What is ChatGPT?

Understanding ChatGPT

James Chapman

Curriculum Manager, DataCamp

What is ChatGPT?

AI Chatbot application:

Answer questions
Perform tasks
User-inputted text

The ChatGPT logo.

What is ChatGPT?

Traditional chatbots

Predetermined responses
Limited questions

ChatGPT

More generalizable
Uses its understanding of language to interpret the question and respond
Wide range of potential applications

Generative AI

Subset of AI and Machine Learning
Generates new content
Uses patterns in information it has already seen

A venn diagram showing that machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence, and generative AI is a subset of machine learning.

From prompt to response

A diagram showing how prompts and responses relate to ChatGPT.

Step 1: User writes a question or instruction: prompt

From prompt to response

A diagram showing how prompts and responses relate to ChatGPT.

Step 2: ChatGPT interprets the prompt

Step 3: Generates new, relevant language in response

From prompt to response

A diagram showing how prompts and responses relate to ChatGPT.

Step 4: Response is returned to the user

Summarizing text

ChatGPT is great at summarizing text and explaining concepts
Save time when summarizing reports
Interpret complex information more easily

A clipboard with a summary on it.

Instructing ChatGPT to summarize generative AI in simple terms.

The response from ChatGPT, which contains little jargon and technical information.

An instruction to ChatGPT to reduce the summary to two sentences.

A two-sentence explanation of generative AI produced by ChatGPT.

Creating marketing content

Requesting that ChatGPT writes a tweet encouraging people to acquire data literacy skills.

Creating marketing content

A ChatGPT-generated tweet that says: " Unlock the power of data!  Whether you're a student, professional, or simply curious, investing in data literacy skills opens doors to better decision-making, deeper insights, and endless opportunities in our data-driven world.  #DataLiteracy #EmpowerYourself"

An example of ChatGPT generating Python code to load an Excel spreadsheet.

Why utilize ChatGPT?

ChatGPT can perform many tasks with greater efficiency
New workflow: AI → Human
Save time and money
Greater personalization

A value triangle with quality, cost, and time at its corners.

Let's practice!

Understanding ChatGPT