What Does ChatGPT Really Know About Books?

What Does ChatGPT Really Know About Books?

Hey there! So, there’s been some buzz recently about what exactly ChatGPT is learning from. I mean, we all have this image, right? A massive library of every book ever written, crammed into an AI’s memory.

But here’s the scoop: ChatGPT straight up denied being trained on entire books. According to it, what it knows comes from summaries and snippets, not whole texts. That’s an interesting twist, don’t you think?

For a while, I thought these large language models (LLMs) were like walking encyclopedias packed with every piece of literature out there. It turns out that’s not quite the case. The model absorbs patterns, context, and information from these summaries rather than the full-blown texts.

So, why does that matter? Well, this means if you ask it about a book, it can give you a decent idea of what it’s about, but it might miss some of the deeper references or nuanced ideas found in the whole story. Often, we’re dealing with a review rather than a full experience. It’s like getting the Cliff Notes instead of the novel itself.

If you’re curious about how this affects your interactions with AI, remember it’s a tool for information, not a replacement for diving into the actual books. A good mix of both could give you the best of both worlds: insightful chats and literary depth.

What do you think? Do you care if AI hasn’t read books in their entirety, or does it still do the job for you? Let’s chat about it!