AI with or without Web Access?
Artificial intelligence models greatly benefit from having real-time web access, as it allows them to provide the most up-to-date and optimal performance. AI should be empowered with web access to reach its full potential in assisting us with the evolving challenges of the modern world.
Artificial Intelligence is EVERYWHERE!
I cannot have a single conversation that doesn’t turn to AI in one way or another. AI has rapidly become a cornerstone of innovation and productivity. I use it all day every day in my real-world work. But, today, as most days lately a new AI model from Reka was released that shows promise. For me, it’s not quite there yet and for a simple reason it has anterograde amnesia. All AI models that cannot access the world wide web in real time or the equivalent have this problem. I subscribe to and pay for exactly two models right now (ChatGPT and Claude 3 Opus). But Kent! You said web access and Claude 3 and it’s kin do not have web access. Very true, but I will explain.
ChatGPT - Web Access? Yes via Browse by Bing
Claude 3 Opus - Web Access? No.
Reka - Web Access? No.
Google Gemini Pro 1.5 - Web Access? No.
Grok - Web Access? No.
Is Web Access Really Needed? YES!
Anterograde amnesia and is characterized by the inability to form new memories following the onset of the disorder, even though the person can often recall events that happened before the disorder began. This can prevent individuals from living independently and significantly impact daily functioning.
AI models with web access, such as ChatGPT with Browse by Bing, demonstrate superior functionality. They can pull the latest data from the web, process it, and provide up-to-date responses. This capability is critical for tasks that require current knowledge and dynamic problem-solving. Great, so Kent, why still Claude 3? WHY?! Claude 3 Opus is an exceptional model at the time of this writing. It’s ability to reason and write about it uniquely Claude. So, I find it very useful to feed inputs to Claude out of ChatGPT and outputs from Claude into ChatGPT as part of my process and AI workflow for real day to day work. When I use them together I get excellent results. In my case, I use a series of GPT’s that using the @GPT convention can now work together in a single sessions guided by the prompter (me in this case) and that is yet another very powerful and under rated ChatGPT feature I suspect few use. Combined with Web Access by ChatGPT and the capabilities of Claude 3 it truly is like I have a team of people working for me that help me do everything I do better!
Agentic Work Flows (so damn cool!)
So, in your workflow you absolutely want web access in the mix. There is one other way to get it easily by the way. Tools like Perplexity and Cognosys are agentic (use tools and operate on in a self-directed multi-step manner while providing wonderful references and outputs with full access to web and other resources. I’ll have to create a whole separate edition just about this however. In Conclusion
Denying AI models access to the web is like handicapping their potential with unnecessary constraints. Just as anterograde amnesia impedes human functionality, lack of web access stifles AI’s ability to perform optimally in an ever-changing world. As we continue to integrate AI into various aspects of daily life, ensuring they have web access will be akin to keeping them informed and knowledgeable, ready to tackle the challenges of the modern world. As we embrace web-enabled AI technologies and consider the dynamic capabilities they bring to the table in our day to day lives the world continues to evolve, so too should our tools. Why should we limit our technological aides to what they once knew? Let’s empower them to discover, learn, and adapt to what is yet to come!
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