GPT-4 Overview: Capabilities and Features of GPT-4

Are you curious about how GPT-4 stacks up against its predecessors? Dive into the details of its advancements, costs, and capabilities.

GPT-4 represents a significant leap forward in artificial intelligence, enhancing the ability to generate human-like text and reasoning. It achieves this by learning from an extensive range of texts, including classic literature and vast internet segments.

This advanced AI improves upon previous models by predicting sequences of characters—whether letters, numbers, or symbols—based on its comprehensive training data. This overview provides a high-level look at GPT-4, from accessing it for personal or business use to the critical differences from earlier models and its operational mechanics.

What is GPT-4?

GPT-4 is an advanced multimodal artificial intelligence model developed by OpenAI, capable of generating and understanding various forms of content, including prose, art, video, and audio. GPT-4 has been designed to improve model “alignment” – the ability to follow user intentions while making it more accurate and less offensive or dangerous output. As the fourth iteration of OpenAI’s foundational model, GPT-4 enhances its predecessors by providing more nuanced and sophisticated responses in both text and visual formats.

Released on July 7, 2023, GPT-4 is accessible through its API, alongside other models, like the GPT-3.5 Turbo, DALL·E, and Whisper. This API allows developers to integrate GPT-4’s capabilities into applications for generating text, solving written problems, and creating original images.

On May 13, OpenAI introduced GPT-4o, an upgraded version of GPT-4 that offers enhanced voice and video content capabilities. In addition, a more cost-effective version, GPT-4o mini, was launched in July. This mini model, which focuses on text and vision, is priced at 15 cents per million input tokens and 60 cents per million output tokens. It is available through the Assistants API, Chat Completions API, Batch API, and all tiers of ChatGPT.

Who Owns GPT-4?

GPT-4 is owned by OpenAI, an influential and innovative artificial intelligence research organization based in San Francisco. Established in 2015, OpenAI initially operated as a nonprofit entity with a mission to advance digital intelligence in a way that benefits humanity as a whole. However, in 2019, OpenAI transitioned to a “capped-profit” model, officially becoming a for-profit organization. This change allowed them to attract significant investment while still aiming to ensure that their innovations align with their broader mission of societal benefit.

OpenAI has received substantial financial backing from a range of high-profile investors and tech companies. Notable contributors include:

Elon Musk: The tech entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX was one of the early supporters and co-founders of OpenAI, although he stepped down from the board in 2018 due to potential conflicts of interest with his other ventures.

Microsoft: In 2019, Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI, marking a significant partnership that integrates OpenAI’s technologies with Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. This partnership has enabled OpenAI to scale its models and infrastructure effectively.

Amazon Web Services (AWS): AWS provides cloud computing services that support various aspects of OpenAI’s operations, contributing to the scalability and accessibility of their AI models.

Infosys: The Indian multinational corporation has also supported OpenAI’s mission and technological advancements.

In addition to GPT-4, OpenAI has developed other cutting-edge AI technologies. ChatGPT, a notable product derived from the previous GPT-3.5 model, offers users conversational AI capabilities and has become widely used across various platforms for generating human-like text responses. OpenAI’s DALL-E model, on the other hand, has gained attention for its ability to create creative and contextually relevant images based on textual descriptions.

As OpenAI’s AI solutions continue to evolve and grow more sophisticated, the organization has increasingly limited the disclosure of specific details regarding their training methodologies and data sources. This approach is part of a broader effort to balance transparency with the responsible management of powerful technologies, aiming to mitigate potential misuse and ensure that advancements are aligned with ethical and safety considerations.

How Can You Access GPT-4?

Accessing GPT-4 is straightforward through several avenues offered by OpenAI, catering to both individual users and businesses. Here’s how you can get started:

ChatGPT Portal

The public version of GPT-4 is available through the ChatGPT portal. You can access it by visiting the ChatGPT website. This platform allows users to interact with GPT-4 directly, making it accessible for general use. The ChatGPT interface provides a user-friendly way to engage with the AI, whether for casual conversation, information retrieval, or creative tasks.

GPT-4 API

OpenAI launched the GPT-4 API on July 7, 2023, making it available to existing API developers with a track record of successful payments. This API allows developers to integrate GPT-4’s capabilities into their applications, products, and services. OpenAI planned to extend access for new developers by the end of July 2023. The API provides a powerful tool for leveraging GPT-4’s advanced language processing and generation capabilities within custom solutions.

ChatGPT Enterprise

In August 2023, OpenAI introduced GPT-4 as part of ChatGPT Enterprise. This subscription-based service is designed for business users and offers several advantages:

Unlimited Use: Subscribers to ChatGPT Enterprise benefit from unlimited access to GPT-4.

High-Speed Pipeline: The enterprise version includes a high-speed processing pipeline, which ensures efficient and rapid interactions with the model.

Enhanced Features: Enterprise users also receive additional features and support tailored to business needs, including more robust integration options and advanced analytics.

Other Platforms and Integrations

As OpenAI continues to expand its offerings, GPT-4 might also become available through various other platforms and integrations. This includes partnerships and collaborations with different technology providers and applications incorporating GPT-4’s capabilities into their services.

Access to GPT-4 can vary based on your needs, whether you’re an individual user seeking interaction through ChatGPT or a developer integrating the API into your own solutions. For businesses, ChatGPT Enterprise offers a comprehensive package with enhanced capabilities and support.

The Expense of GPT-4?

The cost of using GPT-4 varies based on the type of access and usage:

ChatGPT Plus Subscription

For individual users who want access to GPT-4 through the ChatGPT platform, a subscription to ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month. This subscription provides access to the advanced capabilities of GPT-4 and includes benefits such as faster response times and priority access during peak usage periods.

GPT-4 API Pricing

Text-Only Model: For developers and businesses using the GPT-4 API for text-based applications, the pricing is structured as follows:

Prompt Tokens: $0.03 per 1,000 prompt tokens. A token represents approximately four characters of English text.

Completion Tokens: $0.06 per 1,000 completion tokens (output tokens).

Extended Context Length Model (GPT-4-32k): For those requiring a larger context length—about 50 pages of text—OpenAI offers the GPT-4-32k model:

Prompt Tokens: $0.06 per 1,000 prompt tokens.

Completion Tokens: $0.12 per 1,000 completion tokens.

These pricing details allow users to estimate the cost based on their specific needs, such as the amount of text they are processing and generating.

Other Services:

Microsoft Copilot and GitHub Copilot X: These services integrate GPT-4 into their platforms for enhanced AI assistance. While specific pricing details for these services may vary, they are typically included in broader subscription plans or enterprise agreements. For accurate pricing, it is best to consult the respective service providers.

Understanding the cost structure helps users and developers make informed decisions about integrating GPT-4 into their projects, whether for individual use through ChatGPT or for more extensive applications via the API.

What Are the Capabilities of GPT-4?

GPT-4 showcases a broad range of capabilities that build upon its predecessors. Here’s a detailed look at what it can do:

Advanced Language Understanding and Generation

Complex Instructions: GPT-4 excels at interpreting and following intricate natural language instructions. This allows it to solve complex problems, provide detailed explanations, and generate coherent and contextually appropriate responses.

Content Creation: The model can create high-quality text for various applications, from drafting essays and stories to generating creative content and technical documentation.

Enhanced Problem Solving

Math Problems: GPT-4 can handle complex mathematical problems and provide solutions with high accuracy.

Inferences and Reasoning: It can make logical inferences, draw conclusions, and understand nuanced scenarios based on the information provided.

Content Summarization

GPT-4 can effectively summarize extensive documents, articles, or reports. This is valuable for personal use, such as summarizing lengthy reading materials, and professional settings, such as medical reports or business documents.

Performance on Standardized Tests

Test Scores: GPT-4 has demonstrated strong performance on various standardized tests. It scored in the 90th percentile on the Uniform Bar Examination and the 93rd percentile on the SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing exam. While these tests are not definitive measures of knowledge, they indicate GPT-4’s ability to generate well-informed and contextually accurate responses.

Token Prediction

Sequence Generation: At its core, GPT-4 predicts the next token in a sequence, which can be a word, part of a word, or other characters. This ability underpins its natural language processing capabilities, allowing it to generate coherent and contextually relevant text.

Training and Reinforcement

Training Process: GPT-4 was trained on a diverse dataset that was tokenized and refined to improve model performance. The training process includes reinforcement learning, where human trainers guide the model to produce more sensible and contextually appropriate responses.

Parameter Adjustment: The model’s internal parameters, known as weights, are adjusted to enhance its understanding of how different concepts relate to each other, improving its overall performance.

Enhancements to the Chat Completions API

GPT-4’s capabilities reflect a significant advancement in AI language models, making it a powerful tool for various applications, from everyday tasks to specialized professional needs.

The Chat Completions API, introduced in June 2020, allows developers to integrate OpenAI’s language models into applications that require dynamic, back-and-forth conversations. Using freeform text prompts, developers can build sophisticated chatbots, virtual assistants, customer support tools, or interactive dialogue features. The API is designed to handle a wide range of conversational tasks, from simple Q&A to more complex multi-turn interactions.

Key Features of the Chat Completions API:

Flexibility: The API supports freeform prompts, allowing developers to structure conversations in various ways, depending on the task.

Contextual Understanding: The models used in the API maintain context across multiple turns in a conversation, allowing for natural, flowing dialogue.

Ease of Integration: The API can be easily integrated into applications using popular programming languages, making it accessible for developers with different backgrounds.

Major Update Coming in January 2024:

OpenAI is continuously improving the performance of its models, and the Chat Completions API is set to receive a significant upgrade in January 2024. This update will enhance the underlying language models to improve performance, accuracy, and efficiency. The following changes will be rolled out:

Upgraded Completion Models: OpenAI’s ada, Babbage, curie, and DaVinci models, which are used for various text generation tasks, will be upgraded to version 002. This new version is expected to provide better handling of prompts, more refined responses, and improved processing speed.

Transition to gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct: For tasks that do not use ada, Babbage, curie, or DaVinci models, the API will transition to the gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct model. This model is optimized explicitly for instruction-based tasks and offers enhanced capabilities in understanding and following specific directives, making it a strong fit for chatbots and instruction-following applications.

Benefits of the 2024 Upgrade:

Improved Accuracy: The upgraded models will offer more precise and contextually relevant responses, which can significantly enhance user experience in applications such as customer support, personal assistants, or educational platforms.

Enhanced Efficiency: The new models will likely reduce response times, allowing for faster and smoother interactions in real-time applications.

Better Instruction Handling: The transition to gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct will provide more robust performance in tasks requiring apparent instruction adherence, making it easier for developers to build more reliable and task-oriented chatbots.

Overall, these improvements will empower developers to create more sophisticated, accurate, and efficient conversational agents while ensuring that the Chat Completions API remains on the cutting edge of AI-powered conversation technology.

GPT-3.5 Turbo fine-tuning and other news

On August 22, 2023, OpenAI introduced fine-tuning support for GPT-3.5 Turbo, allowing developers to customize the model according to their specific needs. This new feature will enable businesses and developers to optimize the model for improved performance in customer service, content generation, or domain-specific expertise. Fine-tuned models can be trained on custom datasets, resulting in more precise and efficient outputs tailored to specific use cases. Additionally, OpenAI noted that the fine-tuned GPT-3.5 Turbo retains its cost-effectiveness, making it a compelling option for developers looking for both customization and affordability.

Earlier in the year, in January 2023, OpenAI enhanced its Moderation API by releasing version “text-moderation-007”. This API upgrade further strengthens the platform’s ability to detect and manage potentially harmful content, ensuring that developers can better monitor and prevent the use of inappropriate, unsafe, or otherwise harmful text in their applications. The text-moderation-007 model adheres to OpenAI’s Safety Best Practices, offering a reliable and robust solution for applications where content moderation is crucial, such as social media platforms, forums, and interactive customer-facing services.

The fine-tuning capability for GPT-3.5 Turbo and the improvements to the Moderation API reflect OpenAI’s ongoing commitment to making its AI technologies more adaptable, secure, and responsible for developers across diverse industries. These advancements also set the stage for continued innovations as OpenAI further refined its models to meet the growing demand for safe, tailored AI solutions.

Limitations of GPT-4 for Business

While GPT-4 offers significant advancements in natural language processing and generation, it also has notable business use limitations. These constraints can affect the model’s reliability, accuracy, and security, which are critical in professional settings. Here are some of the fundamental limitations:

Accuracy and Fact-Checking: GPT-4 does not inherently verify the accuracy of its outputs. It generates responses based on patterns and probabilities from its training data, which may lead to incorrect or misleading information. This lack of fact-checking can result in inaccurate, nonsensical, or inappropriate responses. While OpenAI has implemented digital controls and relies on human trainers to mitigate this, businesses still need to double-check the outputs before use.

Hallucinations: One of the primary issues with GPT-4, like other large language models, is the occurrence of “hallucinations.” These are instances where the model generates plausible-sounding but incorrect or fabricated information. Such hallucinations stem from the probabilistic nature of GPT-4’s responses, which aren’t always grounded in reality or current data. This poses a risk in business contexts where precision and reliability are paramount.

Data Security and Privacy Concerns: Businesses often hesitate to use GPT-4 due to concerns over data privacy. Sensitive corporate information fed into the model could potentially be used to train the system further, raising fears of data leakage or exposure to external entities. While Microsoft has indicated plans to offer private instances of GPT-4 to corporations—ensuring sensitive data is siloed and protected—this remains a significant concern for companies dealing with confidential information.

Outdated Knowledge Base: Like GPT-3.5, GPT-4’s training data only includes information available up to September 2021, which limits its ability to provide relevant, up-to-date insights. This can disadvantage businesses requiring real-time data, especially in rapidly changing fields such as finance, technology, or current events. In contrast, competitors like Google Bard have access to more current information, making them a better option for tasks requiring up-to-the-minute knowledge.

Risk of Model Collapse: Another concern for businesses is the phenomenon of “model collapse,” which occurs when AI systems are trained on data generated by other AI models. As AI-generated content becomes more widespread, the risk of model collapse increases, leading to degraded quality of future outputs. This issue can affect the performance of models like GPT-4 if not carefully managed.

Despite these challenges, GPT-4 remains a powerful tool for businesses, especially when paired with proper oversight and tailored implementations. However, companies must remain aware of these limitations to ensure responsible and effective usage of AI in their operations.

GPT-4 vs. GPT-3.5 or ChatGPT

OpenAI’s previous model, GPT-3.5, differs from GPT-4 in several vital aspects that highlight the advancements made with the newer generation of AI. Here’s how the two models compare:

Model Size and Training: While OpenAI has not disclosed the specific size of GPT-4, it has indicated that GPT-4 was trained on “more data and more computation” than GPT-3.5, which is known to have been trained on billions of parameters. This increase in scale enables GPT-4 to deliver improved performance across various tasks, from complex problem-solving to creative writing, including fiction.

Performance and Test Results: GPT-4 generally outperforms GPT -3.5 across various standardized tests and real-world tasks. For instance, GPT-4 produces more concise, precise, and well-structured answers when responding to prompts. However, OpenAI has noted that GPT-3.5 Turbo can match or even outperform GPT-4 on certain custom tasks, depending on the fine-tuning and specific use case.

Business Applications: GPT-4 shows superior capability in handling business-related tasks such as decision-making, scheduling, and summarizing large amounts of information. Its improvements in factual accuracy and adherence to allowed content further make it more reliable in professional settings. According to OpenAI, GPT-4 is “82% less likely to respond to requests for disallowed content and 40% more likely to produce factual responses” compared to GPT-3.5.

Multimodal Capabilities: One of the significant distinctions between GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 is GPT-4’s ability to process images alongside text. GPT-4 can analyze visual data, such as images, screenshots, and diagrams, and generate descriptive responses. This capability allows GPT-4 to serve as a visual assistant, offering descriptions of objects, analyzing the content of images, and even identifying the critical elements of a website from screenshots. GPT-3.5, by contrast, is limited to text-only interactions.

Content Versatility: GPT-4 has demonstrated greater versatility in generating various types of content, including complex documents, technical writing, creative work like fiction, and more. Its responses tend to be more nuanced and contextually aware than those of GPT-3.5, making it more adept at understanding and navigating intricate tasks.

Security: According to OpenAI, ChatGPT-4 is “82 percent less likely to respond to requests for disallowed content and 40 percent more likely to produce factual responses than GPT-3.5 on our internal evaluations” [3]. The organization reports achieving this new security and accuracy using user feedback, consultations with security experts, and real-world applications.

Latest News of GPT-4

Expanded Availability in Azure OpenAI Service: In early August 2023, Microsoft announced the expanded availability of GPT-4 through its Azure OpenAI Service, extending access to several new regions. This allows businesses in more areas to integrate GPT-4 into their Azure-based applications.

GPT-4 Fine-Tuning Program: As of November 2023, users who have been working with GPT-3.5 fine-tuning can apply for the GPT-4 fine-tuning experimental access program. This allows businesses to customize GPT-4 further to suit their unique needs, pushing personalization limits for their AI models.

Custom Models Program: OpenAI introduced the Custom Models program, offering more extensive customization options beyond what standard fine-tuning allows. This high-end offering is designed for large enterprises, with program costs starting at $2-3 million. Organizations can apply for a limited number of slots to access this service.

GPT-4 Turbo: At the OpenAI DevDay conference in November 2023, OpenAI unveiled GPT-4 Turbo, a more efficient variant of GPT-4. GPT-4 Turbo can handle significantly more content at a time (over 300 pages of a standard book), making it suitable for tasks requiring more significant inputs. It also comes at a lower price, with preview access available since November 2023. This makes it an appealing option for businesses needing both performance and cost-efficiency.

Price Reductions: In November 2023, OpenAI lowered prices for GPT-4 Turbo, making it more accessible to developers and organizations. The cost of GPT-3.5 Turbo has also seen multiple reductions, with the most recent cut occurring in January 2024.

GPT-4 with Vision: On April 9, 2024, OpenAI announced that GPT-4 with Vision is now generally available in the GPT-4 API. This version of GPT-4 allows developers to analyze both text and images (and potentially video) with a single API call, broadening the scope of use cases for GPT-4 across different industries, including media, retail, and security.

These updates highlight OpenAI’s continued efforts to refine GPT-4’s capabilities, expand its accessibility, and offer more tailored solutions to businesses looking to leverage cutting-edge AI technology.