If you've ever wondered "What plant is this?" or "Why does my dog look like that?", you've probably thought about testing out ChatGPT. If you have tried it in the last week, you will have joined 1.9999 million others (give or take), according to recent information.
According to Axios (via TweakTown), ChatGPT owner OpenAI claims that its chatbot has grown from 100 million weekly active users in 2022 to 200 million in 2024. To put these astronomical figures into perspective, Reddit, one of the world's biggest groupings of geeks, enthusiasts, and answers to all the nonsense questions you have throughout the day, is said to sit at around 260 million users a week.
This is not only a sign of how much the AI chatbot has grown but the internet as a whole. At its very peak, MySpace, practically the biggest social media network in the world at one point, had 100 million users a month. Though it's often made fun of for its slow decline and specific angsty teen aesthetic, it has had and still has a huge influence on the internet.
ChatGPT has seen a meteoric rise over the last few years and it makes sense, given it's essentially what Siri, Alexa, and a dozen other smart assistants have failed to deliver on for years.
Of course, with that rise comes its own detractors, understandably so. OpenAI recently defended its use of copyrighted material in the training of its LLMs, which led many to worry about the negative impacts of LLMs on gaming and art in general. ChatGPT will also be a part of future iPhones as standard, effectively replacing Siri in some of the most popular models of smartphones in the world.
This is, however, not the only use for tools like ChatGPT, at least according to OpenAI itself. Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, said in a statement to Axios: "People are using our tools now as a part of their daily lives, making a real difference in areas like healthcare and education—whether it's helping with routine tasks, solving hard problems, or unlocking creativity".
Recent papers, like this one on ScienceDirect, suggests it could even be used to aid the diagnosis of cancer, though it is not nearly advanced enough just yet. A tool like this shouldn't be the criteria for something this important, of course, but could be a helpful tool for compiling symptoms and suggesting plans to aid a qualified professional, assuming current research is correct.
Like Google, YouTube, and, well, Myspace, it seems people haven't really settled on whether it's a good thing for society, but ChatGPT's presence is undeniable—and it seems only likely to grow from here.
