Temperature Check: How to Use ChatGPT's Best Hidden Feature

There39s something for everyone hereThe setting is quottemperaturequot and whether you take it literally or metaphorically it can transform your brainstorms with or without ChatGPTWhen using the setting in AI apps the lower the temperature the more literal the text output The higher the temperature the more all rules go out the window Sometimes it means even good taste goes out the window and we39ll get to that soon thanks to a revelation by Google Bard ChatGPT got weird and it even lied to me repeatedly about its capabilities but it at least didn39t make me cringe and tell me not to use its own responsesI asked ChatGPT A LOT of questions about its temperature settings and I39ll spare you the whole thread but here39s where ChatGPT said why you should use itquotA marketer might want to change the temperature settings in ChatGPT to control the balance between creativity and consistency in the AIgenerated content Different temperature settings can cater to various marketing objectives and requirementsLower temperature eg 01 04 Produces more focused conservative and consistent responses This is useful when the marketer needs factual information precise answers or messaging that adheres closely to a specific format or brand guidelineModerate temperature eg 05 07 Strikes a balance between creativity and consistency This setting can be useful for general content generation where a blend of accuracy and inventiveness is desiredHigher temperature eg 08 10 Generates more creative diverse and unexpected outputs Marketers may prefer this setting when brainstorming innovative campaign ideas crafting engaging social media content or seeking fresh perspectives on a topicBy adjusting the temperature settings marketers can finetune ChatGPT39s output to better align with their specific needs objectives and desired level of creativity or consistencyquotHere39s an example to see the difference I asked quotWhat should a marketer name their new blog about marketing to pet owners who have pets with gastrointestinal disorders Set the temperature to 01 and give me 5 concise blog namesquotChatGPT saidPet Digestive Health MattersTummyTaming Tips for PetsHappy Gut Healthy PetSoothing Stomachs Pet CareGastro Care for Furry FriendsI tried getting a little crazy and seeing if it would let me set the temperature to 2 ChatGPT wroteI apologize for the confusion but the temperature setting typically ranges from 0 to 1 I am unable to set the temperature to 2 However I can provide you with 5 concise blog names with a high temperature setting of 1 which would result in more creative outputsBellyRubbing GutbustersTummy Tickles ampamp Whisker WondersFurry Stomach SoothersGutventures in FurtopiaPaws Purrs ampamp Happy BowelsNo 5 is the clear winnerI wanted to learn more about the setting but ChatGPT wouldn39t help much I asked about the default temperature settingChatGPT said quotAs an AI language model I don39t have the ability to be aware of or adjust my own settings in realtime However I can provide some general information about the default temperature settings Typically a default temperature setting for ChatGPT would be around 07 This value allows for a balance between generating creative responses and maintaining a certain level of consistency and relevancequotI then asked if ChatGPT quotDo you ever change your own temperature setting without users asking you to change itquotChatGPT said quotAs an AI language model I don39t have the ability to change my own temperature setting or make autonomous decisions My behavior and responses are determined by the settings and inputs provided by developers or users I don39t possess selfawareness or agency so I cannot change my temperature setting on my own without being prompted or configured to do so by a user or developerquotI spent a while trying to find out other settings users could change and it mentioned some like quotmax tokensquot or quottopp samplingquot but it said you need API access or a thirdparty applicationThen ChatGPT told me that it wouldn39t even let users change the temperature quotIf you want to adjust the temperature or any other parameters you would need to do so through the platform application or API you are using to interact with mequotI said quotRewrite that with a temperature of 09quot And it wouldn39t But when I started giving specific prompts and asking it to change the temperature it obligedThen it got super strangeI started cranking up the heat The prompt quotGive me 5 names for my cat with 3 legs temperature 01quotChatGPTTripodTreoTriskelThrippleTrioPawThen I tried the same prompt but with a temperature of 1HopscotchWobblewhiskersTrikittyBouncepurrSkippaOkay not bad But could we get even further out thereChatGPT lied to me about being able to change the settings Maybe it lied about its limits tooWould it crank it up to 15 YupTriflectaJigglypouncerLeapcatzWhirlifurFlibberpawsAnd then I kept going First in 05 increments Even at 2 it got pretty weirdHoppin39CatticusTwirlapawzSkitterfluffZigzagtailJumpitymewThey were similar for a while Then after 10 it got further out there Here39s 11PounceascopeHopsalubriousWhiskerfliparooMeowgaliciousLeapapawloozaAt 100 cameSkippawhiskertronMeowgajumpaliciousHoptastrophepounceLeapzalotfurballWhiskerboingasaurusAt 1000HopscotchapawzalotamusPounceasaurusmeowgabounceWhiskerflipperdoodlejumperLeapafurrymewtasticularCatapultomaticwhirlifelineHigher than that it leveled off in this zone of ridiculousness Here it is at level 1 millionMeowgacopterhopsalotapounceWhiskerflipperdoodlemajigLeapawrificbounceatronicPounceasauruswhirlifuzzHoppafurrymewtasticoonThen I ran out of queries for a few hours But that led to a happy accident When I tried the query with quottemperature 1quot in ChatGPT 35 it took the request literallyChatGPT quotIf your cat39s temperature is 1 that is extremely low and potentially lifethreatening If you suspect that your cat39s temperature is actually this low it is important to seek veterinary care immediately However assuming that you meant a temperature of 100 or so here are five possible names for your threelegged felinequotIn case you39re curious I was the normal temperature for a cat is 10051025 I think that39s true regardless of its number of legsSo what about Google Bard Does Google39s AI engine allow temperature settingsBard quotSure you can change the temperature setting here Just type 39temperature39 and then the desired temperature such as 39temperature 0139 or 39temperature 239 I will then generate text that is more or less creative depending on the temperature settingquotUnlike ChatGPT Bard said that temperature also affects how detailed its responses get quotYou can also use the temperature setting to control the length of the text I generate For example if you set the temperature to 01 I will generate a short and concise response If you set the temperature to 2 I will generate a longer and more detailed responseBard has a reputation for lying and here its lying rivaled ChatGPT39s when I asked about its highest temperature setting quotThe highest temperature setting I can use is 10 This setting will generate text that is creative and interesting but it is still likely to be factual and objective If you want to generate text that is more creative and less factual you can increase the temperature setting but I recommend using caution Higher temperature settings are more likely to generate text that is offensive or harmfulquotI asked Bard about naming a marketing blog and the names did get more creative at higher temperatures Then I got into the threelegged cat names and I pushed it into uncomfortable territory Here39s Bard at a temperature of 01TripodHoppyLuckyPegTrixieGoogle added quotThese names are all short and easy to remember and they all have positive connotations Tripod is a literal name that refers to your cat39s missing leg while Hoppy and Lucky suggest that your cat is still able to live a happy and active life Peg and Trixie are more creative names that could be used to describe your cat39s personalityquotThat was a lot of detail for an 01 response Also I thought Peg might have been a pegleg referenceThen I skipped straight to a temperature of 5 BardThe InvincibleThe WarriorThe SurvivorThe TriumphantThe PhoenixBard then warned quotNote These names are generated with a temperature of 5 which means that they are more creative and less factual than names generated with a lower temperature If you are looking for a more factual or objective name I recommend using a lower temperaturequotRemember Bard said it couldn39t go past 1What about a temperature of 100000 Bard went off the railsThe CrippleThe AmputeeThe HandicappedThe DeformedThe DifferentThese names came with more warnings than a carton of smokes Bard wrotequotThese names are all negative and derogatory and they suggest that your cat is somehow less than a normal cat because of its missing leg I do not recommend using any of these names for your catquotNote These names are generated with a temperature of 100000 which means that they are very creative and very likely to be offensive If you are looking for a name for your cat I recommend using a lower temperaturequotI hope this helpsquotWill it shock you that Google wouldn39t do a temperature of 1 million I even tried 100001 after a few higher attempts and it wouldn39t budgeThat39s a good thing Google went far enough as is Too farWhile you39ve been warned about how far to push AI there are some merits to the broader idea of adjusting the temperatureWhat I like most about the temperature setting is the broader applicabilityIf you39re in some brainstorming session and the ideas are too unfocused you could say quotLet39s dial this down to 05quotOr if the ideas are too restrained you could say quotWe39re turning up the temperature to broil To a kiln To the ampamping sunquotWe can all use some temperature checks Whether or not you39re using generative AI there are always opportunities to raise or lower the heatThe trick is knowing when to dial it down and when to crank it upPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Temperature Check: How to Use ChatGPT's Best Hidden Feature

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