After taking baby steps, it's time for giant leaps. And OpenAI has proven the world once more, that it's more than capable.
OpenAI has been in business creating and developing numerous AIs. But it's ChatGPT that makes it shine the most. Back in September, the company makes the AI capable of listening, allowing users to interact with the chatbot using their voice.
Originally, it was only available to Plus and Enterprise subscribers on Android and iOS.
This time, amid the turmoil the company is having, OpenAI is making ChatGPT Voice feature available to all users.
What this means, free users can finally engage in back-and-forth conversations with the chatbot.
All users have to do, is tap on the button, and speak their question.
ChatGPT will then convert the spoken words into text, and feeds it to its Large Language Model (LLM), and then answer it accordingly by converting the answer back to speech, and speaks the answer out loud.
The feature is powered by a powerful text-to-speech Whisper model that can generate "human-like audio from just text and a few seconds of sample speech."
This makes ChatGPT a lot more like Google Assistant, or Apple's Siri, but a lot smarter.
When the company first introduced voice chats, it admitted that the capability to create "realistic synthetic voices from just a few seconds of real speech" presents new risks.
The AI could, like for example, allow bad actors to impersonate public figures or anybody they want.
Because of this, OpenAI decided to develop the feature to focus on conversations only.
OpenAI president Greg Brockman, who resigned after Altman’s ousting, reposted OpenAI’s announcement on X, stating, "Give it a try — totally changes the ChatGPT experience."
ChatGPT Voice rolled out for all free users. Give it a try — totally changes the ChatGPT experience: https://t.co/DgzqLlDNYF
— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 21, 2023
This feature is launched to all users, following the turmoil that happened following the firing of Sam Altman.
Altman, who is also the co-founder of OpenAI, was ousted after its board members found "he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board."
Microsoft as the biggest backer of OpenAI, was furious.
CEO Satya Nadella soon invited Altman and his team members to start a new division at the tech giant. But instead, OpenAI desperately wanted Altman back, and Altman returned to the company as CEO.
The condition is that, OpenAI has an "agreement in principle" for Altman to return alongside a new board.
And during a press tour, Nadella said the company didn’t want any more "surprises."
Following this, Brockman is also making a return to OpenAI.
Read: No 'Malfeasance': The Firing Of Sam Altman, And How OpenAI Desperately Wants Him Back