ChatGPT

GenAI Chatbots

A GenAI chatbot e.g. ChatGPT, is an advanced conversational AI that leverages generative artificial intelligence to produce dynamic, contextually relevant responses across a wide range of topics. Many of the most popular chatbots, are now equipped with multimodal capabilities, which means they can understand and generate responses not only in text but also in images, audio, and computer code, enhancing its interaction and utility across diverse applications.

There are many GenAI tools available. Some are free, some need you to create an account, and some are subscription-based. The following are some of the most common GenAI tools currently available in Ireland

ChatGPT

ChatGPT – the newest model (May 2024)

Since launching in November 2022, there have been a number of different models, ChatGPT 4o is OpenAI’s new flagship model that can reason across audio, vision, and text in real time.  Some of this functionality is not yet available to users in Ireland but is expected to be rolled out in coming months.

ChatGPT 4o, is available as a ‘Free tier’ model. This means that all registered users have free access to the most up to date ChatGPT model (with some limitations) on a desktop/laptop computer.  The Free tier option ChatGPT 4o is not yet available on mobile devices. You will still need to create an OpenAI account to access Free tier ChatGPT 4o.

ChatGPT 4o currently has a context window of 128k which, in terms of word count, translates to approximately 85,000 to 96,000 words.

As it stands today, the most up to date Free tier version ChatGPT 4o has a training data cut-off date of October 2023. This means that the model’s knowledge is based on information available up to that time, and it does not include any events, developments, or discoveries that occurred after October 2023. Understanding this cut-off date is necessary to set appropriate expectations for the information provided by ChatGPT 4o and highlights the need for corroborating information when dealing with recent or evolving topics.

There is also a premium version ChatGPT Plus which costs approximately $20 +VAT per month.

Users on the Free tier will be defaulted to ChatGPT 4o on sign-in, with a limit on the number of messages they can send using ChatGPT 4o which, according to OpenAI, will vary based on current usage and demand. When unavailable, Free tier users will be switched back to ChatGPT-3.5.

Users are notified once they have reached the limit and will be invited to continue the conversation using ChatGPT 3.5 or to upgrade to ChatGPT Plus.

The following tools have shared usage rate limits that are separate from the ChatGPT 4o text rate limit:

• Data analysis with ChatGPT
• File and image uploads
• Browsing with ChatGPT
• Discovering and using GPTs
• Vision

If you reach a rate limit for any of these tools, you will need to wait until the system allows you to begin using the tools again.

Users paying for ChatGPT Plus have access to a version that allows them to build their own GPTs , generate images using DALL-E, as well as having access to higher rate limits in a chat.

As of May 13th 2024, ChatGPT Plus users will be able to send up to 80 messages every 3 hours on GPT 4o and up to 40 messages every 3 hours on ChatGPT 4. Please note that unused messages do not accumulate (i.e. if you wait 6 hours, you will not have 80 messages available to use for the next 3 hours on ChatGPT 4).

Attribution (Adapted):

Webb, M. (2024, January 25). A generative AI Primer. National centre for AI. ISC National Centre for AI Version 1.3. License: CC BY-NC-SA.

A Generative AI Primer JISC National Centre for AI Version 1.3 – 2nd Jan 2024. License: CC BY-NC-SA

Page updated: 28th May 2024