OpenAI releases several plugins for ChatGPT. One of them, currently in the Alpha test phase, allows him to retrieve information from the Web to enrich his answers. Is it a good idea ?
One of the limitations of ChatGPT is that it essentially remains stuck in these responses on dates, events, and people whose information is prior to September 2021. Regular updates kept the information up to date. later dates, but until now artificial intelligence did not know how to search for data on the Web on its own.
This is now possible, thanks to plugins that OpenAI added yesterday. They allow him to access external sources and databases and even to search directly for information on the Web. For the moment, these options are only available in Alpha version. These plugins will only be accessible to a limited number of developers and users who have opted in to the plan premium you chatbot.
The plugins will then be accessible to everyone after this test phase. The plugin that precisely adds web search queries. If ChatGPT is deliberately restricted, it is precisely to better filter content in order to limit access to unreliable content. Knowing that, despite this control, ChatGPT can go wrong easily, direct access to search engines could well worsen the phenomenon.
Disturbing precedents
We remember the unfortunate experience of Facebook with its chatbot BlenderBot 3.0 which quickly plunged into conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism due to the viral content it had access to. Similarly, in 2021, OpenAI tried to experiment with connecting to the web with an AI called WebGPT. The system, which fetched answers from the web, tended to dig into unreliable but popular sources.
It remains to be seen how ChatGPT will fare with this new feature. Among the other plugins, there is also a Python code interpretation function. It is able to support file upload to the chatbot and can also upload the generated file. This process allows processing and converting files from one format to another. In addition, OpenAI explained that it wishes to develop its policy of plugins for ChatGPT and allow companies, for example, to create them to meet their own needs.
