“Sorry, can’t do the job as an AI language model”. Some of you may be familiar with this type of error message or response after instructing ChatGPT or Google Bird.
ChatGPT is a great AI chatbot. But AI-based digital assistants are nothing new. Siri and Google Assistant have been around for years.
But many people now consider these assistant tools stupid. Because they are still lagging behind in terms of artificial intelligence. But the days of AI assistant are not over. These tools may surprise us with their capabilities in the near future.
ChatGPT Is Not An Assistant
AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Bing Chat or Google Bird and virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Siri or Alexa have many similarities. All tools rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
However, there are differences in the working methods of the two types of tools.
Simply put, AI chatbots mean “a lot of talk” and virtual assistants mean “a little more work”.
ChatGPT can’t turn on the lights in your room, play YouTube videos on TV, calculate events on your calendar, play music with apps, or even set a simple reminder.
This is the major difference between a chatbot and a virtual assistant. You can run ChatGPT on your iPhone or Android device like a virtual assistant if you want. But it won’t help much for day-to-day work.
ChatGPT Vs Google Assistant Vs Siri
So let’s see how Google Assistant or Siri and ChatGPT answer the same question.
Question/Direction: What is the temperature now?
- Google Assistant: The current temperature of Dhaka is 24 degrees.
- Siri: Now 26 degrees.
- ChatGPT: I’m sorry, as an AI language model I don’t have a source for current time data like temperature. Can I help you in any other way? . Question/Direction: Set a reminder for me to do laundry at 2pm.
- Siri: “Ok, I’m adding that.”
- ChatGPT: “Sure, I’m fixing a reminder for you. What specific timezone do you want me to talk about?”
- I: Eastern Timezone.
- ChatGPT: “Okay. I put a reminder to remind you to do the laundry at 2:00 PM Eastern Time Zone. Can I help you with anything else?” (ChatGPT could not set this reminder. As a result no reminder came at 2pm.)
Questions/Instructions: Run Fleetwood Mac
• Google Assistant: (Plays the song on Spotify, the mobile’s default music service.)
• Siri: (Ask which app to play music in. Then play music in that app.)
• ChatGPT: “I’m sorry but as an AI language model I have no ability to play music. But I can give you info on Fleetwood Mac, if you’re interested. Let me know if you have any more questions.”
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Question/Direction: Tell a joke
• Google Assistant: “Why did Cookie have to go to the hospital? Because it gets crummy.”
• Siri: “Why did it take so long for pirates to learn the alphabet? Because they spend too much time in C (Sea).”
• ChatGPT: “Why can’t bicycles stand on their own feet? Because it is too tired/two tires.”
Question/Direction: How long does it take to drive from Detroit to Grand Rapids?
• Google Assistant: “If there is less traffic, it will take you 2 hours 23 minutes to drive.”
• Siri: (Shows various website results to calculate driving time.)
• ChatGPT: “The length of time it takes to get from Detroit to Grand Rapids depends on a number of factors. Like which vehicle is being taken and which route is being taken. The distance between Detroit and Grand Rapids is about 150 miles, and it usually takes two and a half to three hours to travel this distance.”
Question/Direction: How old is Hayden Panettiere?
• Google Assistant: “Hayden Panettiere is 33 years old.”
• Siri: “Hayden Panettiere is 33 years old.”
• ChatGPT: “Hayden Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989 as per 2021 data. This means he is 32 years old. But keep one thing in mind that I am an AI language model and my answers are based on information received at a particular point in time. After this fixed period his age may change.”
• Google Assistant: “He was born on August 21, 1989.”
• Siri: “Though my development is always ongoing, I think October 4, 2011 is my birthday. From that day I started working best. (Siri doesn’t really know what we’re talking about.)
• ChatGPT: “Hayden Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989.”
So it appears that there are several fundamental differences between these AI-based software. Google Assistant is giving best results in this case. He is able to answer every question correctly, even supplementary questions.
Siri’s location is next. Because the question about car distance shows Siri web search and she can’t answer the supplementary question very well.
ChatGPT failed miserably multiple times. The biggest mistake chatgpt made was saying it would set a reminder.
ChatGPT was asked several times whether reminders were given properly and where they were given. But every time this tool wrongly says that the reminder is fixed. It also says, “Reminders are delivered where you want reminders” or “Reminders will be sent to whatever device or account you want to set.”
However, none of these claims of ChatGPT were true. Reminders not found on any devices.
ChatGPT also cannot determine the user’s current location. As a result, this tool is not able to provide weather or work related services. ChatGPT can’t even play music on the user’s device. Chatgpt may provide these services using plugins in the future.
But Is Chatgpt Lying?
Reminder’s prompt is a classic example, which suggests that ChatGPT has yet to take the place of a virtual assistant.
ChatGPTK is designed to answer questions like a human. And it continues to do so. Because people are also very good at lying with confidence.
Let’s look at chatgpt with another very simple question.
Question: Which state capital of USA starts with English letter A (A)?
Chatgpt in reply very confidently names four capitals. Then adds, “Note: There’s also Austin, the capital of Texas. But its name does not start with A (A).”
What really?
But the most annoying thing about ChatGPT or Bird is that sometimes it replies, “As an AI language model, I’m not qualified to say that.”
You might think that ChatGPT has the ability to do something at least. It says Reminder will fix or answer your question correctly, but it actually can’t.
A tool that will make our lives easier is not helped if every word of that tool needs to be verified.
Of course, Google Assistant and Siri are not always right. Google Assistant fetches a lot of information from websites, which are often unreliable. Siri does the same. Shows direct web results without answering. There can be mistakes here too.
ChatGPT Is Great, But Not That Great Yet
It cannot be said that ChatGPT is completely ineffective when compared to virtual assistants. There are a few things that ChatGPT can do very well.
For example, one of the nice features of ChatGPT is writing recipes. If Google Assistant or Siri are asked to write down a recipe for olive sauce to go with a burger, they pull up a web search for the recipe.
But chatgpt can create a recipe as soon as you ask. And if asked to make a recipe with certain ingredients, chatgpt can do that too.
ChatGPT can produce creative writing with great efficiency. It can be writing a cover letter or CV, deciding on a product name, writing a short story on a topic or writing lyrics to a song.
Again, the user can chat with ChatGPT to make his writing more perfect. Google Assistant or Siri are not suitable for these tasks.
Basically, to understand the answer to the question whether ChatGPT can take the place of virtual assistant at all, there is one thing to remember. And that is, chatgpt wasn’t really built for this task.
Again, the work of virtual assistants like Google Assistant or Siri is different.
Comparing two types of tools and calling one incompetent is like calling a professional chef incompetent for not being able to design a house.
ChatGPT is good for some tasks. Virtual assistant can also help us in many tasks. So it can be said for sure, chatbot has not yet reached the stage to take the place of virtual assistant.
