Like most tech geeks, I have been totally absorbed by the Borg, which is OpenAI. I go down rabbit holes that I didn’t know existed and have spent hours, days, and weeks of my life learning all about how to write great prompts, create images, and make my own bots!
For this article, I am focusing specifically on OpenAI’s ChatGPT. There are multiple versions now, and they may be confusing for someone starting out and trying to figure out how they work. And with the constant changes and improvements within OpenAI’s ecosystem may need to be clarified for those who want to use a version that will work for them.
GPT-4: The Foundation
GPT-4, released on March 14, 2023, marked a significant leap in AI capabilities. It’s known for its versatility and ability to handle complex tasks across various domains.
Key Features:
Multimodal capabilities, accepting both text and image inputs
- Context window of 8,192 tokens (approximately 6,000 words)
- Trained on data up to September 2021
Applications:
- Creative writing
- Data analysis
- Language translation
- Code generation
GPT-4’s broad knowledge and advanced reasoning capabilities make it suitable for various tasks, from academic research to professional applications.
GPT-4 Turbo: Efficiency and Innovation
GPT-4 Turbo, introduced in November 2023, focuses on improving efficiency and introducing new features:
Key Improvements:
- 128,000 token context window (about 96,000 words)
- Knowledge cutoff extended to December 2023
- Faster response times and improved accuracy, especially for mathematical problems
Advanced Features:
- JSON mode for structured output
- Parallel function calling
- Reproducible outputs
GPT-4 Turbo is more cost-effective than its predecessor, making it an attractive option for developers and businesses looking to integrate advanced AI capabilities into their applications.
GPT-4o (Omni): The Multimodal Powerhouse
GPT-4o, announced on May 13, 2024, represents the cutting edge of OpenAI’s technology:
Revolutionary Capabilities:
- Multimodal processing across text, audio, image, and video
- Real-time interaction with average response times of 320 milliseconds
- Enhanced vision and audio understanding
- Support for over 50 languages with improved non-English text processing
Accessibility:
- Free tier with limited access to advanced features
- Enhanced capabilities for ChatGPT Plus subscribers
- Twice as fast and 50% cheaper than GPT-4 Turbo in API usage
GPT-4o’s multimodal capabilities and real-time processing make it ideal for complex, multi-format data analysis and natural human-computer interaction applications.
Choosing the Right Model
The choice between these models depends on specific use cases:
- GPT-4 is suitable for general-purpose tasks and applications that don’t require the latest knowledge or extended context windows.
- GPT-4 Turbo is ideal for developers and businesses that need more efficient processing, extended context, and structured output.
- GPT-4o is the best choice for cutting-edge applications requiring multimodal processing, real-time interaction, and the most up-to-date knowledge.
Each model offers unique strengths, and the selection should be based on the specific requirements of the task at hand,considering factors such as context length, knowledge recency, and the need for multimodal capabilities.
What are the main advantages of GPT-4o over GPT-4 Turbo?
Performance Improvements
Speed and Efficiency:
- GPT-4o is twice as fast as GPT-4 Turbo.
- It offers higher throughput, producing 109 tokens per second compared to GPT-4 Turbo’s 20 tokens per second.
- GPT-4o has a 50-80% faster time to first token (TTFT) than GPT-4 Turbo.
Reasoning Capabilities:
- GPT-4o scores 88.7% on the MMLU reasoning benchmark, a 2.2% improvement over GPT-4 Turbo.
- It significantly improves tasks like GPQA (biology, physics, and chemistry), MATH, and HumanEvals (coding).
Multimodal Capabilities
Enhanced Input Processing:
- GPT-4o is the first fully multimodal model in the series, capable of analyzing text, audio, image, and video inputs.
- It offers advanced vision and audio understanding capabilities.
Output Generation:
- GPT-4o can generate text and potentially audio outputs.
Cost-Effectiveness
- GPT-4o is 50% cheaper than GPT-4 Turbo for API usage.
- It offers a more cost-effective solution for high-interaction applications.
Expanded Context Window
- GPT-4o and GPT-4 Turbo have a 128,000 token context window, significantly more significant than the original GPT-4’s 8,192 tokens.
Updated Knowledge
- GPT-4o’s knowledge cutoff is October 2023, compared to GPT-4 Turbo’s April 2023 cutoff.
Improved Tokenization
- GPT-4o uses a more efficient tokenizer (o200k_base) for multilingual tasks, potentially reducing overall token usage for non-English content.
Higher Rate Limits
- GPT-4o offers 5x higher rate limits than previous models, allowing for more frequent interactions.
While these advantages are significant, it’s important to note that GPT-4o may only be superior in some aspects. Some users have reported inconsistencies in performance, particularly in complex tasks or coding scenarios. The choice between GPT-4o and GPT-4 Turbo should be based on specific use cases and requirements.
Which is Best For The Average User?
Based on the information provided, the free version of ChatGPT should be sufficient for most of the needs of the average user who is not technically inclined. Here are the key points supporting this:
- Both free and paid versions use the latest GPT-4o model, which is “fast, comprehensive, and largely accurate.”
- The free version offers access to many advanced features, including:
- Web browsing capability
- Data analysis (for a portion of users)
- Image upload and analysis
- File uploads
- Access to GPTs in the GPT store
- The main limitations of the free version are:
- A limited number of GPT-4o messages within a 5-hour window
- Reverting to GPT-3.5 after reaching the limit
- No access to DALL-E image generation
- Slower response times during peak usage
- For most casual users, these limitations are unlikely to significantly impact their experience.
- “It’s hard to recommend the paid version of ChatGPT when ChatGPT Free offers a near equivalent experience for most people.”
While power users like researchers, content creators, or writers may benefit more from the paid version, the average non-technical user should find the free version adequate for their needs. The paid version mainly offers advantages regarding consistent access to GPT-4o, faster response times, and additional features like image generation and advanced data analysis.
References used in this article:
Kagaya, T., Yuan, T. J., Lou, Y., Karlekar, J., Pranata, S., Kinose, A., Oguri, K., Wick, F., & You, Y. (2024). RAP: Retrieval-Augmented Planning with Contextual Memory for Multimodal LLM Agents. ArXiv (Cornell University). https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2402.03610
How To Use Midjourney To Create AI Art. https://www.ccn.com/education/how-to-use-midjourney-to-create-ai-art/
Yang, W., Du, J., Qi, M., Cheng, M., Zhang, Z., & Zhang, Z. (2024). Design of Optical System for Ultra-Large Range Line-Sweep Spectral Confocal Displacement Sensor. Sensors, 24(3), 723.
What is Red Hat JBoss EAP, and How Does it Work? | Web Hosting Geeks’ Blog. https://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/what-is-red-hat-jboss-eap-and-how-does-it-work/
ChatGPT Free vs. ChatGPT Plus: Worth the $20 Upgrade https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/chatgpt-free-vs-chatgpt-plus-worth-the-20-upgrade/
Decoding the hype: Is GPT-4o really better for enterprise AI solutions?
https://newrelic.com/blog/best-practices/decoding-the-hype-is-gpt-4o-really-better
