OpenAI, the company behind the language model ChatGPT, has recently announced a few upgrades to the generative AI tool. Besides being able to understand natural language and interact with human-like text, ChatGPT will soon be able to also see, hear, and speak. The company has collaborated with several professional voice actors to enable you to not only communicate with the AI in text but also using speech. Moreover, you can soon upload an image and ask it questions based on the image, such as sending a photo of your fridge and asking what to cook for dinner, or taking a photo of a place you’re visiting and asking it to give you a tour (OpenAI, 2023).
A few weeks ago, we received a guest lecture from Envision, who uses Google Glasses with ChatGPT to aid the blind or people with low vision in gathering visual information (Envision, 2023). Although the new features of ChatGPT seem similar to what Envision is currently providing, I believe that this new feature of ChatGPT can still add significant benefits to the company and its users.
For example, OpenAI has access to much more data than Envision; therefore, their models are more likely to be accurate and faster. In class, we have already seen a demonstration of what Envision can do. Although it was very impressive to see the response of the AI, it did take quite a long time to generate. The new ChatGPT update may solve this issue.
Moreover, the new features of ChatGPT are intended to be applied to many scenarios, whereas Envision focuses specifically on aiding the blind and visually impaired. As such, Envision can gather user feedback to improve their solution’s performance so that it becomes more effective and tailored to the needs of the blind and visually impaired.
To conclude, I do not believe the new features pose a threat to Envision. Instead, I think they provide the company with tools to increase the quality of the product. In the end, Envision is the one combining emergent technologies such as AR and AI to create an innovative solution, which is what sets them apart.
What are your thoughts on the new features of ChatGPT, and how do you think they will impact Envision’s business?
References
Envision. (2023). Envision. Retrieved from Perceive Possibility: https://www.letsenvision.com/
OpenAI. (2023, September 25). ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak. Retrieved from OpenAI: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt-can-now-see-hear-and-speak
