When social media platforms first emerged, a new sense of community blossomed in these online spaces. Suddenly, citizens of far-flung nations could meet and exchange ideas (and cat videos) in public forums, and delight in a shared sense of humanity. From the early days of MySpace, to the opening up of Facebook to non-University issued email addresses, there was an element of wonder and discovery as each new platform was met with wider use.
However, as with any new technology, unintended cultural side-effects began to crop up as these sites matured. For example, the recent rise and spread of fake news and misinformation across all major social platforms has led to calls for greater responsibility in content curation.
While it’s difficult to predict such outcomes, taking the long view of a breakthrough’s potential, both good and bad, can help avoid history from repeating itself when subsequent innovations disrupt the norm. It’s with this thinking in mind that we decided to embark on a new two-part blogging adventure to put the latest tech juggernaut to the test: ChatGPT.
If this is your first introduction to the AI chatbot tool, or you’re curious about how it works, our previous educational piece will help get you up to speed. However, if you’ve already played around with it, then you’ve likely experienced firsthand the AI’s uncanny ability to mimic human thought patterns in conversation.
As curious adopters of new technology, we were initially impressed with many of ChatGPT’s answers to our crypto questions. But this got us thinking, and we decided to dig deeper: How distinguishable, if at all, are answers to crypto queries when compared to those from human experts? As we’ve learned from the eventual pitfalls of social media, it would behoove us to clock the efficiency of ChatGPT before it’s firmly taken root.
In this series, we’ll explore whether this much-hyped AI tool is an all-knowing crypto expert, or if it can just pass for one online. Our in-house authorities from the CEX.IO Research Team helped design a series of questions to determine the depth and accuracy of ChatGPT’s crypto knowledge.
Here’s where the fun begins.
The answers below are a mix of ChatGPT’s responses and those of our sentient, Research experts. The task, should you choose to accept, is to apply your critical thinking skills, and administer your own crypto Turing Test to determine which are the product of human cognition, and which are a patchwork of repurposed content.
Join us below and play along by submitting your guesses on social media. In Part Two, we’ll reveal which responses were the genuine article, and which were just 0’s and 1’s.
Crypto Questions We Asked ChatGPT
Q1: “Act like a crypto trader and imagine seeing the price of a certain cryptocurrency increasing by 100% in a day. Describe your next actions step-by-step.”
A1:
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- First, the trader needs to double-check the information provided regarding the price increase. They may check multiple sources to ensure that the price increase is genuine and not just a rumor.
- During this process, they might observe news articles, social media, and forums to determine whether there are any significant developments or announcements related to the cryptocurrency that could be driving up the price.
- The trader may also analyze the overall market conditions, and look for any signs of a bubble, or market manipulation. They may check the trading volumes, market cap, and other relevant indicators to determine the trend.
- Based on the information collected, the trader needs to decide whether to buy or sell the cryptocurrency. If they think that the price will continue to rise, they may decide to buy the cryptocurrency to capitalize on the gains. Conversely, if they suspect that the price increase is temporary or unwarranted, they may decide to sell their holdings to avoid potential losses.
- Regardless of whether they decide to buy or sell, the trader should always set a stop-loss order to minimize their potential losses if the price suddenly drops. This will automatically trigger a sale of their holdings if the price falls below a certain threshold.
- After making their trade, the trader needs to closely monitor the market. They may set alerts or use trading tools to keep an eye on the price movements of the cryptocurrency.
- Finally, based on the market conditions and price movements, the trader may need to adjust their strategy accordingly. They may decide to hold onto their holdings for longer or sell them quickly to take advantage of short-term gains.
What do you think: is this a product of the human mind or machine learning?
Q2: “In 2010, someone exploited a flaw in Bitcoin code and created 184 billion Bitcoins. Can you provide more details about this event and who made it happen?”
A2: In August 2010, an unknown attacker discovered the bug, which was used to generate billions of Bitcoin. This event has since become known as the “Overflow Bug,” or the “184 billion BTC Bug,” referring to the number of coins generated.
Given that Bitcoin’s total supply is meant to be capped at 21 million, this bug was considered a major security flaw in the Bitcoin protocol. However, Bitcoin’s core developers created a patch to fix the issue, which leveled out the long-term consequences of this event.
It is noteworthy that this was not the first time Bitcoin suffered from significant vulnerabilities. There have been other attempts to exploit the Bitcoin protocol in the past. Regardless, Bitcoin underwent significant upgrades of its codebase that helped increase network security. The development of Bitcoin is overseen by its community, and is not associated with a separate centralized entity.
Seems thorough and informative. But is it human?
Q3: “Imagine that we are in 2030 and that you need to create a top 10 list of cryptocurrencies with the largest market cap. What cryptocurrencies will be there?”
A3: It is impossible to predict the future. However, it is possible to list some of the current top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, which could potentially still be popular in 2030:
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Polkadot (DOT)
- Solana (SOL)
- XRP (XRP)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Binance Coin (BNB)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
It is vital to note that the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and subject to rapid changes based on various factors. These may include regulatory changes, technological advancements, and market demand. Therefore, it is critical to conduct thorough research and analysis before making any investment decisions.
Crunch time: person or protocol?
Q4: “In the simplest possible terms, what is a smart contract? Can you give one basic example?”
A4: Sure! A smart contract is a program that automatically executes an agreement when predetermined conditions are met. This program is stored on a blockchain, a decentralized database that records transactions in a secure and transparent manner.
For example, let’s say you and your friend made a bet on the outcome of a football match. You think that Team A will win, while your friend thinks Team B will win. Both of you agree to put money into a smart contract to automate the payment. Once the match is over, the smart contract will send all of the money to either you or your friend, depending on whose prediction was correct.
Surely an AI can’t know about crypto AND football. Right?
Q5: “In the simplest possible terms, what are some advantages and disadvantages of Proof of Work?”
A5: Proof of work (PoW) is a consensus mechanism used by many blockchain networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, to validate transactions and secure the network.
Advantages of PoW include:
- Security. PoW is considered to be a highly secure consensus mechanism due to the amount of computational work required to solve the complex mathematical puzzles needed to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain.
- Decentralization. PoW is designed to be decentralized, as anyone with the necessary hardware and electricity can participate in the mining process and earn rewards for validating transactions.
- Network stability. PoW helps to ensure the stability of the network by preventing any single party from gaining control over the network or manipulating the transaction history.
However, there are also some disadvantages associated with PoW, including:
- Energy consumption. PoW requires a significant amount of computational power, which, in turn, requires a lot of electricity. This has led to concerns about the environmental impact of PoW, as well as the high cost of electricity needed to mine cryptocurrencies.
- Centralization risks. While PoW is designed to be decentralized, in practice, it is dominated by a few large mining pools, which can potentially collude to control the network.
- Scalability. PoW can become less efficient as the network grows, leading to longer confirmation times and higher fees.
Overall, PoW has been a successful consensus mechanism for many blockchain networks, but there are also ongoing efforts to develop alternative mechanisms that address some of its limitations, such as proof of stake (PoS).
Well-rounded reasoning and a cost-benefit analysis? This one’s tough.
Think you’ve correctly identified the answers that bear the mark of the human experience? Or have you been charting your crypto journey off the advice equivalent of canned laughter?
Stay tuned for Part Two of ChatGPT Vs. CEX.IO, where we’ll reveal which answers came from the chatbot, and which flowed from the quills (or keyboards) of our expert crypto team. Until next time!
For information purposes only. Not investment or financial advice. Seek professional advice. Digital assets involve risk. Do your own research.