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AI Lexicon — C

Published May 17, 2024last updated June 12, 2024

Do you know your AI from your ML? Or your facial recognition from your Ethical AI? Our AI Lexicon offers easy-to-understand definitions and examples of AI in everyday life. It really is what you need to know.

https://p.dw.com/p/4fsdq
DW Science | AI Lexicon by Zulfikar Abbany
C is for chatting with a chatbotImage: Ayse Tasci-Steinebach/DW

Chatbot

A chatbot is a computer program that responds to human interaction in a conversational way, either with words on a screen, audio or a form of visualization, such as an avatar. Human users can pose questions and receive automated answers. The technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), a method that allows the chatbot to "understand" a human's question and provide a suitable answer in a way that we can understand as well.

Common chatbots include digital or voice assistants, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or Apple's Siri. Many websites, especially commercial ones, offer a customer service "live chat" function that is built on chatbot technology. (za/fs)

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an example of a large language model (LLM), a type of AI program that can recognize and generate text.

When asked "What is ChatGPT?", ChatGPT said of itself:

"Chatbot GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) or ChatGPT is a type of conversational AI model developed by OpenAI. It is based on the GPT architecture, which stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer." The model was trained on a vast amount of text data from the internet, allowing it to understand and generate human-like responses to a wide range of prompts. […four further paragraphs]"

When prompted to regenerate its response, the AI returned:

"Chatbot GPT (ChatGPT) is an AI-based conversational agent developed by OpenAI. GPT stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer," which refers to the underlying architecture of the model. GPT is part of the larger family of language models that use transformers to process and generate human-like text. […five further paragraphs]

These first two responses were generated on July 25, 2023, using ChatGPT 3.5.

In April 2024, ChatGPT 3.5 said:

"ChatGPT is an AI-based conversational agent developed by OpenAI. It belongs to the family of Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT), which are large-scale language models trained on vast amounts of text data. These models can understand and generate human-like text based on the input they receive.

ChatGPT is designed to engage in conversations with users on a wide range of topics, provide information, answer questions, and even generate creative content like stories or poetry. It's trained on diverse internet text sources, enabling it to have a broad understanding of language and context.

Overall, ChatGPT aims to simulate natural conversation and provide useful and engaging interactions with users." (za/fs)

Computer science

The broad study of computation, information, and automation.

Computer science focuses on developing and testing new software and software systems using skills such as mathematical modeling, data analysis, and computational theory. In practical terms that means defining the computational principles that underpin all software.

Some common jobs for computer scientists include: computer programmer, data scientist, web developer, video game developer, software engineer. (fs/za)

 

Sources:

What is a chatbot? (IBM / IBM Watson) https://www.ibm.com/topics/chatbots (accessed July 25, 2023)

What is ChatGPT? (ChatGPT / OpenAI)

https://chat.openai.com/share/d995f375-34fd-40e5-94a8-254440fb08cf (prompt July 25, 2023)

https://chat.openai.com/share/dff9b168-b438-4118-aa00-c9e6a0f77252 (prompt July 25, 2023)

Read the rest of DW's AI Lexicon:

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

We're keen to hear your feedback. Suggest an entry by sending us a comment. And let us know if you feel we have missed something, got it wrong, and tell us whether our AI Lexicon has helped you understand the technology better.

Written and edited by: Zulfikar Abbany (za), Fred Schwaller (fs)

DW Zulfikar Abbany
Zulfikar Abbany Senior editor fascinated by space, AI and the mind, and how science touches people
DW journalist Fred Schwaller wears a white T-shirt and jeans.
Fred Schwaller Science writer fascinated by the brain and the mind, and how science influences society@schwallerfred