OpenAI said it has taken steps to effectively clarify and address the issues raised; an age verification tool was implemented to ensure users are at least 13 years old. […] It’s also a way to understand the “hallucinations”, or nonsensical answers to factual questions, to which large language models such as ChatGPT are all too prone. ChatGPT’s training data only covers a period up to the cut-off date, so it lacks knowledge of recent events. The integration used ChatGPT to write prompts for DALL-E guided by conversations with users. In March 2025, OpenAI updated ChatGPT to generate images using GPT-4o instead of DALL-E. The laborers were exposed to toxic and traumatic content; one worker described the assignment as “torture”.

• In the reinforcement learning stage, human trainers first ranked responses generated by the model in previous conversations.

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• Released in February 2025, GPT-4.5 was described by Altman as a “giant, expensive model”.

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• Some, including Nature and JAMA Network, “require that authors disclose the use of text-generating tools and ban listing a large language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT as a co-author”.

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• I’ve covered the models and modes above, but here’s a reminder of all the core features (as of October 2025).

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• In March 2023, a bug allowed some users to see the titles of other users’ conversations.
• OpenAI collects data from ChatGPT users to further train and fine-tune its services.

Features

There’s even a Projects feature that keeps all your chats organized, plus a Library to manage all your generated images. ZDNET’s recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.

Regional responses

This includes text-to-image models such as Stable Diffusion and large language models such as ChatGPT. As of 2023, there were several pending U.S. lawsuits challenging the use of copyrighted data to train AI models, with defendants arguing that this falls under fair use. In August 2024, the FTC voted unanimously to ban marketers from using fake user reviews created by generative AI chatbots (including ChatGPT) and influencers paying for bots to increase follower counts. These limitations may be revealed when ChatGPT responds to prompts including descriptors of people. In one instance, ChatGPT generated a rap in which women and scientists of color were asserted to be inferior to white male scientists. Despite this, users may “jailbreak” ChatGPT with prompt engineering techniques to bypass these restrictions.

How to use ChatGPT

Some, including Nature and JAMA Network, “require that authors disclose the use of text-generating tools and ban listing a large language model (LLM) such as ChatGPT as a co-author”. As of July 2025, Science expects authors to release in full how AI-generated content is used and made in their work. Many individuals use ChatGPT and comparable large language models (LLM) for mental health and emotional support. A 2025 Sentio University survey of 499 LLM users with self-reported mental health conditions found that 96.2% use ChatGPT, with 48.7% using it specifically for mental health support or therapy-related purposes. OpenAI acknowledged that there have been “instances where our 4o model fell short in recognizing signs of delusion or emotional dependency”, and reported that it is working to improve safety. Despite its acclaim, the chatbot has been criticized for its limitations and potential for unethical use.

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• It can generate plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers known as hallucinations.

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• In June 2023, hundreds of people attended a “ChatGPT-powered church service” at St. Paul’s Church in Fürth, Germany.
• In late March 2023, the Italian data protection authority banned ChatGPT in Italy and opened an investigation.

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• The Pro launch coincided with the release of the o1 model, providing unlimited access to o1 and advanced voice mode.

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• A May 2023 statement by hundreds of AI scientists, AI industry leaders, and other public figures demanded that “[m]itigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority”.

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• ChatGPT is based on GPT foundation models that have been fine-tuned for conversational assistance.

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More from Tom’s Guide

In June 2023, hundreds of people attended a “ChatGPT-powered church service” at St. Paul’s Church in Fürth, Germany. In January 2023, the International Conference on Machine Learning banned any undocumented use of ChatGPT or other large language models to generate any text in submitted papers. Geoffrey Hinton, one of the “fathers of AI”, voiced concerns that future AI systems may surpass human intelligence. A May 2023 statement by hundreds of AI scientists, AI industry leaders, and other public figures demanded that “[m]itigating the risk MonacoJack of extinction from AI should be a global priority”. In late March 2023, the Italian data protection authority banned ChatGPT in Italy and opened an investigation.

Similar apps

ChatGPT is based on GPT foundation models that have been fine-tuned for conversational assistance. The fine-tuning process involved supervised learning and reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). In the reinforcement learning stage, human trainers first ranked responses generated by the model in previous conversations. ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and released in November 2022. It currently uses GPT-5, a generative pre-trained transformer (GPT), to generate text, speech, and images in response to user prompts.
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• The laborers were exposed to toxic and traumatic content; one worker described the assignment as “torture”.

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• The uses and potential of ChatGPT in health care has been the topic of scientific publications and experts have shared many opinions.
• Despite this, users may “jailbreak” ChatGPT with prompt engineering techniques to bypass these restrictions.
• ZDNET’s recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping.

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• ChatGPT was initially free to the public, and OpenAI planned to monetize the service later.

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• The fine-tuning process involved supervised learning and reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF).

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How does this impact my ChatGPT experience?

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It can generate plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers known as hallucinations. The chatbot can facilitate academic dishonesty, generate misinformation, and create malicious code. The ethics of its development, particularly the use of copyrighted content as training data, have also drawn controversy. Despite decades of using AI, Wall Street professionals report that consistently beating the market with AI, including recent large language models, is challenging due to limited and noisy financial data.
GPT-4, which was released on March 14, 2023, was made available via API and for premium ChatGPT users. Premium users were originally limited in the number of messages they could send to the new model, but OpenAI increased and eventually removed these limits. ChatGPT was initially free to the public, and OpenAI planned to monetize the service later.
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Can I make videos with ChatGPT?

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The Pro launch coincided with the release of the o1 model, providing unlimited access to o1 and advanced voice mode. It is designed to generate human-like text and can carry out a wide variety of tasks. I’ve covered the models and modes above, but here’s a reminder of all the core features (as of October 2025).