Artificial intelligence has long surpassed the boundaries of science fiction novels and is now a popular tool that aids people in education, work, and creativity. With the help of artificial intelligence, we can generate texts, edit images, restore photographs, compose music, and so on. To achieve this, dozens of chatbots, applications, and programs have been created, offering a multitude of functions and a user-friendly interface.
Every day, the number of these "smart" assistants keeps growing, and people are increasingly relying on them in their everyday lives. Currently, one of the most popular AI-powered chatbots is ChatGPT, developed by the American company OpenAI. Its release took place in November 2022, and according to experts' assessments, it has revolutionized the industry, impacting numerous related fields of human activity, particularly in the field of programming.
AI has found an interesting application in streaming. For instance, on the Twitch platform, there have been several "infinite online streams" that were entirely or partially generated by AI. In an interactive sitcom called Nothing, Forever, one AI was responsible for writing the script, while another "drew pictures" based on the generated textual descriptions. Another fascinating application of AI were debates between virtual US presidents who answered viewer questions live. A similar idea is used in the 24/7 Ask Jesus broadcast, where AI quotes the Bible, gives guidance, and interacts with viewers as if speaking on behalf of Jesus.
Streams Charts has analyzed which AI gained the most popularity among Twitch users and was most frequently discussed in the platform's chats.The chatbot ChatGPT has emerged as the leader in terms of mentions on the platform, accumulating about 10K messages per week from January to August. Its surge in popularity took place in March-April 2023, when ChatGPT accumulated between 45K and 51K mentions on Twitch each week. Joining ChatGPT in the Top 3 leaders for mentions of different AI on the streaming service were the large language model LLaMA from Meta AI Corporation, as well as the neural network DALL-E, a joint project by OpenAI and Microsoft capable of generating high-quality images based on textual descriptions. These AI reached Peak mentions of 10.9K and 5.2K on Twitch respectively. Therefore, their popularity at its Peak was around 5-10 times less compared to ChatGPT.
What is the connection between the Peaks of LLaMA and DALL-E popularity? The mention of DALL-E started to occur more frequently in conjunction with ChatGPT, as both AI models were developed by the same company, OpenAI. Additionally, at the beginning of the year, users experimented heavily with the combination of ChatGPT and DALL-E, where one AI generated textual descriptions and the other created corresponding images based on those descriptions. As for LLaMA, its Peak in popularity occurred in March 2023, when the chatbot Meta was leaked on 4chan as a torrent, making it the first time a major technology company's proprietary artificial intelligence model became publicly accessible.
Why did ChatGPT have such a spike in Twitch mentions this spring?
On the chart showing the dynamics of mentions, it can be noted that the number of messages with the name ChatGPT was growing in leaps and bounds and reached its peak around March 27, 2023. At that time, the number of mentions reached 51.1K messages. The reason for this is that there were several significant events in March that could have led to such an effect.
Firstly, in March, the GPT-4 language model was released, available for testing to testers and subscribers of ChatGPT Plus. In the new version, AI gained the ability to process not only text but also images. In the same month, ChatGPT users gained access to third-party plugins, further increasing the popularity of the chatbot.
Secondly, in March, ChatGPT found itself at the center of several scandals. The main one was the leak of personal data. Initially, users complained that they could see the request headers from other ChatGPT users. Then it became known that due to a system error, personal data of ChatGPT clients, including their names, surnames, email addresses, credit card numbers, etc., became publicly accessible. The error was quickly rectified, but it still sparked a significant discussion in the media.
Finally, in March-April, the Italian government declared a fight against ChatGPT. The local data protection department stated that the AI could provide inappropriate content to underage users. Initially, the AI was even banned in the country, but in April, the authorities lifted this restriction. To do this, the developers from OpenAI had to enhance several features of the chatbot, such as adding an age verification tool and updating the privacy policy.
ChatGPT and other AI tools still remain important in people's everyday lives, but it is now evident that their popularity on Twitch has significantly decreased compared to the spring of 2023. Perhaps this trend will continue until new global updates or major scandals arise. There has long been a discussion online about the potential threat to the information security of many countries posed by ChatGPT and similar AI systems.