Is grabbing a calculator when you don't know the smarter move? — AI that uses tools
Noticing you don't know and grabbing a tool is a kind of smart, too.
1 · Think first
AI's main job is adding the next word, so it's weak at things you need to know exactly, like big multiplications or today's weather. So people hooked up tools next to it: a calculator, search, running code.
The important part isn't the tools, it's choosing for itself when to grab one. Since 2023, models can say 'I need a calculator now' in a set format, get the result back and finish the answer.
So a good AI isn't one that knows everything. It's one that notices it doesn't know and grabs a tool — the same call you make when you use a calculator on a test.
2 · Experiment · Pick one
Try it — Answer directly, or grab a tool?
Here are six questions. Pick what an AI should do. Each pick gets graded right away, and once you've done them all, you'll see the rule.
The answers aren't all on one side. Think about the reason for each one as you pick.
Figure
Four steps to grabbing a tool
An AI that uses tools goes through these steps inside.
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
Noticing you don't know and grabbing a tool
is a kind of smart, too.
Learn more
- The 2023 official announcement that got models to say which tool to call, with what values, in a set format — Function calling and other API updates (OpenAI, 2023)
- A 2023 paper where the model learned on its own when to call tools — it calls a calculator, search and a calendar itself — Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Tools (2023)