Eminem is considered ‘The Rap God’. He said so in one of his songs. His way with words, the fire he spits, and the bars he drops have been known to inspire fans and aspiring artists alike (I am a fan, can you tell?). No, this is not a praise speech about Eminem. This is about how well the newest generative A.I. models – Bing Chat, Google Bard and ChatGPT can emulate and generate whatever we ask them to do, even Eminem’s rap. AI has already caused quite the ruckus in Hollywood (you know who you are!)
Because I was curious and eager to see what the noise was all about, I went ahead and sought out the help of these AI tools. The first prompt that I entered on the chats was done merely for fun and because my writer’s ego wanted to throw them to the sharks. The prompt read, “write an Eminem rap for me”. To my disbelief, they responded in seconds. The responses were:
Microsoft Bing Chat:
ChatGPT:
Google Bard:
While Microsoft Bing seemed to have a conscious and common courtesy, the other two went all out to make sure they sounded like Eminem. ChatGPT did a really thorough job as to have an intro, an outro, a bridge, and a chorus. A real fan of Eminem, or one who is familiar with his rap will be able to tell that this is a far cry from what Eminem is, in an instant. However, you can’t ignore the fact that ChatGPT and Bing did an above-average and perhaps even a good job, depending on who is judging. Even though on moral grounds Bing wins by a mile, in terms of efficiency the other two are ahead.
The prompt that I initially used (because it was my first attempt at using the models) was not aligned with obtaining actual information. Therefore, after laughing for a good while over their attempts at composing a rap, I tried again. Once I kept feeding prompts to the systems, the answers kept coming and some of them were extremely good, well structured and used language that served the purpose of the prompt. . This was when the seriousness of these bots dawned on me.
Who wins the final showdown?
None of these AIs need an introduction. Because we seemed to have known about them, even when we didn’t. However, despite looking similar on the surface, ChatGPT appears to be more sensational than its alternatives. This is because it is spoken about quite often and is considered to be more sophisticated in terms of the language it uses and the information it generates. But users seem to have listed out the pros and cons for all three of them. Keeping in mind that none of these AIs can think and that they function solely on input, let us take a look at the big three.
- Contestant number one: ChatGPT
OpenAI’s ChatGPT was introduced in November 2022. Which means that she is the firstborn. She is also the biggest fish in the pond. Because she had more months on her and more popularity, people embraced her fast. So fast that it crossed 1 million users in less than a week of its release. By January 2023 there were 100 million active users, accolading it as the fastest-growing web platform to have ever existed. The most recent iteration is based on ChatGPT 3.5 which is free for everyone. Bringing information to the masses free of charge is one of her biggest selling points. ChatGPT Plus is a paid version that grants access to GPT-4. However, it is said that GPT-4 can also be accessed via Bing Chat.
One of the major drawbacks that many users flagged was that it had access to a very limited amount of information. That is, the information generated on GPT is updated only until the year 2021, which means there is a gulf of information that makes it less reliable. However, recently OpenAI announced introducing plugins for ChatGPT which enables seamless integration with the vast resources of the net. This could expand the functionalities of ChatGPT and make it more competitive. Nevertheless, due to the high demand, access to these plugins is currently limited and interested users will be queued on a waiting list.
- Contestant Number Two: Bing Chat
Bing Chat, or the ‘new Bing’ was released on February 7th, 2023 to a limited number of users. Bing had over 1 million people sign up for the waitlist within the first 48 hours. It was launched as a conversational AI chatbot that allowed users to interact with an AI rather than just clacking queries on their keyboard. The one thing that Bing shares in common with her senior; ChatGPT is that they are both powered by the same model. This means that Bing offers comfortable access and better usability, or perhaps even better, in comparison to her competitors.
The upper hand that Bing has over ChatGPT is that its most up-to-date features are not gate kept by a paywall, rather they are freely accessible. But in terms of functionality or who is better than the other, it is difficult to conclude because ChatGPT’s technology (OpenAI) is what powers Bing Chat. Some may place Bing over GPT whereas some may prefer the latter. It all boils down to personal preference.
- Contestant Number Three: Bard
Name’s Bard. Google Bard.
Google Bard, launched in March 2023, the youngest of the three is Google’s attempt at keeping up with ChatGPT and Bing. The feature that Bard has that neither of the others do is that she can draw responses directly from the internet. This implies that she can provide the latest information. A technology as such grants Bard the ability to provide the user with direct links to websites. A feature that is alien to both ChatGPT and Bing.
However, users believe that in terms of functionality, Bard has nothing on the other two. This could be because it does not have an impressive history when it comes to web search accuracy. Apparently, it could also be a pathological liar. But despite that, it has unique features such as the ability to voice search and permitting you to export the content that you generate to your mail or onto a Google document.
Apart from the three main heads of the game, Google has ventured into another initiative during the early part of 2023. It has introduced AI as a new friend to its Gmail and Google Docs.
This means that Google is allowing a select group of users to use AI features in Gmail and Google Docs. These AI capabilities could involve features that generate content or assist with various tasks. Additionally, Google intends to introduce more of these generative AI features to its other applications such as Google Chat, Google Meet, Google Sheets and Google Slides in the feature.
This expansion indicates that Google is actively integrating AI technology into its suite of productivity and communication tools. With this initiative, a user can type in an email text box: “draft an email to the team” and the application will generate a thankyou note with paragraphs,that the user can tinker with and use as the final draft.
While this latest addition may still be in its infant stages, it is hard to disagree with the fact that it does look promising.
Going back to matters at hand, evidently, all three bots have their pros and cons. Being curious about them informed me so. I know that curiosity killed the cat, but the only thing being curious about these A.I. models killed is the neutral perception I had about them. As to whether I am for or against ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing, I will leave it up to your imagination. Because the burning question these days is not about my preference, but about which of the three is better. And that I believe is a call that the user can make.
The requirements that people have when it comes to generating responses are widely diverse. While statistics and general perception give ChatGPT an edge over the other two, perhaps depending on the situation or your prompt, the AI tool who lives up to the expectation could be different. ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing have proven to be advantageous for many people out there. At the same time, it has proven to be a threat, not only because they replace writers, but because they can be misused, manipulated quite easily and also give out fake information.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)