A chat window, not the model, changed the world? — 2022: ChatGPT
Not a bigger model, but a window you could talk to, made AI something for everyone.
1 · Think first
On November 30, 2022, a model from the GPT family you met yesterday was put inside a chat window where you could talk back and forth and opened up to everyone. That was ChatGPT.
Nobody invented a brand-new model. The big thing was polishing it using which answers people liked better, so it actually understood what you asked it to do.
So what changed that day wasn't the technology, it was who got to use it. Something only people who knew how to add examples could use became something everyone used.
2 · Experiment · Before & after
Try it — 2020 vs. 2022: what changed?
Pick an item and switch back and forth between 2020 and 2022. If you can see what changed besides the model's size, you've got it.
Figure
How a big model became 'something anyone uses'
Three layers of work stacked up to make November 2022.
3 · Quiz
Quick check
Three questions. Pick an answer and it's marked right away, with the reason why.
Today in one line
Today in one line
Not a bigger model, but a window you could talk to,
made AI something for everyone.
Learn more
- The intro post from launch day. It even called itself a 'research preview' — Introducing ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2022)
- The paper on polishing a model with human feedback — the experiment where the small model beat the big one — Training language models to follow instructions with human feedback (2022)