What is ChatGPT and who’s behind it?

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a cutting edge language model created by OpenAI, a think-tank established by the most unmistakable figures in the tech business. In this article, we will investigate what is ChatGPT, who made ChatGPT, and how we can use ChatGPT.

The ChatGPT model depends on the GPT (Generative Pre-preparing Transformer) engineering, which was first presented in a 2018 paper by the OpenAI group.

The first GPT model was prepared on a dataset of over 40GB of text, and it had the option to beat cutting edge models on an assortment of language errands, like language interpretation and synopsis.

The ChatGPT model takes the GPT engineering a stride further by tweaking it on an enormous dataset of conversational text, for example, records of client support discussions and online gatherings. This permits the model to produce more regular and human-like reactions to message based prompts, making it appropriate for use in chatbot and conversational simulated intelligence applications.

Who made ChatGPT?

OpenAI is a think-tank that expects to advance computer based intelligence that benefits humankind. The organization is supported by various high-profile financial backers, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman, and it has a group of elite scientists and designers dealing with state-of-the art simulated intelligence projects. 

The group behind ChatGPT and a brief background:

  • Elon Musk: One of the co-founders of OpenAI, Musk is a well-known entrepreneur and inventor. He is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, and he is also involved in several other companies and projects, such as Neuralink and The Boring Company.
  • Sam Altman: Another co-founder of OpenAI, Altman is the president of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator. He is also a well-known angel investor and a mentor to many young entrepreneurs.
  • Greg Brockman: A co-founder of OpenAI and the company’s current CEO. He was the founding CTO of Cloudera, and previously worked as a data scientist at Bridgewater Associates and as a software engineer at Google.
  • Ilya Sutskever: A research scientist and one of the co-founders of OpenAI. He is an expert in machine learning and deep learning, and his research focuses on developing AI models that can understand and generate natural language.
  • Wojciech Zaremba: A research scientist at OpenAI and one of the co-authors of the original GPT paper. He is an expert in machine learning and deep learning, and his research focuses on developing AI models that can understand and generate natural language.

What can it do?

The likely utilizations of ChatGPT are immense, as it very well may be utilized in different businesses, for example, client support, internet business, and diversion.

In client support, for instance, ChatGPT can be utilized to make a chatbot that can deal with client requests and objections in a more regular and human-like manner. In internet business, ChatGPT can be utilized to create item portrayals and client audits, saving time and assets for organizations.

In media outlets, ChatGPT can be utilized to produce scripts for motion pictures, Network programs, and computer games, or even make customized stories for clients.

One more astonishing part of ChatGPT is its capacity to learn and further develop after some time persistently. This means it keeps learning.

As additional information is taken care of into the model, it can learn new dialect designs and become shockingly better at creating human-like reactions. This is known as “barely any shot realizing”, and that implies the model can adjust to new undertakings.

ChatGPT is a strong language model that can be utilized in a wide assortment of uses.

Here are some more additional instances of how individuals use ChatGPT:

  1. Chatbots: ChatGPT can be used to create chatbots that can handle customer inquiries and complaints in a more natural and human-like way. This can help businesses to improve customer satisfaction and reduce the workload on their customer service teams.
  2. Text Completion: ChatGPT can be used to complete sentences or paragraphs based on a given prompt. This can be useful for writing, programming, or any other task that requires generating text.
  3. Text Generation: ChatGPT can be used to generate text on a variety of topics, such as product descriptions, news articles, or even entire stories or scripts.
  4. Language Translation: ChatGPT can be fine-tuned to perform language translation tasks, allowing users to translate text from one language to another with high accuracy.
  5. Language Summarization: ChatGPT can be fine-tuned to perform text summarization tasks, allowing users to automatically generate summaries of long documents or articles.
  6. Text-based games: ChatGPT can be used to create text-based games, such as interactive stories or role-playing games, where the model generates responses based on player input.
  7. Virtual Assistants: ChatGPT can be integrated into virtual assistant systems, allowing users to interact with the model via voice commands.
  8. Language understanding: ChatGPT can be fine-tuned to perform natural language understanding tasks, such as question answering, sentiment analysis, and intent recognition.

These are only some ways how ChatGPT can be utilized, and the conceivable outcomes are continually extending as scientists and designers keep on tracking down better approaches to use the model’s capacities.

As with any AI technology, there are also concerns about the potential misuse of ChatGPT. For example, the model could be used to generate fake news or impersonate real people online.

OpenAI has acknowledged this issue and has implemented a series of safety measures to prevent misuse, such as limiting the maximum length of text generated by the model and providing an API that allows users to control the level of “creativity” of the model’s responses.

To learn more about the dangers of ChatGPT, there’s a nice article on this at BLEEPINGCOMPUTER:

10 dangerous things ChatGPT is capable of.

Summary

In conclusion, ChatGPT is a powerful and versatile language model developed by OpenAI that has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries.

With its ability to generate human-like responses to text-based prompts and continuously learn and improve over time, ChatGPT is a valuable tool for businesses, developers and anyone who needs a little help.

I recommend trying it out to see how it can fit into your workflow. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

What is a Stablecoin and do I need it?

Stablecoins are digital assets that are designed to maintain a stable value relative to some external reference.

They are called stablecoins because they are intended to be less volatile than other cryptocurrencies, which can fluctuate significantly in value.

Some stablecoins are pegged to the value of a specific fiat currency, like the US dollar, while others are pegged to the value of a commodity, like gold.

There are several different types of stablecoins, including:

  • Fiat-collateralized stablecoins: These are stablecoins that are backed by a reserve of fiat currency, such as the US dollar. They are designed to maintain a 1:1 peg to the value of the underlying fiat currency.
  • Crypto-collateralized stablecoins: These are stablecoins that are backed by a reserve of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. They are more complex and risky than fiat-collateralized stablecoins because the value of the collateral can fluctuate significantly.
  • Non-collateralized stablecoins: These are stablecoins that are not backed by any specific asset or collateral. Instead, they rely on complex algorithms and smart contracts to maintain their value.

Do I need stablecoins?

As for whether or not you need stablecoins, it really depends on your individual circumstances and goals.

If you’re a crypto day/swing trader, you probably use it everyday. Most trading strategies require you to exit all of your trades into a stablecoin like USDC, USDT or BUSD.

Others may not see the need for stablecoins and prefer to hold more traditional assets for long term investments.

It’s ultimately up to you to decide if stablecoins are something that you need or want to use.

Are stablecoins safe?

While stablecoins offer you the safety from volatile currency price movements in theory. Unfortunately, stablecoins haven’t proven to be 100% safe.

On May 7th, 2022, UST. A stablecoin from the Terra Luna ecosystem de pegged from the dollar and the price fell 96% in one day, never to recover again. You can read more about this here: The Meteoric Rise and Crash of UST and LUNA

If you were holding UST during this time, you would have lost all of your money.

Stablecoins can also be lost if you hold funds on a custodial exchange that goes down like FTX and QuadrigaCX.

Summary

Stablecoins are not safe but is a must if you trade crypto and want to make a profit in USD.

Nothing is 100% safe in this unregulated space and anything can happen. But stablecoin regulation is coming, you can read more here: Stablecoin Trust Act

In the meantime, I recommend you use it rarely, in smaller amounts and exchange it back to fiat when possible.

Photo by CoinWire Japan on Unsplash

Top 10 things you can do to keep your crypto safe

When it comes to managing your own crypto finances, you are responsible for everything.

You are your own server, firewall, anti-virus, vault and security system. This means that your funds are only as safe as you are.

Having wallet and exchange software on your personal device opens you up to many security holes.

Imagine if the employees at your bank started carrying around your private banking information everywhere they went. It doesn’t seem very safe, but that’s exactly what you are doing.

The basics

If you’re new to this space, here’s a short video from security.org on how to keep your crypto safe. A beginner’s guide.

Protect your crypto – A beginner’s guide

There are many levels to the safety and security of your private information. Along with the tips in the video, I’d like to focus on these 10 things you can do to harden your system. Your private information is only as secure the weakest link in your set-up.

Here’s my list of the top 10 things you can do to keep your crypto safe

1. Secure your device: Do not trust others’ access to your device. Lockdown your phone even when at home. Anyone (friends and family) can easily and quickly send funds out.

2. Passwords: Use strong passwords with everything that you do online. A password manager like 1Password  is highly recommended. This is not for storing your recovery phrases but to secure “all” of your online accounts. As mentioned above, your information is only as secure as your weakest link.

3. 2FA: Always enable 2FA when you can and use an authenticator app like Google or Microsoft Authenticator. This means that the person logging in must also have your device. This is a huge must!

4. Secure your wi-fi network. Create three networks. One network for yourself that only you have access to. One for your family and one for guests. Learn how to secure your network here at Kaspersky.

5. Store your long-term investments off the exchange. Use hot/cold wallets and hardware devices. For more on the different types of wallets and hardware devices, there’s a great article here at Exodus.

6. Dedicated devices for transactions only. Having a dedicated computer or mobile device for one purpose. This system only goes online for software updates and transactions. Less visibility online, less chances of becoming infected or hacked.

This set-up should also include a dedicated device for 2FA only and in combination with a hardware wallet device like Trezor.

7. Back up your recovery seed phrase. It’s best to have an offline paper version safely stored away in safe or safe-deposit box. Don’t store this information in the cloud as that service can be a target in a future malicious attack.

You can also engrave your seed phrase on metal which can’t get wet or catch on fire but must be stored in a safe location.

Not recommended as a main backup, but you can use your memory and simply memorize your 12-word recovery phrase.

8. It’s definitely a scam. If someone reaches out to you on Social Media (Telegram) and offers you investment advice, it’s definitely a scam.

If you get an email asking you to verify your recovery seed or credentials, it’s definitely a scam.

If it sounds too good to be true, it’s definitely a scam. For more on this topic, please read on here: how not to get scammed.

9. Use security software for malware, viruses protection and phishing attempts. Malwarebytes and PhishFort are free software that can be added to your existing antivirus.

This should go without saying but every app and software on all of your devices should always be updated to the most recent versions.

There’s malware out there that hijacks the clipboard service on your device and pastes the attackers address instead of the intended address when you send funds out of your wallet. It’s called the cryptoshuffler.

10. Be quiet. Don’t advertise that you invest in crypto. Don’t be a target. As much as you might want to share your love for Bitcoin or crypto, it’s best to be silent. Nobody needs to know.

Unregulated

It’s still the wild west when it comes to the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. Currently, this sector is being monitored by OFAC for government compliance but is not yet federally regulated in the U.S.

This means that your funds are not insured.

Thousands of people have lost money from Exchanges going down, finance companies blocking withdrawals, bankrupt start-ups, government compliance, pump and dump ponzi schemes, scammers everywhere and ignorance of the technology.

Summary

This industry is still a dangerous place and you need to take every precaution to ensure the safety of your investment.

If this all seems like too much to think about, there are other investment opportunities with much less risk.

For the rest of us, Matt Damon said “fortune favors the brave” lol…

Even though the current sentiment is down. There is still a feeling of empowerment and hope, knowing there’s a way to escape the traditional financial system.

It’s just a matter of time.

How not to get scammed out of your crypto

There’s no worse feeling than realizing that you’ve just been scammed in some way. Unfortunately, these scammers exist everywhere online and they are taking advantage of newbies that have just entered the crypto-space.

It breaks my heart when people write in and don’t realize that they have been targeted in a scam. They are still waiting for what the scammer has promised them. In most cases it’s some sort of double back your money scam.

Another popular one is a Phishing email that impersonates the exchange or wallet you use. They ask you to verify your account with your recovery seed phrase on a fake website or App that looks completely legitimate, and within minutes your funds are transferred to an unknown wallet without you knowing.

For reference, here’s a great resource to a comprehensive list of Cryptocurrency Scams and Frauds from cipherblade.com

Crypto Scams to Avoid

3 things you need to keep in mind

1. Nobody needs to know your recovery seed phrase. The recovery phrase is like the keys to the vault. Only you should have this backed up and safely stored offline.

No legitimate support team will ever ask for recovery phrases, private keys, or passwords. The only reason anyone would ask for this information is to steal your money. Don’t key in your recovery phrase anywhere.

2. Once you’ve sent funds out. You cannot cancel or reverse a blockchain transaction. This immutability is part of the technology and only the recipient of these funds can return your money. No Legitimate investment company will ask you to send crypto.

3. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers will say anything to trick you into sending them money. They will offer you crazy high returns or threaten to lock your funds. These are professional conmen that have only one purpose. To convince you to send your funds out.

What to do if you’ve been scammed

If you’ve been targeted in a scam, I recommend you stop all communications with these fraudsters. They have identified you as a vulnerable target and will never give your funds back. They are professionals and will only continue to try and get more money from you. Don’t continue to get scammed.

In this case, I recommend you let the exchange and or wallet service know that you’ve been a victim. They might have some inside information on what may have happened in your specific situation. And if this was a custodial exchange, they may have a process for you to follow.

How to report Cryptocurrency scams

I’m afraid that it’s very hard, almost impossible to get your funds back, but you can report fraud and other suspicious activity involving cryptocurrency below.

This is for residents of the U.S. All other countries, please inquire with your local government. Referenced from the FTC here: What To Know About Cryptocurrency and Scams.

Contact local authorities

Then, file a report with your local authorities. Give them the transaction IDs, wallet addresses and any pertinent information, including emails, documents, websites and social media handles that were involved.

You can also report this to private companies like Cipherblade. They specialize in stolen cryptocurrency recovery for large balances. Please do your own research with private companies as it’s hard to know who’s legitimate and who’s not.

Finally, I would run a check on this website https://haveibeenpwned.com/ to see if your email address has been involved in a data breach. This will let you know if your private information is floating around online and maybe how the scammers found you in the first place.

In summary

The best take aways from this article is to keep your recovery information private and don’t send anyone crypto unless you personally know them.

No investment company or support team would ever demand payment in crypto or ask you for your private information. Anyone who does is trying to steal your money.

I do hope that this information has helped you. Do let me know if there’s something I’ve missed.

How to get started with Bitcoin & Crypto

Where do I start?

It’s a lot easier these days to buy Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies. But since cryptocurrencies are not yet regulated, it’s still considered the wild west when it comes to buying and storing your digital funds. So the first thing you have to ask yourself is, why do I want to get into this volatile space?

Why do I want Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies?

It’s obvious that we here at F4 are big fans of Bitcoin and also know that some alternative coins will become important in the future. But we don’t want to be biased because 99% of the coins available today are worthless.

It’s pure speculation, so please make sure you have done your research and that you believe in Bitcoin and the altcoins you are investing in. Otherwise, there are other ways to invest your money.

Where do I buy Bitcoin and other Alt-coins?

No matter what type of wallet you decide to store your crypto. You will need to use a credit card (not prepaid) and verify your identity for government compliance. This is known as KYC (know your customer). Part of the onboarding process is submitting your valid identification to the company selling you the digital currency.

Bitcoin ATM

The only way to buy crypto without giving your identity is through a Physical Bitcoin ATM. 

These machines accept your local currency in cash and then sends the crypto to a wallet address of your choice. Just make a search for Bitcoin ATM in your area and see if and where they are located. Or you can try this Bitcoin ATM Search Engine.

I do know first hand that the fees and exchange rates are terrible, but that’s the price you have to pay for your personal privacy.

Custodial Exchanges

The easiest way to buy Bitcoin and other alt coins is through an exchange that is supported in your region. First, make a Google search for a cryptocurrency exchange in “your country”.

Since crypto is not regulated in most countries, you’ll have to make sure the exchange is supported in your region so that you can link your local bank to it.

Here are some popular international exchanges that may work for you:

Once you’ve completed the KYC process and purchased some crypto, you can keep them on that exchange or send them to your own personal non-custodial wallet for safe-keeping.

Non-custodial wallets

Many non-custodial wallets now have third-party crypto on-ramp payment gateways built into the software. This allows users the option of buying crypto from within the wallet software. Commissions from the payment gateway is one the wallet company makes money.

You will need to submit your identity information with the on-ramp gateway provider but the wallet company does not have access to this information. You can buy crypto directly from them as well.

Some of these crypto on-ramp gateways are the Ramp Network, MoonPay and Sardine.

Here’s a shortlist of some non-custodial wallets that offer third-party payment gateways.

Non-custodial vs Custodial wallets. What’s the difference? Learn more here.

Day traders

Custodial Exchanges allow you to make limit order trades. This means you can set the price you want to pay for an asset and if/when the price of that asset reaches your limit price, the exchange will make that trade for you.

Exchanging or swapping within a non-custodial wallet or a crypto gateway will sell you coins at the current price using a market order instead of a limit order. You can learn more about order types here on CoinDesk.

This means if you’re making many trades, it’s best to do this on a custodial exchange like Binance for example. You’ll get the price you want and pay fewer transaction fees. Non-custodial wallets are best for long term holding.

Security

The most important part of cryptocurrency is learning how to keep your funds safe. I have received hundreds of tickets of people losing their funds because they didn’t understand how the technology works.

They didn’t make a backup, they sent funds to a wrong address, or they were manipulated into sending funds to a scammer. It’s the hardest tickets to respond to because it’s so preventable if you simply take the time to learn.

We have a couple of great articles here to help you keep your crypto safe.

Summary

If you already know that you want to buy some crypto, don’t worry so much. Go ahead and jump right in. Just make sure to start small. I guarantee you will make mistakes, so experiment with a small amount for a while.

Make a purchase, then try sending and receiving crypto to another wallet or to a friend. Create a non-custodial wallet and find out what all the hype is about.

If you run into any trouble, let me know. I’ll be happy to help!

Non-Custodial vs Custodial Wallets

What is a non-custodial wallet?

Self-custody or non-custodial means that you are in possession of the private keys and recovery data that control your wallet address on the blockchain. 

This means that you have complete control over your funds and are responsible for the safe keeping of your private information. 

Some of the best non-custodial wallets:

What is a custodial wallet?

Custodial means that a third party, such as an exchange or financial institution has control of your private keys and your funds on the blockchain. 

Generally considered to be less secure as the user is relying on the third party to keep their assets safe. However, they can also be more convenient because the user does not have to worry about managing their own private keys.

Some examples of custodial wallets/exchanges are:

How to tell if you’re using a non-custodial wallet:

    • You did not give any personal information/details to open and have full functionality of your wallet.

    • When you created your wallet, you were asked to write down and save your 12-word recovery phrase.

    • You have access to your private keys.

Benefits of using a non-custodial wallet – The pros

    • Full control of funds: Since you are in custody of your Private Keys, you alone have full control of your crypto. Your funds cannot be locked out by a third party or government entity. Not even the wallet company has the power to access your funds.

    • Privacy: A non-custodial wallet does not require any personal information in order to send, receive, and manage your funds.

    • Create unlimited wallets.

    • Pseudonymous transactions. Your transactions are private. While anyone can see every transaction on the blockchain, nobody initially knows who owns what wallet address.

Risks of using a non-custodial wallet – The cons

    • Responsible for security: You are 100% responsible for every security aspect of your funds. Your funds are only as safe as you are.

    • If you send funds to the wrong address, the only person that can return those funds is the owner of the address you sent the funds to. As mentioned, it is almost impossible to find out who owns an address.

    • If you lose access to your device or recovery details, nobody can help you regain control of your funds.

    • Unregulated currencies. There’s no one to turn to when black swan events happen.

Summary

If you are comfortable with technology and want to have full control of your funds, a self-custody or non-custodial wallet is your best choice for long-term investments.

If you are not good with technology and don’t have the time to learn how to safely manage your own funds, I would recommend you stay with a custodial Exchange that you trust. 

It’s best for new users, as the onboarding process is currently the easiest way to connect to your bank. You can also ask for assistance if you’ve lost access to your wallet.

The decision is yours, but we highly recommend taking the steps to learn how to create your own non-custodial wallet. The benefits outweigh the risk when you know how to keep your crypto investments safe.

What is a Transaction ID?

A Transaction ID, sometimes called a Transaction Hash is like a receipt number. It is created whenever funds are sent on the blockchain.

The Transaction Id is proof and evidence that funds were sent and received or confirmed on the blockchain.

It is a unique identifier used to search that specific transaction with a block explorer. Confirmation on the blockchain is evidence the transaction was completed successfully.

The information connected with this Transaction ID would include information like date/time, amount sent/received, number of confirmations, network fees and the public addresses involved.

Please note: All blockchain transaction information from the very first ever transaction to the present day is public information and searchable on the blockchain.

For a more advanced and detailed explanation, you can read more on this here: What is TXID (Transaction ID): Find Transaction ID on the Blockchain

Where can I find the Transaction ID?

You can find this Transaction ID or Hash in the transaction history of your wallet. Look for the transaction in question and click/tap on it. It’s usually 64-characters in length depending on the network.

How to find the Transaction ID on some popular platforms