Source New Scientist · Published · Open the original ↗
Capability
The most important part of AI chatbots is being ignored
AI firms can increase the power of their chatbots without updating to new models. Columnist Jacob Aron explains how a simple bit of software can give AI a boost - and whether AI will soon be able to rewrite that code itself
ChatGPT was never meant to start a revolution. When it launched in November 2022, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called it “an early demo” and expectations were low. Personally, my initial reaction was that it seemed no more capable than previous large language models (LLMs) OpenAI had released; it just had a nicer interface. Obviously, I was wrong to dismiss the importance of the interface, but in 2026 I think most people who use AI are making a similar mistake without even realising it. What you think of as ChatGPT or Claude or any other chatbot from a big AI brand is actually many pieces of software wrapped into one, and we are ignoring the most important: the harness.
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