AI is not a magic bullet, not even if you pay 200 dollars a month
AI is not a magic bullet. Even the most advanced models cannot always deliver the desired results. A recent experience with ChatGPT Pro clearly illustrates this.
The promise of ChatGPT Pro
Last week saw the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a premium version of the popular language model. Priced at $200 per month, the model was promoted as being much more powerful than its predecessor. According to its creators, ChatGPT Pro would be based on more extensive datasets and improved models that would be faster and more accurate. Sounds promising, doesn't it?
Yet, practice often proves less impressive than the promises. Remy and I tested the model, and although it is undeniably more powerful, the output was often disappointing. For some queries, the information we received was inaccurate, and sometimes even completely wrong.
An example: sheet music and Chopin
Last weekend, a striking example emerged from Professor Marcel Salathé, an AI expert, who uploaded a piece of Liszt's sheet music to ChatGPT Pro with the question: "Which composer is this by?" The model replied: Chopin. When Salathé corrected the model and indicated that the piece was by Liszt, ChatGPT Pro stubbornly stuck to the wrong answer.
This incident shows how even the newest AI models, which claim to be based on the best datasets, can get stuck on simple tasks. It's a striking example of the limitations of AI, even as the technology itself becomes more powerful and advanced.
Why AI is not a magic bullet
What we need to understand is that AI is not a miracle cure. It remains a statistical model that seeks patterns and correlations in large amounts of data. These systems can be incredibly useful, but they are still far from perfect. Even as datasets become richer and algorithms more powerful, the chance of incorrect answers persists. This applies to ChatGPT Pro, and equally to AI systems in general.
We must not forget that AI simply lacks human intuition or common sense. It makes predictions based on data and statistics, but has no understanding of context or the world around us. This ensures that AI is still dependent on our critical thinking. Especially when we use it for important tasks.
Is ChatGPT Pro worth the 200 dollars per month subscription cost?
The important lesson: keep thinking for yourself
What this experience teaches us again is that we, as users, must continue to think critically when using AI. Even the most advanced models can give wrong answers. AI can support us and make many tasks more efficient, but the final say remains ours.
AI is a valuable tool, but it remains a tool. It is up to us to decide when to use AI and how to interpret the results. Critical thinking, human intuition, and common sense are still indispensable.
Conclusion
ChatGPT Pro once again shows that AI is not a magic bullet. It is a powerful tool, but no guarantee of perfect results. A model costing 200 dollars a month still mistakes Liszt for Chopin. So stay critical and let AI support you, not replace you.
AI is not a replacement for human intelligence, but a complement to it.
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Job van den Berg is an AI keynote speaker, tech entrepreneur and author of five books on AI. He ships AI agents into production every week and delivers 150+ keynotes a year on AI agents and agentic commerce.
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