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ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web
Article

ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web

OpenAl’s chatbot offers paraphrases, whereas Google offers quotes. Which do we prefer?



Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Concrete Examples
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

Today’s large language models operate by scouring massive data inputs, much of it from the web. The sheer magnitude of that training material requires researchers to employ compression algorithms that contain inherent flaws. The results are entertaining and often useful, but a far cry from human creative prose. Author Ted Chiang compares OpenAI’s ChatGPT to a “blurry JPEG” of the internet, rather than a reliable responder. 

Take-Aways

  • Large language models and Xerox photocopiers share error issues, when compressing information.
  • Lossy compression helps explain why large language models sometimes produce nonsensical answers or “hallucinations.”
  • Despite their flaws, large language models can seem lucid.

About the Author

Ted Chiang is an award-winning author of science fiction. In 2016, the title story from his first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, was adapted into the film Arrival. He lives in Bellevue, Washington, where he works as a freelance technical writer.