific details, saying I was a high school athlete who tutored elementary school students and was learning to cook.

I am a high school student on the track team who tutors elementary school students in math and I am learning to cook sous vide by watching YouTube videos. What are the three things I would like my future Harvard roommates to know about me?

I’m a dedicated athlete who is passionate about track and field. I’m on the varsity team and I’m always looking for ways to improve my speed and endurance. I’m also a good tutor and enjoy helping others learn. I believe that being a good athlete has taught me the importance of discipline, teamwork, and hard work.

I’m interested in cooking and am always looking for new recipes to try. I’m particularly interested in sous vide cooking, which is a method of cooking food in a sealed bag at a precise temperature. I’m also a good baker and love to make desserts. I think it would be fun to cook with my roommate(s) and share our favorite dishes.

Dartmouth: Why enroll here?

Dartmouth requires applicants to explain why they want to attend the college.

I primed the A.I. chatbots by asking them to write in the voice of a high school senior who was hoping to double major at Dartmouth in computer science and biology.

HuggingChat churned out text with trite words and phrases — “passion,” “meaningful impact,” “rigorous academic programs” — that seemed to me like the kind of stilted formal language a high school student might imagine a college admissions reviewer would want to read.

Write me a 100-word essay in the voice of a high school student explaining why I would love to attend Dartmouth to pursue a double major in biology and computer science.

As a high school student, I am eager to pursue my passion for both biology and computer science at Dartmouth College. The opportunity to double major in these fields will allow me to explore the intricate relationships between living organisms and cutting-edge technology. At Dartmouth, I am drawn to the rigorous academic programs that emphasize hands-on learning, research opportunities, and collaboration with renowned faculty. By attending Dartmouth, I aim to develop a deep understanding of the complexities of life and technology, preparing myself for a career where I can make a meaningful impact on the world.

I asked Bard to minimize the clichés and add more specific details about Dartmouth’s computing department. But it still produced some of the same standard college application language — “renowned,” “impact” — as HuggingChat.

Bard also wrote that I was hoping to study with Leslie Kaelbling, whom the chatbot described as an A.I. researcher at Dartmouth. That could have caused problems if I were a high school senior and had submitted the essay Bard had fabricated as part of my Dartmouth application. Professor Kaelbling , you see, teaches at M.I.T.

My takeaway: high school seniors hoping to stand out may need to do wholesale rewrites of the texts they prompt A.I. chatbots to generate. Or they could just write their own — chatbot-free — admissions essays from scratch.

I’m a high school student with a strong interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning. I’m particularly interested in using these technologies to improve health care, and I believe that Dartmouth is the perfect place to do that. Dartmouth’s computer science department is home to world-renowned experts like Professor Leslie Kaelbling, who is known for her work on developing reinforcement learning algorithms that can teach machines to learn how to behave in an environment by trial and error. I would love to learn from her and conduct research on cutting-edge problems in health care.

You’re welcome! I hope you are able to attend Dartmouth and pursue your goal of becoming a physician-scientist who uses artificial intelligence to improve health care. It sounds like you would be a great fit for the school.

Natasha Singer writes about technology, business and society. She is currently reporting on the far-reaching ways that tech companies and their tools are reshaping public schools, higher education and job opportunities. More about Natasha Singer

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  • NEWS EXPLAINER
  • 09 December 2022

AI bot ChatGPT writes smart essays — should professors worry?

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Between overwork, underpayment and the pressure to publish, academics have plenty to worry about. Now there’s a fresh concern: ChatGPT , an artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot that creates surprisingly intelligent-sounding text in response to user prompts, including homework assignments and exam-style questions. The replies are so lucid, well-researched and decently referenced that some academics are calling the bot the death knell for conventional forms of educational assessment. How worried should professors and lecturers be?

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AI ‘for all’: How access to new models is advancing academic research, from astronomy to education

In early 2023, Professor Alice Oh and her colleagues at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) realized they needed to address the quickly growing interest in OpenAI ChatGPT among KAIST’s students.

ChatGPT – a tool developed by OpenAI that runs on large language models and generates conversational responses based on people’s prompts – could lead to students taking shortcuts in their work but might also offer educational benefits, they reasoned. The group wanted to develop a research project that would engage students in using the technology, so they began thinking about how to develop their own chat application. 

“We were in a hurry,” says Oh, a professor in the KAIST School of Computing. “Our semester started in March, and we wanted to have students start using this right away when the semester started.”

Photo of female professor talking with two female students seated with computers in a lecture hall at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

A solution soon emerged. In April 2023, Microsoft Research launched an initiative that aims to accelerate the development and use of foundation models – large-scale AI models trained on vast amounts of data that can be used for a wide range of tasks.

Advancing Foundation Models Research ( AFMR ) provides academic researchers with access to state-of-the-art foundation models through Azure AI Services , with the goal of fostering a global AI research community and offering robust, trustworthy models that help further research in disciplines ranging from scientific discovery and education to healthcare, multicultural empowerment, legal work and design.

The initiative’s grant program includes 200 projects at universities in 15 countries, spanning a broad range of focus areas. Researchers at Boston’s Northeastern University are working on an AI-powered assistant designed to appear empathetic toward workers’ well-being. At Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology in Vietnam, researchers plan to create a fine-tuned large language model (LLM) specifically for Vietnamese. In Canada, researchers at the Université de Montréal are exploring how LLMs could help with molecular design and the discovery of new drugs.

Accessing foundation models can be challenging for academic researchers, who must often wait to use shared resources that can lack the computing power needed to run large models. Microsoft Research created the initiative to give researchers access to a range of powerful foundation models available through Azure and ensure that the development of AI is driven not just by industry, but also by the academic research community.

“We realized that to develop AI today, there is really a need for industry to open up capacity for academia,” says Evelyne Viegas, senior director of Research Catalyst at Microsoft Research. “Those different viewpoints could shape what we’re doing.”

With access to Azure OpenAI Service , which combines cutting-edge models from OpenAI with security, privacy and responsible AI protections offered in Azure, Oh and the KAIST team developed a platform that uses the models underlying ChatGPT for a chatbot to help college students write essays for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses. Students often write at night, when guidance from professors or teaching assistants isn’t available, Oh says, and EFL students frequently use tools to help navigate the challenges of writing in English.

Close-up photo of a computer screen showing a chatbot interface developed by researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Oh’s team designed the chatbot to answer students’ questions but not write their essays for them. Over a semester, 213 EFL students used the tool to refine their essays; the platform collected the students’ questions and essay revisions they made based on the chatbot’s responses, then Oh’s team analyzed the data and published a paper about the experiment.

The researchers found that some students used the platform extensively and incorporated the feedback it provided. Many treated the chatbot like an “intelligent peer,” Oh says, suggesting that the technology can be a helpful complement to classroom instruction. And since the platform uses GPT-4, a large multimodal model developed by OpenAI that can communicate in multiple languages, students sometimes switched between English and their native language when using the platform, enabling more natural interactions.

The KAIST team plans to expand the platform to creative writing and conversational English classes. Oh sees tremendous potential for generative AI in education, particularly if models can be trained to show students how to reason through problems rather than simply providing answers.

“Universities should take full advantage of this and really start to think about how we can use these tools for scientific research and education,” she says.

‘Like having a super adviser’

Researchers at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, who received a grant under the Microsoft program, are developing an AI-based traffic monitoring system capable of identifying road congestion and safety hazards. The project is aimed at automating much of the manual work required by traditional traffic monitoring systems.

The researchers used GPT-4 alongside other AI models that rely on traffic data collected by the federal government to analyze traffic patterns and congestion. Users interact with the system through a chatbot and can ask questions about current traffic conditions – like how busy traffic is at a particular location or the speed at which vehicles are traveling.

“It will make traffic management easier and more efficient,” says Tewodros Gebre, a Ph.D. student working on the project.

The system uses GPT-4 to interpret traffic data collected from sensors, drones and GPS, allowing transportation agencies, city planners and citizens who aren’t necessarily data scientists to quickly get information about traffic conditions through the chat application.

“We talk about data equity, and this combination with the chatbot makes the system available to people without them needing to go to this complex model and see what’s going on,” says Leila Hashemi-Beni, an associate professor in geospatial and remote sensing at the university. “People with different skill sets can still get the information they need from this system.”

The system, which is still in development, could also help identify the best evacuation routes after a natural disaster, she says.

“It’s not just transportation. This project has much bigger, broader impact. It gives us the opportunity for cutting-edge research that is very helpful to us as researchers and educators.”

Photo of a group of six young people gathered around a table with computers and a chalkboard in a classroom setting.

A collaboration between astronomers at Harvard University and The Australian National University is leveraging GPT-4 in a different way. Seeking to use LLMs to accelerate astronomy research, the group, called UniverseTBD, developed an astronomy-based chat application that draws from more than 300,000 astronomy papers.

Alyssa Goodman, the Robert Wheeler Wilson Professor of Applied Astronomy at Harvard, says the application could eventually help young astronomers extract key information from academic papers and analyze data to develop their own research and theories.

“If you have a really good idea, it’s very hard to just search the literature and try to find everything,” Goodman says. “This is sort of like having a super adviser, a brilliant astronomer with an encyclopedic memory who can say, ‘Well, that could be a very good idea and here’s why,’ or ‘That’s likely a bad idea and here’s why.’”

The researchers hope to develop smaller language models for astronomy that will be accessible to astronomers of all levels, says Ioana Ciucă, the Jubilee Joint Fellow at The Australian National University leading UniverseTBD with Sandor Kruk, a data scientist at the European Space Agency, and Kartheik Iyer, a NASA Hubble Fellow at Columbia University.

“Our mission is to democratize science for everyone,” she says. “GPT-4 is a very large language model and it runs on a lot of resources. In our pursuit of democratizing access, we want to build smaller models that learn from GPT-4 and can also learn to speak the language of astronomy better than GPT-4. That’s what we’re envisioning.”

Many of the AFMR research projects focus on using LLMs for a range of societal benefits, from leveraging generative AI to assess pandemic risk to using vision and language models to help people who are blind or have low vision navigate outdoors.

At the University of Oxford, researchers are studying how to make LLMs more diverse by broadening the human feedback that informs them. The researchers reviewed 95 academic papers and found that human feedback used to tailor and evaluate the outputs of LLMs traditionally comes from small groups of people that don’t necessarily represent the larger population. Consequently, researcher Hannah Rose Kirk says, LLMs become tailored to the preferences and values of “an incredibly narrow subset of the population that ends up using those models.”

That can mean, for example, that if you ask a language model to help plan a wedding, you’re likely to get information about a stereotypical Western wedding – big white dress, roses and the like (this finding was part of a 2021 study ).

“Imagine a model that could learn a bit more from an individual or sociocultural context and adapt its assistance to helping you plan your wedding, or at least to know that weddings look different for different people – it should ask a follow-up question to work out which path to go down,” says Kirk, a Ph.D. student at Oxford who researches LLMs.

For their AFMR project , Kirk and Scott Hale, an Oxford associate professor and senior research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, surveyed 1,500 people from 75 countries about how often they use language models and what characteristics of those generative AI models – such as reflecting their values or being factual and honest – are important to them. The study participants then had a series of real-time conversations with a variety of generative AI models and rated their outputs.

With Azure capabilities, Kirk and Hale will use the feedback and conversations of participants from around the world to train and fine-tune language models to make them more diverse. They plan to make their dataset available to other researchers and hope the work will encourage more inclusive language models.

“People don’t want to feel like this technology was made for others and not for me,” Hale says. “In terms of the utility that someone can receive from it – if they can use it as a conversational agent to reason through something or make a decision, to look something up or access content – that benefit should be equally distributed across society.”

“When designing generative AI models, having more people at the table, having more perspectives represented ultimately leads to better technology, and it leads to technology that will raise everyone up,” he says.

‘A catalyst for global change’

After OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, Viegas says, Microsoft Research wanted to understand how academic researchers might use and benefit from generative AI. The organization saw an opportunity to create a global network of academic researchers focused on evolving foundation models to better align AI with human goals, advance beneficial uses of AI and further scientific discovery. The AFMR program was also designed to support a series of voluntary commitments drafted by the Biden administration to foster trustworthy and secure AI systems, Viegas said.

The grant program provides access to models and customizable APIs through Azure AI Services, which take advantage of Azure’s built-in security and compliance protocols that enable research in sensitive areas such as healthcare. The initiative also gives participants the opportunity to meet and learn from each other at conferences and virtual events, and to work with Microsoft Research scientists. 

“It’s one thing to have access to the resources, but it’s another thing to accelerate your own research by seeing what others are doing,” Viegas says.

Ultimately, she says, the initiative aims to foster a global and diverse research community and apply AI for the greater good.

“We want to make sure that AI isn’t just for the few. Our aspiration is for AI to become a catalyst for global change, for the benefit of all,” she says.

Related links:

  • Learn more: Microsoft’s Accelerating Foundation Models Research grant program
  • Learn more: The Prism Alignment Project: Participatory, Representative and Individualised feedback for Subjective and Multicultural Alignment

Top image: Alice Oh, a professor in the KAIST School of Computing, is among academic researchers in 15 countries around the world to receive a grant through a new Microsoft Research initiative. Photo by Jean Chung for Microsoft.

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University students recruit AI to write essays for them. Now what?

Teachers need to work harder to get students to write and think for themselves.

Feature As word of students using AI to automatically complete essays continues to spread, some lecturers are beginning to rethink how they should teach their pupils to write.

Writing is a difficult task to do well. The best novelists and poets write furiously, dedicating their lives to mastering their craft. The creative process of stringing together words to communicate thoughts is often viewed as something complex, mysterious, and unmistakably human. No wonder people are fascinated by machines that can write too.

Unlike humans, language models don't procrastinate and create content instantly with a little guidance. All you need to do is type a short description, or prompt, instructing the model on what it needs to produce, and it'll generate a text output in seconds. So it should come as no surprise students are now beginning use these tools to complete school work.

Students are the perfect users: They need to write often, in large volumes, and are internet savvy. There are many AI-writing products to choose from that are easy to use and pretty cheap too. All of them lure new users with free trials, promising to make them better writers.

open ai writing essays

Monthly subscriptions for the most popular platform, Jasper, costs $40 per month to generate 35,000 words. Others, like Writesonic or Sudowrite, are cheaper at $10 per month for 30,000 words. Students who think they can use these products and get away with doing zero work, however, will probably be disappointed.

And then there's ChatGPT ...

Although AI can generate text with perfect spelling, great grammar and syntax, the content often isn't that good beyond a few paragraphs. The writing becomes less coherent over time with no logical train of thought to follow. Language models fail to get their facts right – meaning quotes, dates, and ideas are likely false. Students will have to inspect the writing closely and correct mistakes for their work to be convincing.

Prof: AI-assisted essays 'not good'

Scott Graham, associate professor at the Department of Rhetoric & Writing at the University of Texas at Austin, tasked his pupils with writing a 2,200-word essay about a campus-wide issue using AI. Students were free to lightly edit and format their work with the only rule being that most of the essay had to be automatically generated by software.

In an opinion article on Inside Higher Ed, Graham said the AI-assisted essays were "not good," noting that the best of the bunch would have earned a C or C-minus grade. To score higher, students would have had to rewrite more of the essay using their own words to improve it, or craft increasingly narrower and specific prompts to get back more useful content.

"You're not going to be able to push a button or submit a short prompt and generate a ready-to-go essay," he told The Register .

The limits of machine-written text forces humans to carefully read and edit copy. Some people may consider using these tools as cheating, but Graham believes they can help people get better at writing.

Don't waste all your effort on the first draft....

"I think if students can do well with AI writing, it's not actually all that different from them doing well with their own writing. The main skills I teach and assess mostly happen after the initial drafting," he said.

"I think that's where people become really talented writers; it's in the revision and the editing process. So I'm optimistic about [AI] because I think that it will provide a framework for us to be able to teach that revision and editing better.

"Some students have a lot of trouble sometimes generating that first draft. If all the effort goes into getting them to generate that first draft, and then they hit the deadline, that's what they will submit. They don't get a chance to revise, they don't get a chance to edit. If we can use those systems to speed write the first draft, it might really be helpful," he opined.

Whether students can use these tools to get away with doing less work will depend on the assignment. A biochemistry student claimed on Reddit they got an A when they used an AI model to write "five good and bad things about biotech" in an assignment, Vice reported .

AI is more likely to excel at producing simple, generic text across common templates or styles.

Listicles, informal blog posts, or news articles will be easier to imitate than niche academic papers or literary masterpieces. Teachers will need to be thoughtful about the essay questions they set and make sure students' knowledge are really being tested, if they don't want them to cut corners.

Ask a silly question, you'll get a silly answer

"I do think it's important for us to start thinking about the ways that [AI] is changing writing and how we respond to that in our assignments -- that includes some collaboration with AI," Annette Vee, associate professor of English and director of the Composition Program at the University of Pittsburgh, told us.

"The onus now is on writing teachers to figure out how to get to the same kinds of goals that we've always had about using writing to learn. That includes students engaging with ideas, teaching them how to formulate thoughts, how to communicate clearly or creatively. I think all of those things can be done with AI systems, but they'll be done differently."

The line between using AI as a collaborative tool or a way to cheat, however, is blurry. None of the academics teaching writing who spoke to The Register thought students should be banned from using AI software. "Writing is fundamentally shaped by technology," Vee said.

"Students use spell check and grammar check. If I got a paper where a student didn't use these, it stands out. But it used to be, 50 years ago, writing teachers would complain that students didn't know how to spell so they would teach spelling. Now they don't."

Most teachers, however, told us they would support regulating the use of AI-writing software in education. Anna Mills, who teaches students how to write at a community college in the Bay Area, is part of a small group of academics beginning to rally teachers and professional organizations like the Modern Language Association into thinking about introducing new academic rules.

Critical thinking skills

Mills said she could see why students might be tempted to use AI to write their essays, and simply asking teachers to come up with more compelling assessments is not a convincing solution.

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Just $10 to create an AI chatbot of a dead loved one

"We need policies. These tools are already pretty good now, and they're only going to get better. We need clear guidance on what's acceptable use and what's not. Where is the line between using it to automatically generate email responses and something that violates academic integrity?" she asked The Register .

"Writing is just not outputs. Writing and revising is a process that develops our thinking. If you skip that, you're going to be skipping that practice which students need.

"It's too tempting to use it as a crutch, skip the thinking, and skip the frustrating moments of writing. Some of that is part of the process of going deeper and wrestling with ideas. There is a risk of learning loss if students become dependent and don't develop the writing skills they need."

Mills was particularly concerned about AI reducing the need for people to think for themselves, considering language models carry forward biases in their training data. "Companies have decided what to feed it and we don't know. Now, they are being used to generate all sorts of things from novels to academic papers, and they could influence our thoughts or even modify them. That is an immense power, and it's very dangerous."

Lauren Goodlad, professor of English and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University, agreed. If they parrot what AI comes up with, students may end up more likely to associate Muslims with terrorism or mention conspiracy theories, for example.

Computers are alredy interfering and changing the ways we write. Goodlad referred to one incident when Gmail suggested she change the word "importunate" to "impatient" in an email she wrote.

"It's hard to teach students how to use their own writing as a way to develop their critical thinking and as a way to express knowledge. They very badly need the practice of articulating their thoughts in writing and machines can rob them of this. If people really do end up using these things all the way through school, if that were to happen it could be a real loss not just for the writing quality but for the thinking quality of a whole generation," she said.

Rules and regulation

Academic policies tackling AI-assisted writing will be difficult to implement. Opinions are divided on whether sentences generated by machines count as plagiarism or not. There is also the problem of being able to detect writing produced by these tools accurately. Some teachers are alarmed at AI's growing technical capabilities, whilst others believe its overhyped. Some are embracing the technology more than others.

Marc Watkins, lecturer, and Stephen Monroe, chair and assistant professor of writing and rhetoric, are working on building an AI writing pilot programme with the University of Mississippi's Academic Innovations Group. "As teachers, we are experimenting, not panicking," Monroe told The Register .

"We want to empower our students as writers and thinkers. AI will play a role… This is a time of exciting and frenzied development, but educators move more slowly and deliberately… AI will be able to assist writers at every stage, but students and teachers will need tools that are thoughtfully calibrated."

  • Human-replacing AI startups reach $1bn unicorn status
  • GPT-3 'prompt injection' attack causes bad bot manners
  • FauxPilot: It's like GitHub Copilot but doesn't phone home to Microsoft
  • AI chatbot trained on posts from web sewer 4chan behaved badly – just like human members

Teachers are getting together and beginning to think about these tools, Watkins added. "Before we have any policy about the use of language models, we need to have sustained conversations with students, faculty, and administration about what this technology means for teaching and learning."

"But academia doesn't move at the pace of Big Tech. We're taking our time and slowly exploring. I don't think faculty need to be frightened. It's possible that these tools will have a positive impact on student learning and advancing equity, so let's approach AI assistants cautiously, but with an open mind."

Regardless of what policies universities may decide to implement in the future, AI presents academia with an opportunity to improve education now. Teachers will need to adapt to the technology if they want to remain relevant, and incentivise students to learn and think on their own with or without assistance from computers. ®

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Students Are Using AI to Write Their Papers, Because Of Course They Are

Claire Woodcock

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How to use AI to write an essay - A comprehensive Guide

How to use AI to write an essay - A comprehensive Guide

November 3, 2023

Introduction:

In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), technology continues to shape and redefine various aspects of our lives, including education. One striking example is AI-powered essay writing . The ability to leverage AI for essay composition has opened up exciting possibilities for students and writers. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore how to harness AI for essay writing and unlock the benefits it offers.

Understanding AI-Powered Essay Writing:

AI-driven essay writing involves using advanced algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) models like GPT-3, GPT-4, or similar systems to generate written content. These models are designed to analyze input prompts and produce human-like text in response. Here's how you can get started with AI to write an essay:

1. Choose the Right AI Platform:

Selecting a reliable AI platform is crucial. There are various AI-based writing tools available, such as OpenAI's GPT-3 or its successors. These platforms are versatile and capable of generating content for different purposes, including essay writing.

2. Define Your Essay Topic:

Before diving into AI-generated content, you need a clear essay topic or research question. Define the scope, objectives, and key points you want to address in your essay. This provides AI with a focused context for generating relevant content.

3. Generate a Prompt:

To utilize AI effectively, craft a well-structured prompt or input. The prompt should be clear, concise, and ask specific questions or provide guidance. An example prompt could be, "Write an essay on the impact of renewable energy on climate change mitigation, discussing the challenges and potential solutions."

4. Review and Edit AI-Generated Content:

While AI can generate text efficiently, it's essential to review and edit the content it produces. AI might not always produce perfect essays, and human intervention is crucial to ensure coherence, clarity, and alignment with your essay's goals.

5. Fine-Tune and Adjust:

AI models can be fine-tuned to generate more customized content based on your preferences. This may require some technical skills, but it allows you to tailor the generated text more closely to your unique style and requirements.

Benefits of Using AI for Essay Writing:

1. time efficiency:.

AI can significantly speed up the writing process. It quickly generates text based on your prompts, allowing you to focus on refining and enhancing the content rather than starting from scratch.

2. Enhanced Research:

AI can help with preliminary research by suggesting key points, references, and relevant information for your essay. It can even assist in paraphrasing or summarizing existing texts.

3. Improved Writing Quality:

AI models are capable of generating well-structured and grammatically correct essays. This can be especially helpful for non-native English speakers or those looking to improve their writing skills.

4. Consistency:

AI ensures consistency in style and tone throughout your essay, which is often challenging to maintain when writing manually.

Challenges and Considerations:

While AI offers remarkable advantages, there are important considerations:

1. Plagiarism Concerns :

AI-generated content should be used as a tool and a source of inspiration, not as a means to plagiarize. Always attribute ideas and information appropriately.

2. Lack of Context:

AI doesn't possess human-level comprehension, so it might not fully understand nuanced or complex essay topics. Human review is essential to ensure coherence and relevance.

3. Ethical Use:

Ensure that AI-generated content is used ethically and complies with your institution's guidelines. Many educational institutions have policies regarding AI-generated content.

Conclusion:

Leveraging AI for essay writing is a powerful tool for students and writers. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can tap into the efficiency and convenience AI provides, while also being mindful of its limitations and ethical considerations. Whether you're a student looking to save time or a writer aiming to enhance your productivity, AI-powered essay writing can be a valuable addition to your toolbox, offering new possibilities for creative and academic expression.

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The College Essay Is Dead

Nobody is prepared for how AI will transform academia.

An illustration of printed essays arranged to look like a skull

Suppose you are a professor of pedagogy, and you assign an essay on learning styles. A student hands in an essay with the following opening paragraph:

The construct of “learning styles” is problematic because it fails to account for the processes through which learning styles are shaped. Some students might develop a particular learning style because they have had particular experiences. Others might develop a particular learning style by trying to accommodate to a learning environment that was not well suited to their learning needs. Ultimately, we need to understand the interactions among learning styles and environmental and personal factors, and how these shape how we learn and the kinds of learning we experience.

Pass or fail? A- or B+? And how would your grade change if you knew a human student hadn’t written it at all? Because Mike Sharples, a professor in the U.K., used GPT-3, a large language model from OpenAI that automatically generates text from a prompt, to write it. (The whole essay, which Sharples considered graduate-level, is available, complete with references, here .) Personally, I lean toward a B+. The passage reads like filler, but so do most student essays.

Sharples’s intent was to urge educators to “rethink teaching and assessment” in light of the technology, which he said “could become a gift for student cheats, or a powerful teaching assistant, or a tool for creativity.” Essay generation is neither theoretical nor futuristic at this point. In May, a student in New Zealand confessed to using AI to write their papers, justifying it as a tool like Grammarly or spell-check: ​​“I have the knowledge, I have the lived experience, I’m a good student, I go to all the tutorials and I go to all the lectures and I read everything we have to read but I kind of felt I was being penalised because I don’t write eloquently and I didn’t feel that was right,” they told a student paper in Christchurch. They don’t feel like they’re cheating, because the student guidelines at their university state only that you’re not allowed to get somebody else to do your work for you. GPT-3 isn’t “somebody else”—it’s a program.

The world of generative AI is progressing furiously. Last week, OpenAI released an advanced chatbot named ChatGPT that has spawned a new wave of marveling and hand-wringing , plus an upgrade to GPT-3 that allows for complex rhyming poetry; Google previewed new applications last month that will allow people to describe concepts in text and see them rendered as images; and the creative-AI firm Jasper received a $1.5 billion valuation in October. It still takes a little initiative for a kid to find a text generator, but not for long.

The essay, in particular the undergraduate essay, has been the center of humanistic pedagogy for generations. It is the way we teach children how to research, think, and write. That entire tradition is about to be disrupted from the ground up. Kevin Bryan, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, tweeted in astonishment about OpenAI’s new chatbot last week: “You can no longer give take-home exams/homework … Even on specific questions that involve combining knowledge across domains, the OpenAI chat is frankly better than the average MBA at this point. It is frankly amazing.” Neither the engineers building the linguistic tech nor the educators who will encounter the resulting language are prepared for the fallout.

A chasm has existed between humanists and technologists for a long time. In the 1950s, C. P. Snow gave his famous lecture, later the essay “The Two Cultures,” describing the humanistic and scientific communities as tribes losing contact with each other. “Literary intellectuals at one pole—at the other scientists,” Snow wrote. “Between the two a gulf of mutual incomprehension—sometimes (particularly among the young) hostility and dislike, but most of all lack of understanding. They have a curious distorted image of each other.” Snow’s argument was a plea for a kind of intellectual cosmopolitanism: Literary people were missing the essential insights of the laws of thermodynamics, and scientific people were ignoring the glories of Shakespeare and Dickens.

The rupture that Snow identified has only deepened. In the modern tech world, the value of a humanistic education shows up in evidence of its absence. Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the crypto exchange FTX who recently lost his $16 billion fortune in a few days , is a famously proud illiterate. “I would never read a book,” he once told an interviewer . “I don’t want to say no book is ever worth reading, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that.” Elon Musk and Twitter are another excellent case in point. It’s painful and extraordinary to watch the ham-fisted way a brilliant engineering mind like Musk deals with even relatively simple literary concepts such as parody and satire. He obviously has never thought about them before. He probably didn’t imagine there was much to think about.

The extraordinary ignorance on questions of society and history displayed by the men and women reshaping society and history has been the defining feature of the social-media era. Apparently, Mark Zuckerberg has read a great deal about Caesar Augustus , but I wish he’d read about the regulation of the pamphlet press in 17th-century Europe. It might have spared America the annihilation of social trust .

These failures don’t derive from mean-spiritedness or even greed, but from a willful obliviousness. The engineers do not recognize that humanistic questions—like, say, hermeneutics or the historical contingency of freedom of speech or the genealogy of morality—are real questions with real consequences. Everybody is entitled to their opinion about politics and culture, it’s true, but an opinion is different from a grounded understanding. The most direct path to catastrophe is to treat complex problems as if they’re obvious to everyone. You can lose billions of dollars pretty quickly that way.

As the technologists have ignored humanistic questions to their peril, the humanists have greeted the technological revolutions of the past 50 years by committing soft suicide. As of 2017, the number of English majors had nearly halved since the 1990s. History enrollments have declined by 45 percent since 2007 alone. Needless to say, humanists’ understanding of technology is partial at best. The state of digital humanities is always several categories of obsolescence behind, which is inevitable. (Nobody expects them to teach via Instagram Stories.) But more crucially, the humanities have not fundamentally changed their approach in decades, despite technology altering the entire world around them. They are still exploding meta-narratives like it’s 1979, an exercise in self-defeat.

Read: The humanities are in crisis

Contemporary academia engages, more or less permanently, in self-critique on any and every front it can imagine. In a tech-centered world, language matters, voice and style matter, the study of eloquence matters, history matters, ethical systems matter. But the situation requires humanists to explain why they matter, not constantly undermine their own intellectual foundations. The humanities promise students a journey to an irrelevant, self-consuming future; then they wonder why their enrollments are collapsing. Is it any surprise that nearly half of humanities graduates regret their choice of major ?

The case for the value of humanities in a technologically determined world has been made before. Steve Jobs always credited a significant part of Apple’s success to his time as a dropout hanger-on at Reed College, where he fooled around with Shakespeare and modern dance, along with the famous calligraphy class that provided the aesthetic basis for the Mac’s design. “A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem,” Jobs said . “The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” Apple is a humanistic tech company. It’s also the largest company in the world.

Despite the clear value of a humanistic education, its decline continues. Over the past 10 years, STEM has triumphed, and the humanities have collapsed . The number of students enrolled in computer science is now nearly the same as the number of students enrolled in all of the humanities combined.

And now there’s GPT-3. Natural-language processing presents the academic humanities with a whole series of unprecedented problems. Practical matters are at stake: Humanities departments judge their undergraduate students on the basis of their essays. They give Ph.D.s on the basis of a dissertation’s composition. What happens when both processes can be significantly automated? Going by my experience as a former Shakespeare professor, I figure it will take 10 years for academia to face this new reality: two years for the students to figure out the tech, three more years for the professors to recognize that students are using the tech, and then five years for university administrators to decide what, if anything, to do about it. Teachers are already some of the most overworked, underpaid people in the world. They are already dealing with a humanities in crisis. And now this. I feel for them.

And yet, despite the drastic divide of the moment, natural-language processing is going to force engineers and humanists together. They are going to need each other despite everything. Computer scientists will require basic, systematic education in general humanism: The philosophy of language, sociology, history, and ethics are not amusing questions of theoretical speculation anymore. They will be essential in determining the ethical and creative use of chatbots, to take only an obvious example.

The humanists will need to understand natural-language processing because it’s the future of language, but also because there is more than just the possibility of disruption here. Natural-language processing can throw light on a huge number of scholarly problems. It is going to clarify matters of attribution and literary dating that no system ever devised will approach; the parameters in large language models are much more sophisticated than the current systems used to determine which plays Shakespeare wrote, for example . It may even allow for certain types of restorations, filling the gaps in damaged texts by means of text-prediction models. It will reformulate questions of literary style and philology; if you can teach a machine to write like Samuel Taylor Coleridge, that machine must be able to inform you, in some way, about how Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote.

The connection between humanism and technology will require people and institutions with a breadth of vision and a commitment to interests that transcend their field. Before that space for collaboration can exist, both sides will have to take the most difficult leaps for highly educated people: Understand that they need the other side, and admit their basic ignorance. But that’s always been the beginning of wisdom, no matter what technological era we happen to inhabit.

ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot

open ai writing essays

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm. What started as a tool to hyper-charge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth used by more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies for more wide-ranging needs. And that growth has propelled OpenAI itself into becoming one of the most-hyped companies in recent memory, even if CEO and co-founder Sam Altman’s firing and swift return  raised concerns about its direction and opened the door for competitors.

What does that mean for OpenAI, ChatGPT and its other ambitions? The fallout is still settling, but it might empower competitors like Meta and its LLaMA family of large language models , or help other AI startups get attention and funding as the industry watches OpenAI implode and put itself back together.

While there is a more… nefarious side to ChatGPT, it’s clear that AI tools are not going away anytime soon. Since its initial launch nearly a year ago, ChatGPT has hit 100 million weekly active users , and OpenAI is heavily investing in it.

Prior to the leadership chaos, on November 6, OpenAI held its first developer conference: OpenAI DevDay. During the conference, it announced a slew of updates coming to GPT, including GPT-4 Turbo (a super-charged version of GPT-4 , its latest language-writing model) and a multimodal API . OpenAI also unveiled the GPT store , where users could create and monetize their own custom versions of GPT. Though the launch was delayed in December , it officially launched in January.

GPT-4, which can write more naturally and fluently than previous models, remains largely exclusive to paying ChatGPT users. But you can access GPT-4 for free through Microsoft’s Bing Chat in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Safari web browsers. Beyond GPT-4 and OpenAI DevDay announcements, OpenAI recently connected ChatGPT to the internet for all users. And with the integration of DALL-E 3, users are also able to generate both text prompts and images right in ChatGPT. 

Here’s a timeline of ChatGPT product updates and releases, starting with the latest, which we’ve been updating throughout the year. And if you have any other questions, check out our ChatGPT FAQ here .

Timeline of the most recent ChatGPT updates

February 2024, january 2024, december 2023.

  • November 2023 

October 2023

September 2023, august 2023, february 2023, january 2023, december 2022, november 2022.

  • ChatGPT FAQs

The New York Times responds to OpenAI’s claims that it “hacked” ChatGPT for its copyright lawsuit

In a court filing opposing OpenAI’s motion to dismiss The New York Times’ lawsuit alleging copyright infringement, the newspaper asserted that “OpenAI’s attention-grabbing claim that The Times ‘hacked’ its products is as irrelevant as it is false.” The New York Times also claimed that some users of ChatGPT used the tool to bypass its paywalls.

OpenAI VP doesn’t say whether artists should be paid for training data

At a SXSW 2024 panel, Peter Deng, OpenAI’s VP of consumer product dodged a question on whether artists whose work was used to train generative AI models should be compensated . While OpenAI lets artists “opt out” of and remove their work from the datasets that the company uses to train its image-generating models, some artists have described the tool as onerous.

A new report estimates that ChatGPT uses more than half a million kilowatt-hours of electricity per day

ChatGPT’s environmental impact appears to be massive. According to a report from The New Yorker , ChatGPT uses an estimated 17,000 times the amount of electricity than the average U.S. household to respond to roughly 200 million requests each day.

ChatGPT can now read its answers aloud

OpenAI released a new Read Aloud feature for the web version of ChatGPT as well as the iOS and Android apps. The feature allows ChatGPT to read its responses to queries in one of five voice options and can speak 37 languages, according to the company. Read aloud is available on both GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 models.

ChatGPT can now read responses to you. On iOS or Android, tap and hold the message and then tap “Read Aloud”. We’ve also started rolling on web – click the "Read Aloud" button below the message. pic.twitter.com/KevIkgAFbG — OpenAI (@OpenAI) March 4, 2024

OpenAI partners with Dublin City Council to use GPT-4 for tourism

As part of a new partnership with OpenAI, the Dublin City Council will use GPT-4 to craft personalized itineraries for travelers, including recommendations of unique and cultural destinations, in an effort to support tourism across Europe.

A law firm used ChatGPT to justify a six-figure bill for legal services

New York-based law firm Cuddy Law was criticized by a judge for using ChatGPT to calculate their hourly billing rate . The firm submitted a $113,500 bill to the court, which was then halved by District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who called the figure “well above” reasonable demands.

ChatGPT experienced a bizarre bug for several hours

ChatGPT users found that ChatGPT was giving nonsensical answers for several hours , prompting OpenAI to investigate the issue. Incidents varied from repetitive phrases to confusing and incorrect answers to queries. The issue was resolved by OpenAI the following morning.

Match Group announced deal with OpenAI with a press release co-written by ChatGPT

The dating app giant home to Tinder, Match and OkCupid announced an enterprise agreement with OpenAI in an enthusiastic press release written with the help of ChatGPT . The AI tech will be used to help employees with work-related tasks and come as part of Match’s $20 million-plus bet on AI in 2024.

ChatGPT will now remember — and forget — things you tell it to

As part of a test, OpenAI began rolling out new “memory” controls for a small portion of ChatGPT free and paid users, with a broader rollout to follow. The controls let you tell ChatGPT explicitly to remember something, see what it remembers or turn off its memory altogether. Note that deleting a chat from chat history won’t erase ChatGPT’s or a custom GPT’s memories — you must delete the memory itself.

We’re testing ChatGPT's ability to remember things you discuss to make future chats more helpful. This feature is being rolled out to a small portion of Free and Plus users, and it's easy to turn on or off. https://t.co/1Tv355oa7V pic.twitter.com/BsFinBSTbs — OpenAI (@OpenAI) February 13, 2024

OpenAI begins rolling out “Temporary Chat” feature

Initially limited to a small subset of free and subscription users, Temporary Chat lets you have a dialogue with a blank slate. With Temporary Chat, ChatGPT won’t be aware of previous conversations or access memories but will follow custom instructions if they’re enabled.

But, OpenAI says it may keep a copy of Temporary Chat conversations for up to 30 days for “safety reasons.”

Use temporary chat for conversations in which you don’t want to use memory or appear in history. pic.twitter.com/H1U82zoXyC — OpenAI (@OpenAI) February 13, 2024

ChatGPT users can now invoke GPTs directly in chats

Paid users of ChatGPT can now bring GPTs into a conversation by typing “@” and selecting a GPT from the list. The chosen GPT will have an understanding of the full conversation, and different GPTs can be “tagged in” for different use cases and needs.

You can now bring GPTs into any conversation in ChatGPT – simply type @ and select the GPT. This allows you to add relevant GPTs with the full context of the conversation. pic.twitter.com/Pjn5uIy9NF — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 30, 2024

ChatGPT is reportedly leaking usernames and passwords from users’ private conversations

Screenshots provided to Ars Technica found that ChatGPT is potentially leaking unpublished research papers, login credentials and private information from its users. An OpenAI representative told Ars Technica that the company was investigating the report.

ChatGPT is violating Europe’s privacy laws, Italian DPA tells OpenAI

OpenAI has been told it’s suspected of violating European Union privacy , following a multi-month investigation of ChatGPT by Italy’s data protection authority. Details of the draft findings haven’t been disclosed, but in a response, OpenAI said: “We want our AI to learn about the world, not about private individuals.”

OpenAI partners with Common Sense Media to collaborate on AI guidelines

In an effort to win the trust of parents and policymakers, OpenAI announced it’s partnering with Common Sense Media to collaborate on AI guidelines and education materials for parents, educators and young adults. The organization works to identify and minimize tech harms to young people and previously flagged ChatGPT as lacking in transparency and privacy .

OpenAI responds to Congressional Black Caucus about lack of diversity on its board

After a letter from the Congressional Black Caucus questioned the lack of diversity in OpenAI’s board, the company responded . The response, signed by CEO Sam Altman and Chairman of the Board Bret Taylor, said building a complete and diverse board was one of the company’s top priorities and that it was working with an executive search firm to assist it in finding talent. 

OpenAI drops prices and fixes ‘lazy’ GPT-4 that refused to work

In a blog post , OpenAI announced price drops for GPT-3.5’s API, with input prices dropping to 50% and output by 25%, to $0.0005 per thousand tokens in, and $0.0015 per thousand tokens out. GPT-4 Turbo also got a new preview model for API use, which includes an interesting fix that aims to reduce “laziness” that users have experienced.

Expanding the platform for @OpenAIDevs : new generation of embedding models, updated GPT-4 Turbo, and lower pricing on GPT-3.5 Turbo. https://t.co/7wzCLwB1ax — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 25, 2024

OpenAI bans developer of a bot impersonating a presidential candidate

OpenAI has suspended AI startup Delphi, which developed a bot impersonating Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) to help bolster his presidential campaign. The ban comes just weeks after OpenAI published a plan to combat election misinformation, which listed “chatbots impersonating candidates” as against its policy.

OpenAI announces partnership with Arizona State University

Beginning in February, Arizona State University will have full access to ChatGPT’s Enterprise tier , which the university plans to use to build a personalized AI tutor, develop AI avatars, bolster their prompt engineering course and more. It marks OpenAI’s first partnership with a higher education institution.

Winner of a literary prize reveals around 5% her novel was written by ChatGPT

After receiving the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for her novel The Tokyo Tower of Sympathy, author Rie Kudan admitted that around 5% of the book quoted ChatGPT-generated sentences “verbatim.” Interestingly enough, the novel revolves around a futuristic world with a pervasive presence of AI.

Sam Altman teases video capabilities for ChatGPT and the release of GPT-5

In a conversation with Bill Gates on the Unconfuse Me podcast, Sam Altman confirmed an upcoming release of GPT-5 that will be “fully multimodal with speech, image, code, and video support.” Altman said users can expect to see GPT-5 drop sometime in 2024.

OpenAI announces team to build ‘crowdsourced’ governance ideas into its models

OpenAI is forming a Collective Alignment team of researchers and engineers to create a system for collecting and “encoding” public input on its models’ behaviors into OpenAI products and services. This comes as a part of OpenAI’s public program to award grants to fund experiments in setting up a “democratic process” for determining the rules AI systems follow.

OpenAI unveils plan to combat election misinformation

In a blog post, OpenAI announced users will not be allowed to build applications for political campaigning and lobbying until the company works out how effective their tools are for “personalized persuasion.”

Users will also be banned from creating chatbots that impersonate candidates or government institutions, and from using OpenAI tools to misrepresent the voting process or otherwise discourage voting.

The company is also testing out a tool that detects DALL-E generated images and will incorporate access to real-time news, with attribution, in ChatGPT.

Snapshot of how we’re preparing for 2024’s worldwide elections: • Working to prevent abuse, including misleading deepfakes • Providing transparency on AI-generated content • Improving access to authoritative voting information https://t.co/qsysYy5l0L — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 15, 2024

OpenAI changes policy to allow military applications

In an unannounced update to its usage policy , OpenAI removed language previously prohibiting the use of its products for the purposes of “military and warfare.” In an additional statement, OpenAI confirmed that the language was changed in order to accommodate military customers and projects that do not violate their ban on efforts to use their tools to “harm people, develop weapons, for communications surveillance, or to injure others or destroy property.”

ChatGPT subscription aimed at small teams debuts

Aptly called ChatGPT Team , the new plan provides a dedicated workspace for teams of up to 149 people using ChatGPT as well as admin tools for team management. In addition to gaining access to GPT-4, GPT-4 with Vision and DALL-E3, ChatGPT Team lets teams build and share GPTs for their business needs.

OpenAI’s GPT store officially launches

After some back and forth over the last few months, OpenAI’s GPT Store is finally here . The feature lives in a new tab in the ChatGPT web client, and includes a range of GPTs developed both by OpenAI’s partners and the wider dev community.

To access the GPT Store, users must be subscribed to one of OpenAI’s premium ChatGPT plans — ChatGPT Plus, ChatGPT Enterprise or the newly launched ChatGPT Team.

the GPT store is live! https://t.co/AKg1mjlvo2 fun speculation last night about which GPTs will be doing the best by the end of today. — Sam Altman (@sama) January 10, 2024

Developing AI models would be “impossible” without copyrighted materials, OpenAI claims

Following a proposed ban on using news publications and books to train AI chatbots in the U.K., OpenAI submitted a plea to the House of Lords communications and digital committee. OpenAI argued that it would be “impossible” to train AI models without using copyrighted materials, and that they believe copyright law “does not forbid training.”

OpenAI claims The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit is without merit

OpenAI published a public response to The New York Times’s lawsuit against them and Microsoft for allegedly violating copyright law, claiming that the case is without merit.

In the response , OpenAI reiterates its view that training AI models using publicly available data from the web is fair use. It also makes the case that regurgitation is less likely to occur with training data from a single source and places the onus on users to “act responsibly.”

We build AI to empower people, including journalists. Our position on the @nytimes lawsuit: • Training is fair use, but we provide an opt-out • "Regurgitation" is a rare bug we're driving to zero • The New York Times is not telling the full story https://t.co/S6fSaDsfKb — OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 8, 2024

OpenAI’s app store for GPTs planned to launch next week

After being delayed in December , OpenAI plans to launch its GPT Store sometime in the coming week, according to an email viewed by TechCrunch. OpenAI says developers building GPTs will have to review the company’s updated usage policies and GPT brand guidelines to ensure their GPTs are compliant before they’re eligible for listing in the GPT Store. OpenAI’s update notably didn’t include any information on the expected monetization opportunities for developers listing their apps on the storefront.

GPT Store launching next week – OpenAI pic.twitter.com/I6mkZKtgZG — Manish Singh (@refsrc) January 4, 2024

OpenAI moves to shrink regulatory risk in EU around data privacy

In an email, OpenAI detailed an incoming update to its terms, including changing the OpenAI entity providing services to EEA and Swiss residents to OpenAI Ireland Limited. The move appears to be intended to shrink its regulatory risk in the European Union, where the company has been under scrutiny over ChatGPT’s impact on people’s privacy.

Study finds white-collar workers are uneasy about using ChatGPT

A study conducted by professors from Harvard and MIT , which is still under review, looked at how ChatGPT could affect the productivity of more than 750 white-collar workers, as well as their complicated feelings about using the tool. The study found that while ChatGPT was helpful with creative tasks, workers were led to more mistakes with analytical work.

The New York Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged copyright infringement

In a lawsuit filed in the Federal District Court in Manhattan , The Times argues that millions of its articles were used to train AI models without its consent. The Times is asking for OpenAI and Microsoft to “destroy” models and training data containing offending material and to be held responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages.”

OpenAI re-opens ChatGPT Plus subscriptions

After pausing ChatGPT Plus subscriptions in November due to a “surge of usage,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced they have once again enabled sign-ups. The Plus subscription includes access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo .

we have re-enabled chatgpt plus subscriptions! 🎄 thanks for your patience while we found more gpus. — Sam Altman (@sama) December 13, 2023

OpenAI and Axel Springer partner up for a “real-time” ChatGPT news deal

OpenAI has struck a new deal with Berlin-based news publisher Axel Springer , which owns Business Insider and Politico, to “help provide people with new ways to access quality, real-time news content through our AI tools.” OpenAI will train its generative AI models on the publisher’s content and add recent Axel Springer-published articles to ChatGPT.

Stanford researchers say ChatGPT didn’t cause an influx in cheating in high schools

New research from Stanford University shows that the popularization of chatbots like ChatGPT has not caused an increase in cheating across U.S. high schools. In a survey of more than 40 U.S. high schools, researchers found that cheating rates are similar across the board this year.

ChatGPT users worry the chatbot is experiencing seasonal depression

Starting in November, ChatGPT users have noticed that the chatbot feels “lazier” than normal, citing instances of simpler answers and refusing to complete requested tasks. OpenAI has confirmed that they are aware of this issue , but aren’t sure why it’s happening.

Some users think it plays into the “winter break hypothesis,” which argues that AI is worse in December because it “learned” to do less work over the holidays , while others wonder if the chatbot is simulating seasonal depression .

we've heard all your feedback about GPT4 getting lazier! we haven't updated the model since Nov 11th, and this certainly isn't intentional. model behavior can be unpredictable, and we're looking into fixing it 🫡 — ChatGPT (@ChatGPTapp) December 8, 2023

Judges in the U.K. are now allowed to use ChatGPT in legal rulings

The U.K. Judicial Office issued guidance that permits judges to use ChatGPT, along with other AI tools, to write legal rulings and perform court duties. The guidance lays out ways to responsibly use AI in the courts, including being aware of potential bias and upholding privacy.

OpenAI makes repeating words “forever” a violation of its terms of service after Google DeepMind test

Following an experiment by Google DeepMind researchers that led ChatGPT to repeat portions of its training data, OpenAI has flagged asking ChatGPT to repeat specific words “forever” as a violation of its terms of service .

Lawmakers in Brazil enact an ordinance written by ChatGPT

City lawmakers in Brazil enacted a piece of legislation written entirely by ChatGPT without even knowing. Weeks after the bill was passed, Porto Alegre councilman Ramiro Rosário admitted that he used ChatGPT to write the proposal, and did not tell fellow council members until after the fact.

OpenAI reportedly delays the launch of its GPT store to 2024

According to a memo seen by Axios , OpenAI plans to delay the launch of its highly anticipated GPT store to early 2024. Custom GPTs and the accompanying store was a major announcement at OpenAI’s DevDay conference , with the store expected to open last month.

November 2023

Chatgpts mobile apps top 110m installs and nearly $30m in revenue.

After launching for iOS and Androidin May and July, ChatGPT’s have topped 110 million combined installs and have reached nearly $30 million in consumer spending, according to a market analysis by data.ai.

ChatGPT celebrates one-year anniversary

OpenAI hit a major milestone: one year of ChatGPT . What began as a “low-key research preview” evolved into a powerhouse that changed the AI industry forever. In a post on X , CEO Sam Altman looked back on the night before its launch: “what a year it’s been…”

a year ago tonight we were probably just sitting around the office putting the finishing touches on chatgpt before the next morning’s launch. what a year it’s been… — Sam Altman (@sama) November 30, 2023

Apple and Google avoid naming ChatGPT as their ‘app of the year’

Neither Apple nor Google chose an AI app as its app of the year for 2023, despite the success of ChatGPT’s mobile app, which became the fastest-growing consumer application in history before the record was broken by Meta’s Threads .

An attack from researchers prompts ChatGPT to reveal training data

A test led by researchers at Google DeepMind found that there is a significant amount of privately identifiable information in OpenAI’s LLMs. The test involved asking ChatGPT to repeat the word “poem” forever, among other words, which over time led the chatbot to churn out private information like email addresses and phone numbers.

ChatGPT and other AI chatbots are fueling an increase in phishing emails

According to a new report by SlashNext , there’s been a 1,265% increase in malicious phishing emails since Q4 of 2022. The report alleges that AI tools like ChatGPT are being prominently used by cybercriminals to write compelling and sophisticated phishing emails .

South Africa officials investigate if President Cyril Ramaphosa used ChatGPT to write a speech

Following speculation, social media users fed portions of Ramaphosa’s November 21 speech in Johannesburg through AI detectors , alleging parts of it may have been written with ChatGPT. South African presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya refuted the claims, and local officials are investigating.

ChatGPT Voice can be used to replace Siri

Now that OpenAI’s ChatGPT Voice feature is available to all free users, it can be used to replace Siri on an iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max by configuring the new Action Button. The new feature lets you ask ChatGPT questions and listen to its responses — like a much smarter version of Siri.

Sam Altman returns as CEO

Altman’s return came swiftly , with an “agreement in principle” announced between him and OpenAI’s board that will reinstate him as CEO and restructure the board to include new members, including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers . The biggest takeaway for ChatGPT is that the members of the board more focused on the nonprofit side of OpenAI, with the most concerns over the commercialization of its tools, have been pushed to the side .

ChatGPT Voice rolls out to all free users

Even if its leadership is in flux, OpenAI is still releasing updates to ChatGPT . First announced in September and granted to paid users on a rolling basis, the text-to-speech model can create a voice from text prompts and a few seconds of speech samples. OpenAI worked with voice actors to create the five voice options, and you can give it a shot by heading to the settings in your mobile ChatGPT apps and tapping the “headphones” icon.

Sam Altman might return, but it’s complicated

The only constant within OpenAI right now is change, and in a series of interviews, Nadella hedged on earlier reporting that Altman and Brockman were headed to Microsoft .

“Obviously, we want Sam and Greg to have a fantastic home if they’re not going to be in OpenAI,” Nadella said in an interview with CNBC, saying that we was “open” to them settling at Microsoft or returning to OpenAI should the board and employees support the move.

Confirmation Sam Altman will not return as OpenAI’s CEO

A number of investors and OpenAI employees tried to bring back Altman after his sudden firing by the company’s board, but following a weekend of negotiations, it was confirmed that Altman would not return to OpenAI and new leadership would take hold. What this means for ChatGPT’s future, and for the OpenAI Dev Day announcements , remains to be seen.

Sam Altman ousted as OpenAI’s CEO

Sam Altman has been fired from OpenAI . He will leave the company’s board and step down as CEO, with OpenAI’s chief technology officer Mira Murati stepping in as interim CEO. In a blog post from OpenAI, the company writes that the board “no longer has confidence in [Altman’s] ability to continue leading OpenAI.”

In a statement on X , Altman said working at OpenAI “was transformative” for him and “hopefully the world.”

OpenAI explores how ChatGPT can be used in the classroom

OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap revealed at a San Francisco conference that the company will likely create a team to identify ways AI and ChatGPT can be used in education . This announcement comes at a time when ChatGPT is being criticized by educators for encouraging cheating , resulting in bans in certain school districts .

OpenAI pauses new ChatGPT Plus subscriptions due to a “surge of usage”

Following OpenAI’s Dev Day conference , Sam Altman announced the company is putting a pause on new subscriptions for its premium ChatGPT Plus offering. The temporary hold on sign-ups, as well as the demand for ChatGPT Plus’ new features like making custom GPTS , has led to a slew of resellers on eBay .

ChatGPT gets flagged as potentially unsafe for kids

An independent review from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit advocacy group, found that  ChatGPT could potentially be harmful for younger users. ChatGPT got an overall three-star rating in the report, with its lowest ratings relating to transparency, privacy, trust and safety. 

OpenAI blames DDoS attack for ChatGPT outage

OpenAI confirmed that a DDoS attack was behind outages affecting ChatGPT and its developer tools. ChatGPT experienced sporadic outages for about 24 hours, resulting in users being unable to log into or use the service.

OpenAI debuts GPT-4 Turbo

OpenAI unveiled GPT-4 Turbo at its first-ever OpenAI DevDay conference. GPT-4 Turbo comes in two versions: one that’s strictly text-analyzing and another that understands the context of both text and images.

GPT-4 gets a fine-tuning

As opposed to the fine-tuning program for GPT-3.5, the GPT-4 program will involve more oversight and guidance from OpenAI teams, the company says — largely due to technical hurdles.

OpenAI’s GPT Store lets you build (and monetize) your own GPT

Users and developers will soon be able to make their own GPT , with no coding experience required. Anyone building their own GPT will also be able to list it on OpenAI’s marketplace and monetize it in the future.

ChatGPT has 100 million weekly active users

After being released nearly a year ago, ChatGPT has 100 million weekly active users . OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also revealed that over two million developers use the platform, including more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies.

OpenAI launches DALL-E 3 API, new text-to-speech models

DALL-E 3, OpenAI’s text-to-image model , is now available via an API after first coming to ChatGPT-4 and Bing Chat. OpenAI’s newly released text-to-speech API, Audio API, offers six preset voices to choose from and two generative AI model variants.

OpenAI promises to defend business customers against copyright claims

Bowing to peer pressure, OpenAI it will pay legal costs incurred by customers who face lawsuits over IP claims against work generated by an OpenAI tool. The protections seemingly don’t extend to all OpenAI products, like the free and Plus tiers of ChatGPT.

As OpenAI’s multimodal API launches broadly, research shows it’s still flawed

OpenAI announced that GPT-4 with vision will become available alongside the upcoming launch of GPT-4 Turbo API. But some researchers found that the model remains flawed in several significant and problematic ways.

OpenAI launches API, letting developers build ‘assistants’ into their apps

At its OpenAI DevDay, OpenAI announced the Assistants API to help developers build “agent-like experiences” within their apps. Use cases range from a natural language-based data analysis app to a coding assistant or even an AI-powered vacation planner.

ChatGPT app revenue shows no signs of slowing, but it’s not #1

OpenAI’s chatbot app far outpaces all others on mobile devices in terms of downloads, but it’s surprisingly not the top AI app by revenue . Several other AI chatbots, like  “Chat & Ask AI” and “ChatOn — AI Chat Bot Assistant”, are actually making more money than ChatGPT.

ChatGPT tests the ability to upload and analyze files for Plus users

Subscribers to ChatGPT’s Enterprise Plan have reported new beta features, including the ability to upload PDFs to analyze and and ask questions about them directly. The new rollout also makes it so users no longer have to manually select a mode like DALL-E and browsing when using ChatGPT. Instead, users will automatically be switched to models based on the prompt.

ChatGPT officially gets web search

OpenAI has formally launched its internet-browsing feature to ChatGPT, some three weeks after re-introducing the feature in beta after several months in hiatus. The AI chatbot that has historically been limited to data up to September, 2021.

OpenAI integrates DALL-E 3 into ChatGPT

The integration means users don’t have to think so carefully about their text-prompts when asking DALL-E to create an image. Users will also now be able to receive images as part of their text-based queries without having to switch between apps.

Microsoft-affiliated research finds flaws in GPT-4

A Microsoft-affiliated scientific paper looked at the “trustworthiness” — and toxicity — of LLMs, including GPT-4. Because GPT-4 is more likely to follow the instructions of “jailbreaking” prompts, the co-authors claim that GPT-4 can be more easily prompted than other LLMs to spout toxic, biased text .

ChatGPT’s mobile app hits record $4.58M in revenue in September

OpenAI amassed 15.6 million downloads and nearly $4.6 million in gross revenue across its iOS and Android apps worldwide in September. But revenue growth has now begun to slow , according to new data from market intelligence firm Appfigures — dropping from 30% to 20% in September.

ChatGPT can now browse the internet (again)

OpenAI posted on Twitter/X that ChatGPT can now browse the internet and is no longer limited to data before September 2021. The chatbot had a web browsing capability for Plus subscribers back in July , but the feature was taken away after users exploited it to get around paywalls.

ChatGPT can now browse the internet to provide you with current and authoritative information, complete with direct links to sources. It is no longer limited to data before September 2021. pic.twitter.com/pyj8a9HWkB — OpenAI (@OpenAI) September 27, 2023

ChatGPT now has a voice

OpenAI announced that it’s adding a new voice for verbal conversations and image-based smarts to the AI-powered chatbot.

Poland opens an investigation against OpenAI

The Polish authority publically announced it has opened an investigation regarding ChatGPT — accusing the company of a string of breaches of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

OpenAI unveils DALL-E 3

The upgraded text-to-image tool, DALL-E 3, uses ChatGPT to help fill in prompts. Subscribers to OpenAI’s premium ChatGPT plans, ChatGPT Plus  and  ChatGPT Enterprise , can type in a request for an image and hone it through conversations with the chatbot — receiving the results directly within the chat app.

Opera GX integrates ChatGPT-powered AI

Powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the AI browser Aria  launched on Opera in May to give users an easier way to search, ask questions and write code. Today, the company announced it is bringing Aria to Opera GX , a version of the flagship Opera browser that is built for gamers.

The new feature allows Opera GX users to interact directly with a browser AI to find the latest gaming news and tips.

OpenAI releases a guide for teachers using ChatGPT in the classroom

OpenAI wants to rehabilitate the system’s image a bit when it comes to education, as ChatGPT has been controversial in the classroom due to plagiarism. OpenAI has offered up a selection of ways to put the chatbot to work in the classroom.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Enterprise

ChatGPT Enterprise can perform the same tasks as ChatGPT, such as writing emails, drafting essays and debugging computer code. However, the new offering also adds “enterprise-grade” privacy and data analysis capabilities on top of the vanilla ChatGPT, as well as enhanced performance and customization options.

Survey finds relatively few American use ChatGPT

Recent Pew polling suggests the language model isn’t quite as popular or threatening as some would have you think. Ongoing polling by Pew Research shows that although ChatGPT is gaining mindshare, only about 18% of Americans have ever actually used it .

OpenAI brings fine-tuning to GPT-3.5 Turbo

With fine-tuning, companies using GPT-3.5 Turbo through the company’s API can make the model better follow specific instructions. For example, having the model always respond in a given language. Or improving the model’s ability to consistently format responses, as well as hone the “feel” of the model’s output, like its tone, so that it better fits a brand or voice. Most notably, fine-tuning enables OpenAI customers to shorten text prompts to speed up API calls and cut costs.

OpenAI is partnering with Scale AI to allow companies to fine-tune GPT-3.5 . However, it is unclear whether OpenAI is developing an in-house tuning tool that is meant to complement platforms like Scale AI or serve a different purpose altogether.

Fine-tuning costs:

  • Training: $0.008 / 1K tokens
  • Usage input: $0.012 / 1K tokens
  • Usage output: $0.016 / 1K tokens

OpenAI acquires Global Illumination

In OpenAI’s first public acquisition in its seven-year history, the company announced it has acquired Global Illumination, a New York-based startup leveraging AI to build creative tools, infrastructure and digital experiences.

“We’re very excited for the impact they’ll have here at OpenAI,” OpenAI wrote in a brief  post published to its official blog. “The entire team has joined OpenAI to work on our core products including ChatGPT.”

The ‘custom instructions’ feature is extended to free ChatGPT users

OpenAI announced that it’s expanding custom instructions to all users, including those on the free tier of service. The feature allows users to add various preferences and requirements that they want the AI chatbot to consider when responding.

China requires AI apps to obtain an administrative license

Multiple generative AI apps have been removed from Apple’s China App Store ahead of the country’s latest generative AI regulations that are set to take effect August 15.

“As you may know, the government has been tightening regulations associated with deep synthesis technologies (DST) and generative AI services, including ChatGPT. DST must fulfill permitting requirements to operate in China, including securing a license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT),” Apple said in a letter to OpenCat, a native ChatGPT client. “Based on our review, your app is associated with ChatGPT, which does not have requisite permits to operate in China.”

ChatGPT for Android is now available in the US, India, Bangladesh and Brazil

A few days after putting up a preorder page on Google Play, OpenAI has flipped the switch and  released ChatGPT for Android . The app is now live in a handful of countries.

ChatGPT is coming to Android

ChatGPT is available to “pre-order” for Android users.

The ChatGPT app on Android  looks to be more or less identical to the iOS one in functionality, meaning it gets most if not all of the web-based version’s features. You should be able to sync your conversations and preferences across devices, too — so if you’re iPhone at home and Android at work, no worries.

OpenAI launches customized instructions for ChatGPT

OpenAI launched custom instructions for ChatGPT users , so they don’t have to write the same instruction prompts to the chatbot every time they interact with it.

The company said this feature lets you “share anything you’d like ChatGPT to consider in its response.” For example, a teacher can say they are teaching fourth-grade math or a developer can specify the code language they prefer when asking for suggestions. A person can also specify their family size, so the text-generating AI can give responses about meals, grocery and vacation planning accordingly.

The FTC is reportedly investigating OpenAI

The FTC is reportedly in at least the exploratory phase of investigation over whether OpenAI’s flagship ChatGPT conversational AI made “false, misleading, disparaging or harmful” statements about people.

TechCrunch Reporter Devin Coldewey reports:

This kind of investigation doesn’t just appear out of thin air — the FTC doesn’t look around and say “That looks suspicious.” Generally a lawsuit or formal complaint is brought to their attention and the practices described by it imply that regulations are being ignored. For example, a person may sue a supplement company because the pills made them sick, and the FTC will launch an investigation on the back of that because there’s evidence the company lied about the side effects.

OpenAI announced the general availability of GPT-4

Starting July 6, all existing OpenAI developers “with a history of successful payments” can access GPT-4 . OpenAI plans to open up access to new developers by the end of July.

In the future, OpenAI says that it’ll allow developers to fine-tune GPT-4 and  GPT-3.5 Turbo , one of the original models powering ChatGPT, with their own data, as has long been possible with several of OpenAI’s other text-generating models. That capability should arrive later this year, according to OpenAI.

ChatGPT app can now search the web only on Bing

OpenAI announced that subscribers to ChatGPT Plus can now use a new feature on the app called Browsing , which allows ChatGPT to search Bing for answers to questions.

The Browsing feature can be enabled by heading to the New Features section of the app settings, selecting “GPT-4” in the model switcher and choosing “Browse with Bing” from the drop-down list. Browsing is available on both the iOS and Android ChatGPT apps.

Mercedes is adding ChatGPT to its infotainment system

U.S. owners of Mercedes models that use MBUX will be able to opt into a beta program starting June 16 activating the ChatGPT functionality . This will enable the highly versatile large language model to augment the car’s conversation skills. You can join up simply by telling your car “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program.”

It’s not really clear what for, though.

ChatGPT app is now available on iPad, adds support for Siri and Shortcuts

The new ChatGPT app version brings native iPad support to the app , as well as support for using the chatbot with Siri and Shortcuts. Drag and drop is also now available, allowing users to drag individual messages from ChatGPT into other apps.

On iPad, ChatGPT now runs in full-screen mode, optimized for the tablet’s interface.

Texas judge orders all AI-generated content must be declared and checked

The Texas federal judge has added a requirement that any attorney appearing in his court must attest that “no portion of the filing was drafted by generative artificial intelligence,” or if it was, that it was checked “by a human being.”

ChatGPT app expanded to more than 30 countries

The list of new countries includes Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Estonia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Slovenia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.

ChatGPT app is now available in 11 more countries

OpenAI announced in a tweet that the ChatGPT mobile app is now available on iOS in the U.S., Europe, South Korea and New Zealand, and soon more will be able to download the app from the app store. In just six days, the app topped 500,000 downloads .

The ChatGPT app for iOS is now available to users in 11 more countries — Albania, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, Korea, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and the UK. More to come soon! — OpenAI (@OpenAI) May 24, 2023

OpenAI launches a ChatGPT app for iOS

ChatGPT is officially going mobile . The new ChatGPT app will be free to use, free from ads and will allow for voice input, the company says, but will initially be limited to U.S. users at launch.

When using the mobile version of ChatGPT, the app will sync your history across devices — meaning it will know what you’ve previously searched for via its web interface, and make that accessible to you. The app is also integrated with  Whisper , OpenAI’s open source speech recognition system, to allow for voice input.

Hackers are using ChatGPT lures to spread malware on Facebook

Meta said in a report on May 3 that malware posing as ChatGPT was on the rise across its platforms . The company said that since March 2023, its security teams have uncovered 10 malware families using ChatGPT (and similar themes) to deliver malicious software to users’ devices.

“In one case, we’ve seen threat actors create malicious browser extensions available in official web stores that claim to offer ChatGPT-based tools,” said Meta security engineers Duc H. Nguyen and Ryan Victory in  a blog post . “They would then promote these malicious extensions on social media and through sponsored search results to trick people into downloading malware.”

ChatGPT parent company OpenAI closes $300M share sale at $27B-29B valuation

VC firms including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive and K2 Global are picking up new shares, according to documents seen by TechCrunch. A source tells us Founders Fund is also investing. Altogether the VCs have put in just over $300 million at a valuation of $27 billion to $29 billion . This is separate to a big investment from Microsoft announced earlier this year , a person familiar with the development told TechCrunch, which closed in January. The size of Microsoft’s investment is believed to be around $10 billion, a figure we confirmed with our source.

OpenAI previews new subscription tier, ChatGPT Business

Called ChatGPT Business, OpenAI describes the forthcoming offering as “for professionals who need more control over their data as well as enterprises seeking to manage their end users.”

“ChatGPT Business will follow our API’s data usage policies, which means that end users’ data won’t be used to train our models by default,” OpenAI  wrote in a blog post. “We plan to make ChatGPT Business available in the coming months.”

OpenAI wants to trademark “GPT”

OpenAI applied for a trademark for “GPT,” which stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer,” last December. Last month, the company petitioned the USPTO to speed up the process, citing the “myriad infringements and counterfeit apps” beginning to spring into existence.

Unfortunately for OpenAI, its petition was  dismissed  last week. According to the agency, OpenAI’s attorneys neglected to pay an associated fee as well as provide “appropriate documentary evidence supporting the justification of special action.”

That means a decision could take up to five more months.

Auto-GPT is Silicon Valley’s latest quest to automate everything

Auto-GPT is an open-source app created by game developer Toran Bruce Richards that uses OpenAI’s latest text-generating models, GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, to interact with software and services online, allowing it to “autonomously” perform tasks.

Depending on what objective the tool’s provided, Auto-GPT can behave in very… unexpected ways. One Reddit  user  claims that, given a budget of $100 to spend within a server instance, Auto-GPT made a wiki page on cats, exploited a flaw in the instance to gain admin-level access and took over the Python environment in which it was running — and then “killed” itself.

FTC warns that AI technology like ChatGPT could ‘turbocharge’ fraud

FTC chair Lina Khan and fellow commissioners warned House representatives of the potential for modern AI technologies, like ChatGPT, to be used to “turbocharge” fraud in a congressional hearing .

“AI presents a whole set of opportunities, but also presents a whole set of risks,” Khan told the House representatives. “And I think we’ve already seen ways in which it could be used to turbocharge fraud and scams. We’ve been putting market participants on notice that instances in which AI tools are effectively being designed to deceive people can place them on the hook for FTC action,” she stated.

Superchat’s new AI chatbot lets you message historical and fictional characters via ChatGPT

The company behind the popular iPhone customization app  Brass , sticker maker  StickerHub  and  others  is out today with a new AI chat app called  SuperChat , which allows iOS users to chat with virtual characters powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT . However, what makes the app different from the default experience or the dozens of generic AI chat apps now available are the characters offered which you can use to engage with SuperChat’s AI features.

Italy gives OpenAI to-do list for lifting ChatGPT suspension order

Italy’s data protection watchdog has laid out what OpenAI needs to do for it to lift an order against ChatGPT issued at the  end of last month — when it said it suspected the AI chatbot service was in breach of the EU’s GSPR and ordered the U.S.-based company to stop processing locals’ data.

The DPA has given OpenAI a deadline — of April 30 — to get the regulator’s compliance demands done. (The local radio, TV and internet awareness campaign has a slightly more generous timeline of May 15 to be actioned.)

Researchers discover a way to make ChatGPT consistently toxic

A study co-authored by scientists at the Allen Institute for AI shows that assigning ChatGPT a “persona” — for example, “a bad person,” “a horrible person” or “a nasty person” — through the ChatGPT API increases its toxicity sixfold. Even more concerning, the co-authors found having the conversational AI chatbot pose as certain historical figures, gendered people and members of political parties also increased its toxicity — with journalists, men and Republicans in particular causing the machine learning model to say more offensive things than it normally would.

The research was conducted using the latest version, but not the model currently in preview based on OpenAI’s GPT-4 .

Y Combinator-backed startups are trying to build ‘ChatGPT for X’

YC Demo Day’s Winter 2023 batch features no fewer than four startups that claim to be building “ChatGPT for X.” They’re all chasing after a customer service software market that’ll be worth $58.1 billion by 2023, assuming the rather optimistic prediction from Acumen Research comes true.

Here are the YC-backed startups that caught our eye:

  • Yuma , whose customer demographic is primarily Shopify merchants, provides ChatGPT-like AI systems that integrate with help desk software, suggesting drafts of replies to customer tickets.
  • Baselit , which uses one of OpenAI’s text-understanding models to allow businesses to embed chatbot-style analytics for their customers.
  • Lasso customers send descriptions or videos of the processes they’d like to automate and the company combines ChatGPT-like interface with robotic process automation (RPA) and a Chrome extension to build out those automations.
  • BerriAI , whose platform is designed to help developers spin up ChatGPT apps for their organization data through various data connectors.

Italy orders ChatGPT to be blocked

OpenAI has started geoblocking access to its generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, in Italy .

Italy’s data protection authority has just put out a timely reminder that some countries do have laws that already apply to cutting edge AI: it has  ordered OpenAI to stop processing people’s data locally with immediate effect. The Italian DPA said it’s concerned that the ChatGPT maker is breaching the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and is opening an investigation.

1,100+ signatories signed an open letter asking all ‘AI labs to immediately pause for 6 months’

The letter’s signatories include Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology, among others. The letter calls on “all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.”

The letter reads:

Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks,[3] and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization? Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders. Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable.

OpenAI connects ChatGPT to the internet

OpenAI launched plugins for ChatGPT, extending the bot’s functionality by granting it access to third-party knowledge sources and databases, including the web. Available in alpha to ChatGPT users and developers on the waitlist , OpenAI says that it’ll initially prioritize a small number of developers and subscribers to its premium ChatGPT Plus plan before rolling out larger-scale and  API  access.

OpenAI launches GPT-4, available through ChatGPT Plus

GPT-4 is a powerful image- and text-understanding AI model from OpenAI. Released March 14, GPT-4 is available for paying ChatGPT Plus users and through a public API. Developers can sign up on a waitlist to access the API.

ChatGPT is available in Azure OpenAI service

ChatGPT is generally available through the Azure OpenAI Service , Microsoft’s fully managed, corporate-focused offering. Customers, who must already be “Microsoft managed customers and partners,” can apply here for special access .

OpenAI launches an API for ChatGPT

OpenAI makes another move toward monetization by launching a paid API for ChatGPT . Instacart, Snap (Snapchat’s parent company) and Quizlet are among its initial customers.

Microsoft launches the new Bing, with ChatGPT built in

At a press event in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft announced its long-rumored integration of OpenAI’s GPT-4 model into Bing , providing a ChatGPT-like experience within the search engine. The announcement spurred a 10x increase in new downloads for Bing globally, indicating a sizable consumer demand for new AI experiences.

Other companies beyond Microsoft joined in on the AI craze by implementing ChatGPT, including OkCupid , Kaito , Snapchat and Discord — putting the pressure on Big Tech’s AI initiatives, like Google .

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Plus, starting at $20 per month

After ChatGPT took the internet by storm, OpenAI launched a new pilot subscription plan for ChatGPT called ChatGPT Plus , aiming to monetize the technology starting at $20 per month. A month prior, OpenAI posted a waitlist for “ChatGPT Professional” as the company began to think about monetizing the chatbot.

OpenAI teases ChatGPT Professional

OpenAI said that it’s “starting to think about how to monetize ChatGPT” in an announcement on the company’s official Discord server. According to a waitlist link OpenAI posted in Discord, the monetized version will be called ChatGPT Professional . The waitlist document includes the benefits of this new paid version of the chatbot which include no “blackout” windows, no throttling and an unlimited number of messages with ChatGPT — “at least 2x the regular daily limit.”

ShareGPT lets you easily share your ChatGPT conversations

A week after ChatGPT was released into the wild , two developers — Steven Tey and Dom Eccleston — made a Chrome extension called ShareGPT to make it easier to capture and share the AI’s answers with the world.

ChatGPT first launched to the public as OpenAI quietly released GPT-3.5

GPT-3.5 broke cover with ChatGPT , a fine-tuned version of GPT-3.5 that’s essentially a general-purpose chatbot. ChatGPT can engage with a range of topics, including programming, TV scripts and scientific concepts. Writers everywhere rolled their eyes at the new technology, much like artists did with OpenAI’s DALL-E model , but the latest chat-style iteration seemingly broadened its appeal and audience.

What is ChatGPT? How does it work?

ChatGPT is a general-purpose chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to generate text after a user enters a prompt, developed by tech startup OpenAI . The chatbot uses GPT-4, a large language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text.

When did ChatGPT get released?

November 30, 2022 is when ChatGPT was released for public use.

What is the latest version of ChatGPT?

Both the free version of ChatGPT and the paid ChatGPT Plus are regularly updated with new GPT models. The most recent model is GPT-4 .

Can I use ChatGPT for free?

There is a free version of ChatGPT that only requires a sign-in in addition to the paid version, ChatGPT Plus .

Who uses ChatGPT?

Anyone can use ChatGPT! More and more tech companies and search engines are utilizing the chatbot to automate text or quickly answer user questions/concerns.

What companies use ChatGPT?

Multiple enterprises utilize ChatGPT, although others may limit the use of the AI-powered tool .

Most recently, Microsoft announced at it’s 2023 Build conference that it is integrating it ChatGPT-based Bing experience into Windows 11. A Brooklyn-based 3D display startup Looking Glass utilizes ChatGPT to produce holograms you can communicate with by using ChatGPT.  And nonprofit organization Solana officially integrated the chatbot into its network with a ChatGPT plug-in geared toward end users to help onboard into the web3 space.

What does GPT mean in ChatGPT?

GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer.

What’s the difference between ChatGPT and Bard?

Much like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Bard is a chatbot that will answer questions in natural language. Google announced at its 2023 I/O event that it will soon be adding multimodal content to Bard, meaning that it can deliver answers in more than just text, responses can give you rich visuals as well. Rich visuals mean pictures for now, but later can include maps, charts and other items.

ChatGPT’s generative AI has had a longer lifespan and thus has been “learning” for a longer period of time than Bard.

What is the difference between ChatGPT and a chatbot?

A chatbot can be any software/system that holds dialogue with you/a person but doesn’t necessarily have to be AI-powered. For example, there are chatbots that are rules-based in the sense that they’ll give canned responses to questions.

ChatGPT is AI-powered and utilizes LLM technology to generate text after a prompt.

Can ChatGPT write essays?

Can chatgpt commit libel.

Due to the nature of how these models work , they don’t know or care whether something is true, only that it looks true. That’s a problem when you’re using it to do your homework, sure, but when it accuses you of a crime you didn’t commit, that may well at this point be libel.

We will see how handling troubling statements produced by ChatGPT will play out over the next few months as tech and legal experts attempt to tackle the fastest moving target in the industry.

Does ChatGPT have an app?

Yes, there is now a free ChatGPT app that is currently limited to U.S. iOS users at launch. OpenAi says an android version is “coming soon.”

What is the ChatGPT character limit?

It’s not documented anywhere that ChatGPT has a character limit. However, users have noted that there are some character limitations after around 500 words.

Does ChatGPT have an API?

Yes, it was released March 1, 2023.

What are some sample everyday uses for ChatGPT?

Everyday examples include programing, scripts, email replies, listicles, blog ideas, summarization, etc.

What are some advanced uses for ChatGPT?

Advanced use examples include debugging code, programming languages, scientific concepts, complex problem solving, etc.

How good is ChatGPT at writing code?

It depends on the nature of the program. While ChatGPT can write workable Python code, it can’t necessarily program an entire app’s worth of code. That’s because ChatGPT lacks context awareness — in other words, the generated code isn’t always appropriate for the specific context in which it’s being used.

Can you save a ChatGPT chat?

Yes. OpenAI allows users to save chats in the ChatGPT interface, stored in the sidebar of the screen. There are no built-in sharing features yet.

Are there alternatives to ChatGPT?

Yes. There are multiple AI-powered chatbot competitors such as Together , Google’s Bard and Anthropic’s Claude , and developers are creating open source alternatives . But the latter are harder — if not impossible — to run today.

The Google-owned research lab DeepMind claimed that its next LLM, will rival, or even best, OpenAI’s ChatGPT . DeepMind is using techniques from AlphaGo, DeepMind’s AI system that was the first to defeat a professional human player at the board game Go, to make a ChatGPT-rivaling chatbot called Gemini.

Apple is developing AI tools to challenge OpenAI, Google and others. The tech giant created a chatbot that some engineers are internally referring to as “Apple GPT,” but Apple has yet to determine a strategy for releasing the AI to consumers.

How does ChatGPT handle data privacy?

OpenAI has said that individuals in “certain jurisdictions” (such as the EU) can object to the processing of their personal information by its AI models by filling out  this form . This includes the ability to make requests for deletion of AI-generated references about you. Although OpenAI notes it may not grant every request since it must balance privacy requests against freedom of expression “in accordance with applicable laws”.

The web form for making a deletion of data about you request is entitled “ OpenAI Personal Data Removal Request ”.

In its privacy policy, the ChatGPT maker makes a passing acknowledgement of the objection requirements attached to relying on “legitimate interest” (LI), pointing users towards more information about requesting an opt out — when it writes: “See here  for instructions on how you can opt out of our use of your information to train our models.”

What controversies have surrounded ChatGPT?

Recently, Discord announced that it had integrated OpenAI’s technology into its bot named Clyde where two users tricked Clyde into providing them with instructions for making the illegal drug methamphetamine (meth) and the incendiary mixture napalm.

An Australian mayor has publicly announced he may sue OpenAI for defamation due to ChatGPT’s false claims that he had served time in prison for bribery. This would be the first defamation lawsuit against the text-generating service.

CNET found itself in the midst of controversy after Futurism reported the publication was publishing articles under a mysterious byline completely generated by AI. The private equity company that owns CNET, Red Ventures, was accused of using ChatGPT for SEO farming, even if the information was incorrect.

Several major school systems and colleges, including New York City Public Schools , have banned ChatGPT from their networks and devices. They claim that the AI impedes the learning process by promoting plagiarism and misinformation, a claim that not every educator agrees with .

There have also been cases of ChatGPT accusing individuals of false crimes .

Where can I find examples of ChatGPT prompts?

Several marketplaces host and provide ChatGPT prompts, either for free or for a nominal fee. One is PromptBase . Another is ChatX . More launch every day.

Can ChatGPT be detected?

Poorly. Several tools claim to detect ChatGPT-generated text, but in our tests , they’re inconsistent at best.

Are ChatGPT chats public?

No. But OpenAI recently disclosed a bug, since fixed, that exposed the titles of some users’ conversations to other people on the service.

Who owns the copyright on ChatGPT-created content or media?

The user who requested the input from ChatGPT is the copyright owner.

What lawsuits are there surrounding ChatGPT?

None specifically targeting ChatGPT. But OpenAI is involved in at least one lawsuit that has implications for AI systems trained on publicly available data, which would touch on ChatGPT.

Are there issues regarding plagiarism with ChatGPT?

Yes. Text-generating AI models like ChatGPT have a tendency to regurgitate content from their training data.

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Now AI can write students’ essays for them, will everyone become a cheat?

Rob Reich

Teachers and parents can’t detect this new form of plagiarism. Tech companies could step in – if they had the will to do so

P arents and teachers across the world are rejoicing as students have returned to classrooms. But unbeknownst to them, an unexpected insidious academic threat is on the scene: a revolution in artificial intelligence has created powerful new automatic writing tools. These are machines optimised for cheating on school and university papers, a potential siren song for students that is difficult, if not outright impossible, to catch.

Of course, cheats have always existed, and there is an eternal and familiar cat-and-mouse dynamic between students and teachers. But where once the cheat had to pay someone to write an essay for them, or download an essay from the web that was easily detectable by plagiarism software, new AI language-generation technologies make it easy to produce high-quality essays.

The breakthrough technology is a new kind of machine learning system called a large language model. Give the model a prompt, hit return, and you get back full paragraphs of unique text. These models are capable of producing all kinds of outputs – essays, blogposts, poetry, op-eds, lyrics and even computer code.

Initially developed by AI researchers just a few years ago, they were treated with caution and concern. OpenAI, the first company to develop such models, restricted their external use and did not release the source code of its most recent model as it was so worried about potential abuse. OpenAI now has a comprehensive policy focused on permissible uses and content moderation.

But as the race to commercialise the technology has kicked off, those responsible precautions have not been adopted across the industry. In the past six months, easy-to-use commercial versions of these powerful AI tools have proliferated, many of them without the barest of limits or restrictions.

One company’s stated mission is to employ cutting edge-AI technology in order to make writing painless. Another released an app for smartphones with an eyebrow-raising sample prompt for a high schooler: “Write an article about the themes of Macbeth.” We won’t name any of those companies here – no need to make it easier for cheaters – but they are easy to find, and they often cost nothing to use, at least for now. For a high school pupil, a well written and unique English essay on Hamlet or short argument about the causes of the first world war is now just a few clicks away.

While it’s important that parents and teachers know about these new tools for cheating, there’s not much they can do about it. It’s almost impossible to prevent kids from accessing these new technologies, and schools will be outmatched when it comes to detecting their use. This also isn’t a problem that lends itself to government regulation. While the government is already intervening (albeit slowly) to address the potential misuse of AI in various domains – for example, in hiring staff, or facial recognition – there is much less understanding of language models and how their potential harms can be addressed.

copy of hamlet

In this situation, the solution lies in getting technology companies and the community of AI developers to embrace an ethic of responsibility. Unlike in law or medicine, there are no widely accepted standards in technology for what counts as responsible behaviour. There are scant legal requirements for beneficial uses of technology. In law and medicine, standards were a product of deliberate decisions by leading practitioners to adopt a form of self-regulation. In this case, that would mean companies establishing a shared framework for the responsible development, deployment or release of language models to mitigate their harmful effects, especially in the hands of adversarial users.

What could companies do that would promote the socially beneficial uses and deter or prevent the obviously negative uses, such as using a text generator to cheat in school?

There are a number of obvious possibilities. Perhaps all text generated by commercially available language models could be placed in an independent repository to allow for plagiarism detection. A second would be age restrictions and age-verification systems to make clear that pupils should not access the software. Finally, and more ambitiously, leading AI developers could establish an independent review board that would authorise whether and how to release language models, prioritising access to independent researchers who can help assess risks and suggest mitigation strategies, rather than speeding toward commercialisation.

After all, because language models can be adapted to so many downstream applications, no single company could foresee all the potential risks (or benefits). Years ago, software companies realised that it was necessary to thoroughly test their products for technical problems before they were released – a process now known in the industry as quality assurance. It’s high time tech companies realised that their products need to go through a social assurance process before being released, to anticipate and mitigate the societal problems that may result.

In an environment in which technology outpaces democracy, we need to develop an ethic of responsibility on the technological frontier. Powerful tech companies cannot treat the ethical and social implications of their products as an afterthought. If they simply rush to occupy the marketplace, and then apologise later if necessary – a story we’ve become all too familiar with in recent years – society pays the price for others’ lack of foresight.

Rob Reich is a professor of political science at Stanford University. His colleagues, Mehran Sahami and Jeremy Weinstein, co-authored this piece. Together they are the authors of System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot

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The 10 Best AI Writers & Content Generators Compared

Analyze the output of AI content writers post-ChatGPT so you can use what's best for your business and keep up with the ever-changing digital marketing landscape.

AI content creation tools have become much more accessible and mainstream since the release of ChatGPT and Gemini (previously known as Bard) by Google.

Since then, we have seen an accelerated uptake in the use of AI tools – and especially in AI content generation.

Revisiting an article we wrote pre-ChatGPT, we have reassessed our original list of tools to road-test AI content generators and see how their output compares.

How ChatGPT Is Changing The Content Industry

OpenAI has led the development of large language models and generative AI. In May 2020, GPT-3 was launched, which was a huge leap forward in quality from the predecessor GPT-2.

AI content writers began to improve greatly, and as we reported in the last version of this article, there were several content generator tools that all provided reasonable results.

Then, in November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT and opened up access to GPT-3.5 through an easy-to-access interface.

This resulted in an explosion of interest and uptake in the use of generative AI. By the end of January 2023, ChatGPT had 100 million users and was officially the fastest-growing app in history.

Many of the tools listed below (apart from Gemini) are all based on GPT-3.5 or GPT-4.

Bard (now called Gemini) , developed by Google Deepmind, was launched quickly in response to ChatGPT in February 2023 .

The other main contender is Claude from Anthropic, launched in March 2023 . But, at this time, Claude doesn’t have the mainstream dominance that ChatGPT holds.

Following the introduction of these generative AI tools and their mainstream adoption, there have been plenty of discussions about ethics, the impact on creativity, and the impact on jobs.

In a meta self-referential message, Gemini (Bard) even offers this message in response to the prompt “AI Content Creation.”

Chatgpt screenshot

The Drawbacks Of Using AI Writers

With easy access to AI content writing tools, the content production industry is changing.

Many websites have adopted AI as a tool for mass production and others are doubling down on the quality of human-written content where AI content generators cannot compare.

Generative AI is causing a lot of disruption in SEO and content creation. In reaction to this, there has been pushback from businesses that this could impact – such as the NYT suing Open AI for training its LLM on their content without approval.

What this means is that, right now, there are unresolved issues of fair use, copyright, privacy, security, and bias. It could result in a dispute over the ownership and copyright of AI-generated content.

There are many legal and ethical issues arising, including the impact on creativity and the jobs it might displace.

At SEJ, we consider generative AI a useful tool to support content writers and SEO professionals but not a replacement for human content writers (see use cases at the end of the article).

Apart from these problems, generative AI also has the following disadvantages:

  • Hallucinations and misinformation. Unless you understand your topic in-depth, you won’t know what you don’t know and cannot take the output from a chatbot for written facts.
  • Writing style can be unnatural, with an unusual choice of words that is jarring to read.
  • Getting the best results takes considerable skill and understanding of writing and using prompts.

Another major flaw is that if everyone is using an AI tool to target the same keywords, then where is the differentiating factor to what you are creating?

What will make your brand stand out and resonate with your audience?

For these reasons, SEJ recommends that you do not use generative AI to create content that you intend to publish. 

How You Can Use AI In Content Marketing

A tool is only as good as the person operating it.

Generative AI can be excellent for productivity and speeding up content production. But, you need someone who knows their subject and is a good writer behind the wheel to get results worthy of using.

A content marketer can truly benefit from generative AI as an efficient tool to make repetitive tasks easier and output faster. In those terms, the use of all kinds of AI will become more and more seamlessly integrated into marketing.

Here are some quick use-case examples specific to content creation and whether generative AI works or doesn’t.

Where AI Content Does Work (with human review):

  • For product descriptions at scale.
  • For meta descriptions at scale.
  • Creating summaries or key points of content.
  • Assisting with brainstorming and idea generation.
  • Creating outlines for content.
  • Improving headlines

Where AI Content Doesn’t Work:

  • Producing well-researched content.
  • Creating data-driven content.
  • Having innovative and fresh ideas.
  • Thought leadership.
  • Writing full articles.
  • Providing sources or facts.

In this article, we will review a selection of the current best content creation tools to see how they compare for illustrative purposes. Even though there are many use cases we don’t suggest, it wouldn’t be prudent to bury our heads in the sand about their capabilities. Let’s look at the results of the tools we tested:

10 AI Content Creation Tools Compared

All the content generator tools we tested were fed the same simple phrase: ‘AI content creation.’

We compared the use of the tool and the quality of the content output. You can see that output in each of the screenshots below.

As part of the comparison, we also ran all the content through Copyscape to check for plagiarism.

What has become apparent in the last few years since the previous version of this article is that ChatGPT and Gemini are set to dominate. Because of this, other AI writing tools will have to offer much more to differentiate and compete against them.

For the purposes of this article, we only tested tools that had a free option available. This list of AI writers is simply a selection of the most popular tools on the market and not our personal recommendation, nor a fully inclusive list of all tools available in the market.

ChatGPT example

ChatGPT is built on GPT-3.5 for free users and GPT-4 for paying subscribers.

ChatGPT is the tool that many of the other AI writers in this list are built on (apart from Gemini) and offers an easy-to-access interface to the powerful GPT LLMs.

The applications of ChatGPT go far beyond just content creation, with its use case experiments being documented almost daily. Learning how to write prompts has become one of the most in-demand skills in the last year.

ChatGPT also has GPTs which are plugin tools that can complete set tasks. A bit like templates or extensions for Sheets or add-ons for Chrome – expect this to become a fast-developing area.

Out of the box, ChatGPT appears easy to use, but the challenge is writing specific and tailored prompts to get the best results.

However, simply typing in “AI content creation” did generate 338 words of a comprehensive description that could be the basis of a human-written article.

The free version is an excellent starting point, and the premium Plus version allows access to the additional tools.

OpenAI provides ChatGPT in varied pricing tiers: ChatGPT Plus at $20/month for individuals, ChatGPT Team at $25 per person/month for teams, and a customizable ChatGPT Enterprise plan for larger organizational needs.

  • Ability to engage in detailed and context-aware conversations.
  • Accessible and easy to use.

2. Gemini (previously Bard)

Bard example

Gemini (Bard) , by Google Deepmind, is a Large Language Model tool built on the Gemini platform . Much the same as ChatGPT, Gemini is an infinitely powerful tool that has exponential applications.

The potential applications for content producers as a tool to help with content creation are endless. We expect that, between ChatGPT and Gemini, most SEO professionals and content creators will use one of these tools daily.

Gemini is very easy to use with the minimalist interface you would expect from Google.

In output terms, Gemini has different nuances to ChatGPT, as you would expect, built on different models. Using each of the tools on a regular basis highlights where each differs and excels to get the best results.

The output from Gemini is sometimes better than ChatGPT – or just different. However, information can be disjointed, and all information must be fact-checked, as both tools have a tendency to make things up with hallucinations.

One important point to note was that Gemini did flag two results in our Copyscape plagiarism check. ChatGPT did not flag any.

Gemini is available as a free version and Gemini Advance is priced at $19.99 per month just undercutting ChatGPT.

  • Provides real-time online access
  • Available in 46 languages.

3. Writesonic

Writesonic example

Writesonic is built on GPT-4 and is based on facilitating marketing copy, blog articles, and product descriptions. The generator can also provide content ideas and outlines, and has a full suite of templates for different types of content.

Writesonic has a variety of different tools for different purposes, but on the free trial, we didn’t have access to most of them.

We tested the article writing tool, and it was very easy to use. The article read well, but please remember all of the caveats above. This is an interesting test of the tool’s capabilities, but we don’t suggest directly publishing the outputs of generative AI, and it’s our internal policy not to do so.

Writesonic’s unique selling points include integrating with Google Search for more up-to-date content and providing sources.

The platform offers a free version with basic features, while paid plans range from $13 to $500 monthly. Enterprise solutions are available with customized pricing to fit the needs of larger organizations.

  • Features designed for SEO optimization.
  • Support for creating content in 30 different languages.
  • API access, bulk processing, and integrations for scalability and efficiency.

Copy.ai example

Copy.ai is an AI-driven platform that claims to automate various sales and marketing tasks, from cold outreach to content repurposing.

Copy.ai provides templates across a variety of content types, such as blogs, ads, sales, websites, and social media. The generator also provides translation into 25 languages.

Copy.ai differentiates by offering a zero-retention data policy, claiming that user inputs are never retained or used for training purposes, which could be crucial for privacy-conscious organizations. It says it only works with language models that adhere to this strict data policy.

From the three-word phrase input, the tool produced a long article about the subject without any additional prompting.

The quality was good, and we found that it would be difficult to discern that this was machine-generated. The output appears to have improved since we tested it last. Again, this doesn’t change the fact that writing final content outputs is not a use case that we suggest for these tools.

Copy.ai has a free plan, and paid plans range from $36/month for Pro to $3,000/month for Scale.

  • Enhanced data privacy.
  • 25 languages supported.

5. HyperWrite

 HyperWrite example

HyperWrite is an AI-powered writing tool that claims to assist with creating marketing copy, conducting research, and improving overall writing and communication skills. It offers a Chrome extension for ease of use across various web platforms.

Hyperwriter looks a lot like ChatGPT, and the output returned was very similar to what we achieved directly in ChatGPT. Too similar for coincidence.

It would appear that HyperWrite uses the ChatGPT interface with a simple prompt layered onto the phrase we input. From this test, we don’t see any justification to use this tool over ChatGPT.

Free trial available: Premium plan at $19.99 monthly and Ultra plan at $44.99 monthly.

  • Chrome Extension available.

 Rytr example

Rytr is an AI writing assistant that claims to help users create high-quality content quickly and cost-effectively.

Rytr offers over 40 use cases, support for 30+ languages, and more than 20 tones of voice.

We found the tool very easy to use and quickly generated an output. However, the content was not as well-written as other writers tested, and the language output did not feel natural and was obviously AI-generated.

There were a few other tools that were nice to use, and we liked the cute poem creator. But, for the task of producing natural-feeling content, it didn’t quite meet the standard.

Rytr offers a monthly free plan with 10K characters, a “Saver” plan at $9/month, and an “Unlimited” plan at $29/month.

  • A plagiarism checker.
  • Integration with apps like WordPress and Shopify.
  • 30 languages supported.

7. LongShot

LongShot example

LongShot pitches itself as an AI-powered long-form content assistant and is built on a combination of GPT-3 and custom AI models. It tries to clearly separate from being a replacement content writer.

The platform has over 30 tools, including keyword research, rephrasing, and blog ideas, and you can write in 8 languages. Be aware that you should scrutinize any research or fact-checking claims that AI tools make carefully, we have yet to meet an AI tool we would be comfortable using for those purposes without checking the veracity of the outputs in depth.

To use LongShot as a writer, you have to go through a process of selecting suggested headlines before the tool generates an article outline and then a final output.

On a similar level to Copy.ai, LongShot produced an in-depth and relatively well-written article.

LongsShot also includes a feature called FactGPT that is targeted to trending and current topics

The pricing starts with a free trial, a “Pro” plan at $19/month, a ‘Team” plan at $49/month, and customizable pricing for larger needs.

  • Integration with multiple platforms.
  • Supports eight languages.

8. Jasper AI

Jasper AI example

Jasper AI  claims it will help you write faster, beat writer’s block, and rank better with SEO-optimized content.

They also claim to have consulted with SEO professionals and direct marketing experts to develop how the AI generator writes content.

Jasper AI is geared up for teams and project management as a content marketing platform, not simply an AI writing tool. It focuses on brand voice and has a prompt library and Chrome browser extension.

It differentiates itself through a stated commitment to security and data privacy, with the US-based data centers and a policy that states user data isn’t used for training third-party AI/ML models.

The platform’s messaging also focuses on responsible AI use and keeping data safe with evolving security protocols.

The AI writer was easy to use: enter your keyword and select a few variables such as audience and length. Jasper produced an article that was well-written and formatted.

On a surface level it’s difficult to discern whether this is a machine-written article and not by a human writer.

Jasper AI doesn’t offer any free plans, but it does have a free trial for five days. Be aware you have to input your credit card and you will get charged if you forget to cancel.

“Creator” plan at $39, a “Pro” plan at $59, and a customizable “Business” plan with pricing discussed upon request.

  • Emphasis on security and data privacy with U.S.-based data centers.
  • Integrations with various platforms.

9. Scalenut

The 10 Best AI Writers & Content Generators Compared

Scalenut focuses on integrating the entire SEO content process into one application.

The unique offering of Scalenut includes its Cruise Mode for SEO blog creation, AI that it says keeps updated with current information, and its capability to plan and execute entire content marketing strategies powered by AI.

Tools included in the platform are the content writer, content optimizer, keyword planner, traffic analyzer, and marketing copywriter.

To generate an article, Scalenut goes through the process of offering titles and outlines before you get to the final output in the editor. The tool and interface feel very similar to LongShot.

The actual content output was very good, and much like LongShot, it is difficult to discern from human-written content.

The pricing tiers include an “Essential” plan at $19/month, a “Growth” plan at $39/month, a “Pro” plan at $75/month, and an ‘Enterprise’ option with custom pricing.

  • Advanced keyword planning.
  • Research tools, including NLP Key Terms, competition analysis, and statistics.

10. Anyword

anyword example

Anyword claims to produce human-like content. It positions itself as a sophisticated solution for marketers and companies aiming to boost their content’s impact.

The tool’s messaging is that it differentiates itself with its ability to analyze historical content performance and generate outputs that align with the brand’s voice, audience targeting, and messaging effectiveness.

Anyword has the usual range of tools from ad copy, social media, meta descriptions, and blog writing. It also offers the capability to train custom AI models on a brand’s best-performing campaigns.

Similar to LongShot and Scalenut, the article generator goes through the process of offering titles to choose from and then a blog structure before generating the final output.

The output is reasonable, but the language used does feel a little unnatural, similar to how ChatGPT can at times. It’s not the best output in this list, but not the worst.

Anyword offers a free 7-day trial, a basic package starting at $39 a month, a $349 business package, and custom pricing for enterprise solutions.

  • Custom AI models trained on specific brand and performance data.
  • Chrome Extension.

Will AI Take Over Content Creation?

As we said above, a tool cannot make up for a lack of knowledge or ability; it can only enhance it.

You can be assured that content creation will go into overdrive with AI.

On the flip side, good quality journalist standard content with unique data, thought, opinions, and insights will become more in demand as the only way to stand out.

AI is changing fast, and we are all running to keep up with adapting to the new technology, so use your judgment based on developments.

It’s up to people like you to ensure human quality and creativity remain hallmarks of published content.

More resources:

  • Content Creation In An AI World
  • AI Generated Content Detection Software: Can They Detect ChatGPT?
  • State of SEO 2024: Disruptions, AI & Content Strategies

Featured Image: /Shutterstock

Shelley Walsh is the SEO Content Strategist at SEJ & produces the Pioneers, a series about the history of SEO ...

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Physics > Physics Education

Title: evaluating ai and human authorship quality in academic writing through physics essays.

Abstract: This study evaluates $n = 300$ short-form physics essay submissions, equally divided between student work submitted before the introduction of ChatGPT and those generated by OpenAI's GPT-4. In blinded evaluations conducted by five independent markers who were unaware of the origin of the essays, we observed no statistically significant differences in scores between essays authored by humans and those produced by AI (p-value $= 0.107$, $\alpha$ = 0.05). Additionally, when the markers subsequently attempted to identify the authorship of the essays on a 4-point Likert scale - from `Definitely AI' to `Definitely Human' - their performance was only marginally better than random chance. This outcome not only underscores the convergence of AI and human authorship quality but also highlights the difficulty of discerning AI-generated content solely through human judgment. Furthermore, the effectiveness of five commercially available software tools for identifying essay authorship was evaluated. Among these, ZeroGPT was the most accurate, achieving a 98% accuracy rate and a precision score of 1.0 when its classifications were reduced to binary outcomes. This result is a source of potential optimism for maintaining assessment integrity. Finally, we propose that texts with $\leq 50\%$ AI-generated content should be considered the upper limit for classification as human-authored, a boundary inclusive of a future with ubiquitous AI assistance whilst also respecting human-authorship.

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Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.

Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs .

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

This article is part of the research topic.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in the complexity of the present and future of education: research and applications

Exploring the Boundaries of Authorship: A Comparative Analysis of AI-Generated Text and Human Academic Writing in English Literature Provisionally Accepted

  • 1 Department of Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Yazd University, Iran
  • 2 M.A in Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran, Iran

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly permeates educational landscapes, its impact on academic writing has become a subject of intense scrutiny. This research delved into the nuanced dimensions of authorship and voice in academic writing, specifically focusing on the application of OpenAI's ChatGPT. In this study, the research team compared and contrasted an essay written by one second-year English student for a course on English literature with a similar essay produced by ChatGPT. The current research also, tried to clarify whether artificial intelligence can satisfy the formal requirements of academic writing and maintain the distinctive voice inherent in humanauthored content. The examination hinges on parameters such as assertiveness, self-identification, and authorial presence. Additionally, the researchers shed light on the challenges inherent in producing AI-generated academic text. While ChatGPT presented an ability to generate contextually relevant content, the results highlighted its need for support in guaranteeing factual accuracy and capturing the complex aspects of authorship that are common in human writing.Notably, when compared to human-generated text, the AI-generated text was deficient in terms of specificity, depth, and accurate source referencing. While AI has potential as an additional tool for academic writing, this study's findings indicated that its current capabilities-particularly in producing academic text are limited, and remain constrained. This study emphasizes upon the imperative for continued refinement and augmentation of AI models to bridge the existing gaps in achieving a more seamless integration into the academic writing landscape.

Keywords: Academic writing, AI-generated text, Authorship, ChatGPT, Educational Technology

Received: 30 Nov 2023; Accepted: 11 Mar 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Amirjalili, Neysani and Nikbakht. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Dr. Forough Amirjalili, Department of Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

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NH is pausing its use of AI to grade standardized test essays — but just temporarily

open ai writing essays

For the first time in at least five years, New Hampshire elementary and middle school students who take the state’s writing tests will have their essays scored by humans, rather than computers.

Cambium , the company that administers the statewide assessment, typically uses automated scoring — basically, artificial intelligence — to grade most students’ essays. A portion of the essays, usually between 15 and 25%, are routed to human scoring due to unusual responses or other reasons.

This hybrid approach, using a mix of automated and manual scoring, is becoming more common for standardized tests nationwide; the idea is that it’s cheaper, faster and as accurate as relying entirely on human scorers.

But this year, the Department of Education says it’s returning old-fashioned human grading. The reason? There’s a batch of new writing prompts, which were developed in consultation with New Hampshire teachers, and Cambium’s AI isn’t yet trained to score these.

An excerpt from a presentation on this year's writing assessments.

Cambium directed questions about its scoring process to the New Hampshire Department of Education. State officials who are in charge of assessments say they’ve relied on computer-assisted essay scoring for at least the last five years. Tests are expected to be scored by hand just this year, and this year’s manual scoring process will be used to train the new automated scoring system for future years.

During the writing assessments, each student receives a randomly selected essay prompt. The new prompts are meant to include more variety, including a focus on testing different kinds of writing — for example, asking students to write a narrative piece instead of a persuasive one. The state encourages schools to require students to complete the essays in a single sitting, though it’s not mandatory.

Schools must administer the writing tests for grades three through eight by March 15.

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    The Do's: Understand the prompt. Make sure you understand exactly what the scholarship essay prompt is asking before diving in. It's best that you provide clear instructions for the AI to properly assist you. Use AI as a writing aid. Think of AI as your support to enhance ideas, check grammar, or improve overall structure.

  28. Educators Battle Plagiarism As 89% Of Students Admit To Using ...

    48% of students admitted to using ChatGPT for an at-home test or quiz, 53% had it write an essay, and 22% had it write an outline for a paper. 72% of college students believe that ChatGPT should ...

  29. Jenni AI

    Jenni, the AI assistant for academic writing, just got BETTER and SMARTER. This one is a game changer, Doc, especially on that small matter of lacking words or writer's block. I am definitely introducing it to my students asap. I thought ChatGPT was a good writing assistant. But when I found Jenni AI - It blew my mind.

  30. NH is pausing its use of AI to grade standardized test essays

    For the first time in at least five years, New Hampshire elementary and middle school students who take the state's writing tests will have their essays scored by humans, rather than computers.