What is ChatGPT Code Interpreter? Why is it so important?

Although ChatGPT can offer solutions to complex problems, it cannot actively implement them. Code Interpreter is OpenAI's attempt to evolve ChatGPT from simply an idea generator to an AI agent that can execute ideas to solve problems.

The implications of these new abilities are profound. Here's what you should know about the ChatGPT Code Interpreter feature and why it's so important.

What is the Code Interpreter of ChatGPT?

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At its core, Code Interpreter is a sandboxed Python programming environment in ChatGPT where you can perform various tasks by executing Python code. Unfortunately, because it is associated with coding or programming, it is often overlooked or misunderstood by many users. Although it is called "Code Interpreter" and uses the Python programming language to perform tasks, it is not a feature exclusive to those with programming skills. Sure, some programming skills can help you make better use of this feature, but you don't need any coding experience to use this feature.

To better understand the function of Code Interpreter, you'd better look at it from an operational perspective.

Before the Code Interpreter feature or any other ChatGPT plugin was added to ChatGPT, any problem you wanted ChatGPT to solve had to be a problem whose solution could be presented in writing. Do you need ChatGPT to explain the meaning of Generative AI? That's something that can be solved by creating text. What about using ChatGPT to translate text into another language? That can also be solved by creating text. Solutions to these problems can be provided in writing.

But what if you want to solve a problem like creating complex histograms, editing images, or getting color values ​​from images? These are problems for which you cannot present solutions in writing - they require specific solutions. Without plug-ins like Code Interpreter, ChatGPT can only show you how. However, Code Interpreter is like a tool that implicitly uses ChatGPT's description of how you solve a problem and implement it using Python code. But how does this tool work?

How does ChatGPT's Code Interpreter work?

Code Interpreter combines the power of a large language model with the power of Python programming to enable ChatGPT to be more than just a text generator. These two components are very important to understand how the Code Interpreter feature works. So let's say you want ChatGPT to split an image into two equal parts and invert the colors on one of the parts before adding them together to create a new image. How will ChatGPT do that?

Here's how things will turn out. Leveraging its GPT language model, ChatGPT will get an idea of ​​how to solve this, and in this particular case, with Python programming. So what ChatGPT does would be write a Python script that can split an image into two equal parts and invert the color of one of the parts before adding them together to create a new one – you know, as requested by the user.

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Since Code Interpreter is a Python programming environment capable of running Python code, ChatGPT provides the Python script it generates into the Code Interpreter. After executing the Python script, it will return the resulting image to ChatGPT. Problem solved. It's like having a programmer write you a program to solve every problem you describe in real time.

Why is Code Interpreter so important?

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While the announcement of the release of the Code Interpreter feature didn't generate as much buzz as it would match its potential impact, in the long run it could be the most important feature of the ChatGPT ecosystem, inside and out. main edge basic model. That's the important thing.

While its current capabilities do not reflect its true potential, the Code Interpreter feature or at least its working model could be the future of AI ChatGPT chatbots.

Current versions of major language models, including the GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models that support ChatGPT, are essentially limited. As said earlier, they can describe how to solve the problem, but their ability to put the steps they suggest into practice is severely limited. This is why the AI ​​chatbots powered by LLM have yet to turn into real AI assistants.

To paint a clearer picture, let's take Google Assistant as an example. You can ask Google Assistant to make a call, send a text message, or even make an appointment with your dentist. Unlike current chatbot models, Google Assistant won't just tell you how to do the job; it can really do stuff.

Google Assistant may not be a perfect example, but it is a microcosm of how current versions of ChatGPT chatbots can evolve thanks to the Code Interpreter feature. You can ask ChatGPT to extract images of all the cats in a video file and send them to your email address, crawl Twitter and retrieve all tweets referring to you, or any Anything you can think of can be done programmatically. ChatGPT will fire up the Code Interpreter and write a program that does that task, executes it, and returns the result in just a few seconds. The ability of ChatGPT to produce real-world results through the Code Interpreter is what makes this feature so important.

While it's impossible to accurately predict the technology's trajectory, it's easy to imagine other AI companies like Google applying similar interpretation models to their AI chatbots. The same Code Interpreter implemented on other major AI chatbots could be the catalyst for AI chatbots to become a more practical and popular tool.

David Pac

Update 02 August 2023