Chat features built into Duolingo, Expedia, etc. are better than bots that can ask you anything
Chat features built into Duolingo, Expedia, etc. are better than bots that can ask you anything
Type almost anything into ChatGPT and get a confident and compelling response. problem? The answer may be full of mistakes. And during long conversations, it can veer off course.
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Type almost anything into ChatGPT and get a confident and compelling response. problem? The answer may be full of mistakes. And during long conversations, it can veer off course.
So we started testing apps that use OpenAI’s GPT technology, but are not ChatGPT. Language app Duolingo and learning platform Khan Academy offer conversational tutoring using this technology. Writing Assistant Grammarly’s new tools let you compose your emails. Travel app Expedia has a chatty trip planner. And every Snapchat user got a new friend on the social network called My AI.
These apps are thematically defined by subject matter experts and focus on a specific purpose. We also warn users that the model may be wrong, but we found the AI chat feature to be more useful and accessible than the ask-anything chatbots that are currently in the spotlight. rice field.
Available to French and Spanish learners on iOS, Duolingo’s role-play text chatbot is more dynamic than the repetitive translation exercises in language learning apps.
Each roleplay conversation has a theme. In my French, I remembered my imaginary Caribbean vacation and complained about the delayed flight. The bot fixed the errors and suggested more advanced vocabulary for my responses.
Duolingo content experts created 100 initial scenarios. They spoke to learners as language instructors and programmed their AI language models to discuss only the intended scenarios. As a result, no two conversations are the same, and role-play becomes more sophisticated as the learner progresses.
Roleplay is available as part of the Duolingo Max subscription plan for $30/month or $168/year.
Khan Academy’s Khanmigo has several personalized learning tools, including a ‘Tutor me’ mode and quiz modules for different subjects.
I tried AI tutor with AP US History prompt. “Evaluate the factors behind the migration of people to America in the 17th century,” Khanmigo replied, while ChatGPT wrote the entire essay for me. “Religious freedom was a factor for him. Can you think of it?” Any other examples? ”
You can ask Kanmigo for hints, but it’s programmed not to spit out the answer.
Kristen DiServo, chief learning officer at Khan Academy, said the company relies on tutor research to create prompts for Khan Migo. For example, you can provide stronger hints when students are frustrated.
When a student types something off-topic, Khammigo changes the direction of the conversation. Any input related to hate speech, self-harm, or violence will result in a ‘Conversation could not be processed’ message and an email will be sent to the student’s parent or teacher who can review the conversation.
A bigger concern is when a tutor gives a wrong answer, which happens sometimes in math, she says. Khan Academy collaborated with her OpenAI to improve her GPT-4 math skills. The model is the most accurate for questions about popular K-12 topics, but less accurate for niche subjects, adds Dr. DiServo.
Interested users can join the waiting list. Joining requires a monthly donation of $20 or more to the nonprofit to cover the computing costs of the chatbot.
Grammarly has been using AI to edit text for years. GrammarlyGo, which was released last month, also creates sentences.
The most useful element is the email responder, which appears every time you open the compose window. Click the green icon to expand the GrammarlyGo module, which summarizes the content of your email and offers several “tone” options for your reply, such as persuasive, friendly, or diplomatic.
The software can only see what’s on your screen if you activate the GrammarlyGo module. A Grammarly spokesperson said the data is anonymized before being sent to the model. He added that the company never sells customer data, nor does it allow partners to use that data to train models.
GrammarlyGo’s suggestion was a good starting point, but it felt like a personal template and I still had to play around with it. My biggest complaint is that GrammarlyGo always signs off with “yoroshiku onegaishimasu”. I tend to stick to the simpler “yoroshiku onegaishimasu”.
Users receive 100 free prompts per month. If you pay $30/month or $144/year, that’s up to 500. (Google has added similar tools to Docs and his Gmail, currently available by invitation only.)
I used ChatGPT to plan a trip and invented a beach that didn’t exist. The version of Expedia available in the iOS app hasn’t let me down yet.
When I asked Expedia to help me plan my trip to Naples, they showed me some reasonably priced hotels. Listings are now organized in the “Travel” section of the app and can be booked there. They also suggested some local attractions. In fact, they are real places. Unfortunately, the app doesn’t yet allow you to save these activity recommendations to your profile.
Snapchat’s My AI is less focused, but produces more concise responses with a friendlier tone than ChatGPT. The feature has been controversial among users and has seen an uptick in searches for “Snapchat delete” after its widespread release. One reason is that the feature is stuck at the top of the chat section of the app, pushing away real human friends and only her paying Snapchat+ subscribers can unpin. I changed my name to Marvin.
Intended to recommend meals, gift ideas, and more. But we discussed a wide range of topics, from a sore right hip to the definitive ranking of Beyoncé’s albums. However, it was a failure. When I asked for the lyrics to Beyonce’s “Upgrade U,” I was sent “Rose” by Outkast instead.
Snapchat moderates the conversation. When I typed in an expletive, Marvin said, “I wish I could keep the conversation respectful and proper.” Talking about anxiety and other personal conflicts may provide mental health resources. When My AI was first released to subscribers, one researcher said: The Center for Humanitarian Technology found that the bot was giving inappropriate gender-related responses to accounts set up for users aged 13, and Snap said a new filter prevented My AI from being under 18. said it was able to generate more conservative responses for users of
Overall, the experience was refreshing. Instead of going into the wilds of ChatGPT and trying to create your own prompts, it was easy to familiarize yourself with these in-app chatbots. At the very least, an expert operated the bot and monitored its responses.
It also shows a more purposeful application of AI, even if it has some of the same problems.
—WSJ For more technology analysis, reviews, advice and headlines, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Email Nicole Nguyen (nicole.nguyen@wsj.com).
