1 Year ChatGPT: A Look in the Mirror, The Future Ahead & What Every Business Can Learn From OpenAI
DDVC #63: Where venture capital and data intersect. Every week.
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The (Long) Path to ChatGPT
Nov 30th, 2022 will always be remembered as the birth of AI. In reality, however, there was a long 70+ year path that led to this explosion. Algorithms and the definition of “artificial intelligence” incepted in the 1950s. Breakthroughs in compute in the 1990s fueled the first wave of AI, yet only the widespread collection of data in the late 2000s added the missing component.
About a decade ago, the magic triangle of algorithms, compute, and data became finally complete. Thereafter, we achieved two more major milestones. Firstly, the transition from sequential computing and CPUs to parallel computing and GPUs. Secondly, the invention of transformer models and attention mechanisms in NLP tasks.
In retrospect, the launch of ChatGPT end of 2022 was actually the least fundamental innovation compared to the other milestones listed above, yet the ability to interact with transformer models through natural language in a chat interface unlocked wide-spread adoption. It was the missing piece to complete the puzzle. The invention of AI took 70+ years, but the launch of ChatGPT was the missing piece to unlock the deserved attention.
1 Year ChatGPT - A Look in the Mirror
AIDA = Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. ChatGPT unlocked the required attention in Q4 2022. Thereafter, Q1 2023 was all about interest. Looking at earning calls it was all about coping with the hype and trying to get our arms around this tsunami. Subsequently, Q2 and Q3 2023 were about desire. Independent of industries, geographies, or company sizes, every business was forced to create an action plan; as described in my article “The impact of AI on the cost of starting and running a business” in April.
How can you incorporate AI into your product? What does it mean for your workforce? Shareholders expect answers to these and many more related questions. Now. Because people expect action. There’s just no other option to cope with the incredible momentum of gen AI companies. A snapshot on major milestones:
Nov. 30, 2022: ChatGPT Launch OpenAI unveils ChatGPT to the public in a blog post on Nov. 30, 2022. Initially free and powered by GPT-3.5, it's available solely via its website and contains data up to September 2021. Rapidly gaining popularity, it attracts 1 million users in just five days, and by December 2022, less than two months after launch, it reaches over 100 million monthly active users, marking a record in consumer internet app growth.
Feb. 1, 2023: Introduction of ChatGPT Plus, a subscription-based version of the AI chatbot, priced at $20 per month. This premium service offers access to experimental features and guarantees availability during peak times, unlike the free version.
March 1, 2023: ChatGPT API release, enabling integration into existing applications and products. Early adopters include Snap, incorporating the API into Snapchat for a new AI chatbot feature called My AI.
March 14, 2023: GPT-4 release, an advanced AI model capable of processing text, images, and voice commands. Initially, GPT-4 is accessible to ChatGPT Plus subscribers and through the API, with a usage limit that changes over time. GPT-4 is distinguished by its training data, which includes information up to April 2023.
May 18, 2023 (July 25, 2023): ChatGPT Mobile App for iOS (Android) featuring voice-to-text and a range of voice responses, thanks to Whisper technology. It also allows history synchronization across devices. According to rumours also a precursor of potential hardware developments for fullstack “AI Phones”.
August 28, 2023: ChatGPT Enterprise launch, offering unlimited GPT-4 access with enhanced security and customization for business needs.