OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, made a significant announcement on Wednesday regarding an update to its popular ChatGPT AI model, allowing it to surpass the previous knowledge cutoff of September 2021 and access current information from the internet.
The new feature, named “Browse with Bing,” is now accessible to users of the paid versions of ChatGPT, and the organization plans to extend this functionality to all users shortly. OpenAI had previously tested a similar feature within its premium ChatGPT Plus offering, enabling users to access the latest information using the Bing search engine. However, concerns about potential misuse and bypassing paywalls led to the temporary disabling of this integration two months after its initial integration in May.
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
The latest integration is designed to function similarly to Bard, a chatbot developed and launched by Google earlier this year. Nonetheless, there were privacy concerns surrounding the real-time information access. The AI model could inadvertently present harmful material, misinformation, and copyrighted content to users, prompting privacy and data integrity concerns. OpenAI has stated that this updated feature would give websites control over how ChatGPT interacts with them, addressing some of the apprehensions regarding uncontrolled access to sensitive information.
Furthermore, concerns were raised about inherent biases in AI tools and search engines. Research, including Safiya Noble’s book “Algorithms of Oppression,” has revealed how search engine results for queries about individuals from different racial and gender backgrounds can exhibit biases, thus exposing deep-rooted issues of racism and sexism within the algorithms. Recently, OpenAI introduced additional features to ChatGPT, including voice and image capabilities, generating a mixed response from the online community.
While some users celebrated the advancements, others expressed concerns about AI becoming overly human-like and potentially impacting smaller AI startups and software engineers. Legal concerns about copyright violations and infringement of intellectual property rights associated with ChatGPT usage were also highlighted by some users.
