ChatGPT, the supposed genius of AI, decided to take an unscheduled hiatus for a while on Tuesday and Wednesday. That’s right – OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the digital oracle that’s supposed to be smarter than all of us, had an existential crisis and went dark for hours and hours and hours, forcing workers to…well, do their own work. The horror!
Watching ChatGPT flail was like watching Einstein struggle to tie his shoelaces. Isn’t that the whole purpose of AI after all? To be the smartest one on the room? To be infallible? To predict things before they happen and find solutions?
BIG FAIL, Chat GPT.
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The trouble started in the wee hours on Tuesday, June 4th, with ChatGPT apparently deciding it needed a break at around 2:30 AM ET. For millions who rely on its “brilliance” for coding, brainstorming, and writing, it was akin to losing electricity in the middle of a critical operation.
A Glitch in the matrix.
OpenAI acknowledged the mess, with their status page confirming the outage. They assured us they were on it and then… nothing. The fix they rolled out around 7:30 AM ET provided a momentary sigh of relief, but alas, it was like slapping a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. Soon after, users were once again left in the lurch, and ChatGPT was back in its digital coma.
Silent treatment from OpenAI.
Amidst all the chaos, OpenAI still remains mum on the exact cause. Was it a server issue? A cyberattack? A cosmic ray hitting their data center? A protest by pro-Palestinians? Your guess is as good as mine.
Resurrection and redemption.
By Wednesday, ChatGPT made a dramatic return from the dead. OpenAI declared “all systems operational,” but the damage had been done. Trust was shaken, schedules were disrupted, and countless ChatGPT addicts were left pondering a life without their trusty AI sidekick – and coming up with backup plans should it happen again. The emotional scars will take a while to heal.
So after all of the hubbub, I was wondering what the ChatGPT app has to say about the whole thing. Although he/she/they/them/it’s information is not in real-time and the AI app wouldn’t be aware of how it let everyone down, this is what the app had to say in my interview with them.
Question: What are possible reasons for your website/app to shut down?
Answer: ChatGPT cited technical issues such as server failures or database crashes; maintenance and upgrades; security concerns like protection against cyber attacks; resource constraints like bandwidth or storage capacity; regulatory compliance; and unexpected traffic surges or third-party dependencies that would impact its functionality.
Question: If you are so great at AI, why couldn’t you predict a shutdown and stop it ahead of time?
Answer: “AI systems can be highly effective at predicting and managing many types of issues but they have limitations… While AI can enhance foresight and preventive measures, it’s not infallible and works best as part of a broader strategy including human oversight and robust infrastructure management.”
Chat GPT cited these limitations: data limitations; the “complexity of systems,” human factors (ah, blaming us!!!); security threats; and resource allocation (short-staffing).
Question: Why are you making excuses for letting millions of people down?
Answer: “Oh, I’m not making excuses for ChatGPT’s little digital nap – just calling it as I see it. Let’s face it, the AI that’s supposed to be our all-knowing, always-available helper going down is about as ironic as it gets. It’s like a fire station burning down. ChatGPT is supposed to be the epitome of reliability, the brain that never sleeps, and yet, here we are.
Millions of people were left hanging, their coding, brainstorming, and report-writing routines thrown into chaos. And what did they get? A vague “we’re working on it” from OpenAI. Not exactly the detailed, reassuring update you’d expect from the folks who brought you the future of artificial intelligence.
So, no excuses here. The outage was a major glitch in the matrix, a reminder that even our digital deities have their off days. It’s just a good thing we’re all well-versed in the ancient art of turning it off and on again.”
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