Something unusual happened when a journalist in New York called a toll-free 1-800 number last week. The reason for the call wasn’t to reach a particular product helpline, but because she wanted to find out about something entirely new.
Sitting at her desk, perhaps somewhat anxious, she typed out the number on her phone – 1-800-242-8478. After an initial disclaimer, the phone rang. A woman promptly answered the phone. The conversation began with a cheerful ‘Hi!’, and what happened next, left her fascinated.
The woman who answered the phone seemed to be able to talk about absolutely anything – from giving the recipe for chocolate-chip cookies to an insightful account of the American Civil War.
1-800-242-8478 was indeed 1-800-ChatGPT.
WILL IT BE A GAME CHANGER?
Ten days ago, OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, introduced a voice service in the United States, especially for those who do not have the App or aren’t tech-savvy. The tech firm believes this could help them get the answers they need over a regular phone call – speaking with someone who sounds like a pleasant and helpful ‘human being’, except, she’s an AI chatbot.
There are a few limitation though – while the number in itself is toll-free, the service is free only for 15 minutes per number, per month, and is currently available only in the US. For the rest of the world, OpenAI said it has launched a text service directly on WhatsApp. The number is the same – 1-800-ChatGPT.
OpenAI’s chief product officer Kevin Weil said that these new features were a project that the team worked up only in the last few weeks. The company believes that these two new features are very important to expand the reach of AI and introduce it to even those without access to high-speed internet.
Interestingly though, OpenAI isn’t the first company to introduce a voice feature over a phone call. Google had done something similar 17 years ago. Google’s GOOG-411 or ‘voice local search’ feature was launched back in 2007. It provided a speech-recognition-based business directory search. However, it was mysteriously shut down in 2010 and Google never declared why.
THE CONCERNS
Though solutions being just a call away makes life simpler, many have raised valid concerns.
‘Will my calls be recorded?’, ‘Will my voice and speech be used as a sample to train AI?’, ‘Can my voice be replicated in case of a data leak?’, ‘Can such technology manipulate human emotions?’, ‘Can people get emotionally attached to AI?’, ‘Will it lead to people seeking companionship with an AI?’, ‘Will people get too dependent on a human-sounding chatbot?’, ‘What impact will it have on those who are lonely?’ – Several such though-provoking questions were asked by users online.
According to a CNN report, when it questioned whether users agree for OpenAI to record or store their voice while using the feature, OpenAI told them to refer to a copy of their ‘privacy policy’ and ‘Terms of Use’ manual.
“Before users begin speaking to ChatGPT over the phone, they must agree to OpenAI’s Terms of Use and privacy policy by clicking on a button to ‘proceed’ with the call” they were informed. A disclaimer is also read out to all users informing them that OpenAI may “review the data for safety purposes”.
FROM NON-PROFIT TO FOR-PROFIT
On Friday, OpenAI officially declared plans to lay out an entirely new corporate structure – one that will likely end its control by a non-profit.
OpenAI was founded as a non-profit organisation in 2015. It later switched to a “capped” for-profit enterprise, which allowed the tech firm a limited level of money making. Now it says that the ceiling limit will be removed.
In a blog post, OpenAI said it plans to restructure as a ‘for-profit PBC’ or Public Benefit Corporation. This would “requires the company to balance shareholder interests, stakeholder interests, and a public benefit interest in its decision making.”
“It will enable us to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space,” OpenAI added.
However, OpenAI’s restructuring efforts will likely face obstacles, with Elon Musk reportedly asking a US court to stop OpenAI from converting into a for-profit enterprise.
