If your major problem in life is that there’s not enough ChatGPT, the launch of the ChatGPT Atlas web browser on macOS could be just the news you were waiting for. All of the misfires of an artificial intelligence system combined with the entirety of your browsing activity — what could go wrong?
ChatGPT’s Altas browser looks more or less the same as any other, with the addition of a little button in the corner that summons everyone’s favourite* AI to inspect the page and answer any questions you might have about it. It’ll also perform actions, according to OpenAI’s promotional video (below), but there’s no indication of a) how quickly or b) how accurately it operates. Nor does the demo show c) how much input users have on these actions.
ChatGPT Atlas? *shrugs*
In case you’re wondering why Atlas is an entire browser and not just an extension, the answer is personal data. If a few shiny features, like having ChatGPT Atlas summarise what’s on the web page you opened so you don’t have to read it, are enough to convince you to feed your data into OpenAI’s training maw, that’s just fine by the overvalued artificial intelligence giant.
The features demonstrated by Atlas don’t seem especially remarkable, since they all appear to replace basic human thinking. Basic summarisation that targets specific information (so you don’t have to scroll, read, or comprehend), text rewrites, and the ability to locate old tabs (it’s not like Chrome doesn’t already recall any URL you’ve ever visited) are… fine, but not earth-shattering. Even the ‘actions’ portion looks a little stodgy, but OpenAI has to have something to show the investors. That venture capitalist money isn’t going to generate itself.
If you’re dying to set your life on fire but don’t use one of Apple’s MacBooks, you’ll have to wait a little longer before taking your shot at ChatGPT Atlas. Rest assured, it’ll launch soon for Android, Windows, and iOS. It’s not like Sam Altman to leave money — or personal information — on the table. You never know when it’ll come in handy.
