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  • Excavations reveal Buddhist monastery complex at Bharatpur of Bengal

    buddh

    Recent excavations at Bharatpur in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district have revealed the presence of a Buddhist monastery.

    Bharatpur Buddhist Monastery Complex

    • The Kolkata Circle of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) started excavating the site in the second week of January and a structural complex of a monastery has now been partially exposed.
    • The site was initially excavated almost fifty years ago between 1972 and 1975 when archeologists from ASI found a Buddhist stupa at the site.

    Uniqueness of this site

    • This place hosts a large stupa along with a monastery complex and black and red ware pottery from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age.
    • In other sites across West Bengal, such as Karnasubarna in Murshidabad, Moghalamari in Paschim Medinipur and Jagjivanpur in Malda, archeologists have found only smaller votive stupas.
    • Further excavation is likely to shed more light to understand the earliest occupation of the site and its continuity till the establishment of a Buddhist monastery.

    Key findings

    • In the 1970s when the site was excavated along with the stupa, five beautiful seated sculptures of the Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra -with all five fingers of the right hand extended to touch the ground — were found.
    • These miniature sculptures, each about 30 cm in height, were most likely used for worship in the monastery.

    Back2Basics: Mudras of Buddha

    buddh

    (1) Dharmachakra Mudra

    • It is also called as the gesture of ‘Teaching of the Wheel of Dharma’ that describes one of the most important moments in the Buddha’s life as he performed the Dharmachakra mudra in his first sermon in Sarnath after he attained enlightenment.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands which are held against the chest, the left facing inward, covering the right facing outward.

    (2) Dhyan Mudra

    • It is also known as Samadhi or Yoga Mudra.
    • It is performed with the help of two hands, which are placed on the lap and place the right hand on the left hand with stretched fingers (thumbs facing upwards and other fingers of both the hand resting on each other.)
    • This is the characteristic gesture of Buddha Shakyamuni, Dhyani Buddha Amitabh and the Medicine Buddha.

    (3) Bhumisparsa Mudra

    • This gesture is also known as ‘touching the Earth’, which represents the moment of the Buddha’s awakening as he claims the earth as the witness of his enlightenment.
    • It is performed with the help of the right hand, which is held above the right knee, reaching toward the ground with the palm inward while touching the lotus throne.

    (4) Varada Mudra

    • This mudra represents the offering, welcome, charity, giving, compassion and sincerity.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands in which palm of right hand is facing forward and fingers extended and left hand palm placed near centre with extended fingers.

    (5) Karana Mudra

    • It signifies the warding off of evil which is performed by raising the index and the little finger, and folding the other fingers.
    • It helps in reducing sickness or negative thoughts.

    (6) Vajra Mudra

    • This gesture denotes the fiery thunderbolt that symbolises the five elements—air, water, fire, earth, and metal.
    • It is performed with the help of right fist and left forefinger, which is placed by enclosing the erect forefinger of the left hand in the right fist with the tip of the right forefinger touching (or curled around) the tip of the left forefinger.

    (7) Vitarka Mudra

    • It signifies the discussion and transmission of the teachings of the Buddha.
    • It is performed by joining the tips of the thumb and the index fingers together while keeping the other fingers straight, which is just like the Abhaya Mudra and Varada Mudra but in this mudra the thumbs touch the index fingers.

    (8) Abhaya Mudra

    • It is a gesture of fearlessness or blessing that represents the protection, peace, benevolence, and dispelling of fear.
    • It is performed with the help of right hand by raising to shoulder height with bent arm, and the face of palm will be facing outward with fingers upright whereas the left hand hanging down while standing.

    (9) Uttarabodhi Mudra

    • This denotes the supreme enlightenment through connecting oneself with divine universal energy.
    • It is performed with the help of both the hands, which are placed at the heart with the index fingers touching and pointing upwards and the remaining fingers intertwined.

    (10) Anjali Mudra

    • It is also called Namaskara Mudra or Hridayanjali Mudra that represents the gesture of greeting, prayer and adoration.
    • It is performed by pressing the palms of the hands together in which the hands are held at the heart chakra with thumbs resting lightly against the sternum.

     

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2014 in the comment box:

    Q.Lord Buddha’s image is sometimes shown with a hand gesture called ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’. It symbolizes-

    a) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to watch over Mara and to prevent Mara from disturbing his meditation

    b) Buddha’s calling of the Earth to witness his purity and chastity despite the temptations of Mara

    c) Buddha’s reminder to his followers that they all arise from the Earth and finally dissolve into the Earth and thus this life is transitory

    d) Both the statements ‘a’ and ‘b’ are correct in this context

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”i3wwnob4og” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Places in news: Jagannath Puri Temple

    Odisha Governor’s suggestion that foreigners and non-Hindus should be allowed to enter Puri’s famed Jagannath temple has not gone down well with traditionalists and political leaders alike.

    Why in news?

    • It has been the practice for centuries — even though there is no clearly articulated reason for it.
    • Some historians believe that multiple attacks on the Temple by foreign invaders might have led the servitors to impose restrictions on the entry of non-Hindus.
    • Others have said that this was the practice from the time the Temple was built.
    • In 1984, the servitors famously opposed the entry of Indira Gandhi inside the Temple, saying she had married a non-Hindu.

    About Jagannath Temple

    • The Jagannath Temple is an important Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in Odisha.
    • The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
    • The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.

    Its architecture

    • With its sculptural richness and fluidity of the Oriya style of temple architecture, it is one of the most magnificent monuments of India.
    • The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet and is surrounded by a high fortified wall.
    • This 20 feet high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
    • Another wall known as kurma bedha surrounds the main temple.

    The temple has four distinct sectional structures, namely:

    1. Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls). In Rekha Deula style;
    2. Mukhashala (Frontal porch);
    3. Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
    4. Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)

  • Assam’s Charaideo Maidams nominated for UNESCO tag

    maidam

    The Centre has decided to nominate Assam’s Charaideo Maidams — the Ahom equivalent of the ancient Egyptian pyramids — for the UNESCO World Heritage Centre this year.

    Why in news?

    • The nomination has attained significance at a time when the country is celebrating the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan.

    Charaideo Maidams

    • The Charaideo maidams represents the late medieval (13th-19th century CE) mound burial tradition of the Tai Ahom community in Assam.
    • The Ahoms preferred to place the departed family members at Charaideo where the first king Sukapha was laid to rest.
    • The historical chronicles inform that wives, attendants, pet animals and huge quantity of valuables were buried with the departed kings.
    • The Charaideo Maidams enshrine the mortal remains of the members of the Ahom royalty, who used to be buried with their paraphernalia.
    • After the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu method of cremation and began entombing the cremated bones and ashes in a Maidam at Charaideo.
    • Out of 386 Maidams explored so far, 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative of and the most complete examples of mound burial tradition of the Ahoms.

    Architecture details

    • Architecturally it comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure.
    • It is covered by a heap of earthen mound and externally it appears a hemispherical mound.
    • At the top of the mound a small open pavilion chow-chali is provided.
    • An octagonal dwarf wall encloses whole maidam.

     

    Ahoms Dynasty

    • The Ahom, also known as the Tai-Ahom, are an ethnic group from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India.
    • This ethnic group is made up of interbred descendants of the Tai people, who first came to Assam’s Brahmaputra valley in 1228, and indigenous people who later joined them.
    • Sukaphaa, the Tai group’s leader, and his 9000 supporters founded the Ahom empire (1228–1826 CE), which ruled over part of modern-day Assam’s Brahmaputra Valley until 1826.
    • Charaideo, more than 400 km east of Guwahati, was the first capital of the Ahom dynasty founded by Chao Lung Sukaphaa in 1253.
    • The current Ahom people and culture are a mix of the ancient Tai people and culture, as well as indigenous Tibeto-Burman people and cultures that they assimilated in Assam.

     

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  • What is Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and how it impacts the climate?

    lng

    The EU is weaning itself off piped Russian gas by rapidly expanding imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from US.

    What is Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG?

    • LNG is natural gas reduced to a liquid state (liquefaction) through intense cooling to around -161 degrees Celsius (-259 Fahrenheit).
    • It is constituted almost wholly of methane — a potent greenhouse gas and can be transported around the world by ship.
    • This liquid gas is 600 times smaller than the original volume and is half the weight of water.
    • After arriving at its destination, the cargo is regasified in a floating terminal and redistributed through pipelines.

    Economic feasibility of LNG

    • High cost of liquefaction: despite LNG’s export potential, the high cost of liquefaction and producing LNG has limited its market.
    • Losses: Between 10-25% of the energy of the gas is being lost during the liquefaction process.
    • Costly transport: The cooling, liquefying and transport processes, as well as the post-transport regasification procedures, also require a lot of energy.

    What’s the climate impact of LNG?

    • Emission: With LNG creating almost 10 times more emissions than piped gas by one estimate, its rapid expansion will likely compromise climate targets.
    • Risks of methane leakages: Methane loss across the supply chain risks also contributes to LNG’s high emissions.
    • Huge carbon equivalence: Meanwhile, LNG emits 14 times as much carbon as solar power when producing the equivalent amount of energy, and 50 times as much carbon as wind power.

     

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  • What are Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) Bonds?

    The Bombay High Court has quashed the write-off of Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds worth Rs 8,400 crore issued by Yes Bank Ltd, bringing relief to investors.

    What are AT1 bonds?

    • AT-1, short for Additional Tier-1 bonds, are a type of unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel-III norms.
    • AT-1 bonds are complex hybrid instruments, ideally meant for institutions and smart investors who can decipher their terms and assess if their higher rates compensate for their higher risks.
    • They carry a face value of ₹10 lakh per bond.
    • There are two routes through which retail folk have acquired these bonds — initial private placement offers of AT-1 bonds by banks seeking to raise money; or secondary market buys of already-traded AT-1 bonds based on recommendations from brokers.

    Why are they important?

    AT-1 bonds have several unusual features lurking in their fine print, which make them very different from plain bonds.

    • One, these bonds are perpetual and carry no maturity date. Instead, they carry call options that allow banks to redeem them after five or 10 years. But banks are not obliged to use this call option and can opt to pay only interest on these bonds for eternity.
    • Two, banks issuing AT-1 bonds can skip interest payouts for a particular year or even reduce the bonds’ face value without getting into hot water with their investors, provided their capital ratios fall below certain threshold levels. These thresholds are specified in their offer terms.
    • Three, if the RBI feels that a bank is tottering on the brink and needs a rescue, it can simply ask the bank to cancel its outstanding AT-1 bonds without consulting its investors. This is what has happened to YES Bank’s AT-1 bond-holders who are said to have invested ₹10,800 crore.

     

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  • 21st Jan 2023 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    21st Jan 2023 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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    [WpProQuiz_toplist 1220]

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  • Intra-national COP: An innovative approach of cooperation

    national

    Context

    • India revised its target to reduce the carbon intensity of its GDP to 45 percent by 2030, more ambitious than the earlier target of 34 percent. These National carbon emission targets were globally appreciated and have further strengthened its leadership position in climate action.

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    Spirit of cooperative federalism is needed to achieve this target

    • In order to effectively address climate change, India needs to involve all of its states and Union Territories. During recent climate summits, the states and UTs have not been active participants.
    • A new approach to cooperation between states and UTs on climate action is needed, similar to the cooperation used in the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This will lead to better results in public sector actions to tackle climate change.

    Role of states

    • Power of States and UTs: Provisions in the Constitution of India, legislations of the Parliament, executive orders, and judicial decisions enable states/UTs to have a substantial influence on matters pertaining to land, electricity, mobility, labour, pollution control, skill building, law and order, financial incentives for commercial activities, etc.
    • Role of States and UTs in Policy Implementation: States/UTs can become prime movers in the last mile through interventions in policy, regulation, and project implementation.
    • Potential of India’s Cooperative Federalism: During the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the Prime Minister of India also emphasised the potential of India’s cooperative federalism in becoming ‘a torch bearer of the world’ in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while addressing its Rajya Sabha.

    How India’s model of ‘Intranational COP’ will work?

    • Utilizing GST council model for climate action: Climate action is a unifying theme, and creating a forum similar to the Goods and Services Taxes (GST) council, which created successful engagement models during the pan-India roll-out of GST, can be helpful.
    • Facilitating cross-party dialogue: This intra-country group, Intranational COP, can offer opportunities for sharing a stage across parties in a neutral setting where outcome-oriented conversations can take place.
    • Promoting cooperative and competitive federalism for Net Zero: It can kindle the friendly spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism with each state/UT committing to bolder actions towards net zero.
    • Measuring stakeholder performance through consensus building: It can potentially introduce new evaluation parameters for measuring the performance of stakeholders based on their ability to build consensus across boundaries while keeping aside their myopic and constricted vote-bank-centered politics.
    • Learning and Leveraging Best Practices: Climate change is a new and dynamic topic for all stakeholders. It is an equaliser where no state/UT has any inherent advantageous positions. States/UTs can learn best practices from each other to implement, achieve, and measure the outcomes of their actions.

    Electricity distribution: A case of cooperation

    • Today, though a project is conceived, financed, and implemented by central agencies, site-specific mobilisation of resources requires the active cooperation of the states/UTs.
    • An important case in point can be electricity distribution, where states can exponentially augment India’s clean energy ambitions.
    • Furthermore, they can directly support municipal corporations/village panchayats in innovating customised approaches for faster and inclusive adoption of national climate goals in line with the socioeconomic and cultural sensitivities of the region.

    ‘Intranational COP’ for common but differentiated responsibilities

    • Forum for addressing Climate Change within India: It is well-established that some parts of India are economically more developed as compared to others. This translates to the fact that the relatively more prosperous regions contribute more to India’s carbon emissions. Such states are better positioned to initially invest in expensive low-carbon technologies and disseminate them to achieve economies of scale.
    • Addressing Regional Imbalances in Carbon Emissions: IndiaCOP can can unleash creative mechanisms to offset regional imbalances while respecting local cultural sensitivities.
    • Platform for States/UTs to Forge Mutual Cooperation Agreements: It can provide a platform for states/UTs to forge MOUs that complement each other’s strengths while filling up the gaps in technical/financial/people resources. For e.g., small hilly states have good hydroelectric power potential, but they may lack financial wherewithal; states like Rajasthan have good solar energy potential but currently lack sufficient trained manpower, etc.

    Way ahead

    • Intranational COP can be a dedicated flagship platform to thrash out a national consensus on India’s climate goals and the means to achieve them. For example, the Finance Commission can play a role in allocating capital based on the climate actions and needs of states.
    • The mechanisms of climate funding and allocation, led by the Finance Commission, can be debated and agreed upon on this platform. Such a consensus will enjoy double legitimacy as it is arrived at collectively by the union and state/UT governments.

    Conclusion

    • The success of India’s model of “Intra-national COP” can become a template for federal nations across the world to engage with provincial/local governments with diverse socio-political and economic challenges. It can score a big win in promoting India’s soft power, especially as it takes on the presidency of the G20.

    Mains question

    Q. During recent climate summits, the states and UTs have not been active participants. In this backdrop how India’s model of Intra-national COP will be helpful?

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  • Day 6| Daily Answer Wars| CD WarZone

    Topics for Today’s question:

    GS-3 Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.       

    Question:

    Q. Why is Public Private Partnership (PPP) required in infrastructural projects? Examine the role of PPP model in the redevelopment of Railway Stations in India. (10 Marks)

     

    HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WARS (DAW)?

    1. Daily 1 question either from General Studies 1, 2, 3 or 4 will be provided via live You Tube video session.
    2. You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
    3. The answer needs to be submitted by joining the telegram group given in the link below.

      https://t.me/cdwarzone

    *In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. 

    1. For the philosophy of Daily Answer Wars and payment: 
    Daily Answer Wars | CD warzone
    Payment Link DAW

  • Police conference: Highlighting the Challenges and solutions

    conference

    Context

    • A conference of the Directors General of Police of all the states and union territories is being held in Delhi from January 20 to 22. The Prime Minister will be attending all the sessions of the three-day conference.

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    All you need to know about the Conference

    • This conference of the Directors General of Police is an annual feature.
    • It is organised by the Intelligence Bureau and its deliberations are presided over by the Director, IB, who is considered primus inter pares among the senior-most police officers of the country.
    • This year’s conference, according to media reports, will be discussing emerging trends in militancy and hybrid militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, counter-terrorism, cryptocurrency, drug trafficking, radicalisation and other important matters.

    What is missing in the agenda?

    • Problems at grass root are rarely discussed: The agenda, year after year, reflects the security-related problems of the country at the macro level. So far so good. But the grass roots problems are seldom taken up or deliberated upon.
    • Dismal picture of Police stations: The strength of a chain, as they say, is determined by its weakest link, and the weakest link today is the police station. Leaving aside the model police stations and some in the metro cities, the average police station presents a dismal picture dilapidated building, case property like motorcycles and cars littered all over the compound, no reception room, filthy lockup, and so on.
    • Overburdened staff: The staff, overworked and fatigued, is generally unresponsive, if not rude.
    • Available resources are limited resources: They may not have access to vehicles or have run out of fuel as per the allotted quota.
    • Political influence: Even if you are able to speak with a responsible sub-inspector, they may be pressured by politicians to change their actions.

    For instance: The data according to the Status of Policing in India Report 2019

    • Shortage of personnel: According to the report, police in India work at 77% of their sanctioned strength and these personnel work for 14 hours a day on average.
    • Lack of equipment and technology: There are 70 police stations which have no wireless, 214 police stations that have no telephone and 240 police stations that have no vehicles.
    • Poor housing and training facilities: Housing facilities for police are unsatisfactory. Training of personnel is inadequate, the training institutions have not kept pace with the changing paradigm on the law or crime front and are manned generally by unwanted, demotivated officers.
    • Technology gap: Technology support leaves much to be desired; the criminals are, in fact, way ahead of the police.

    Hard fact and the concerns over the police duties in India

    • Police Officer’s Duties and Expectations: The demanding role and expectations of police officers as first responders to any crime, 24/7 duty and assisting other departments with their duties. The public has no obligation to assist police officers. For instance, ASI was stabbed to death in Delhi, bystanders were just standing and watching the scene.
    • High death toll among Police Personnel: It is estimated that 36,044 police personnel have died in the performance of their duties since India’s independence. It is pointed out that the corresponding figure for all the countries of Europe taken together is much less.
    • Duties to become more challenging in future: It is acknowledged that police duties in India are tougher than in any other part of the world, and that these duties are likely to become even more challenging in the future, with the rise of new forms of crime such as terrorist crimes, cybercrimes, drug trafficking, and cryptocurrency.

    What improvements are suggested?

    1. The Need to Prioritize Basic Matters: It is important to prioritize basic police matters and ensure that they are effectively dealt with. Once the police station is able to inspire confidence among the people, many other issues will fall into place.
    2. Division of Conference into Two Parts: The format of police conferences should be changed by dividing it into two parts – one dealing with intelligence matters and the other dealing with crime and law and order issues.
    3. Roles of DBI and CBI: It is proposed that the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) preside over the intelligence-related matters, and the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) assisted by a senior-most Director General of a state police nominated by the Ministry of Home Affairs should conduct the proceedings of the conference dealing with crime and law and order matters.
    4. Need for Specialized Treatment of Crime: the crime is becoming increasingly complex and requires specialized treatment, and that this bifurcation is necessary in order to effectively address the different aspects of crime.

    Do you know the concept of SMART police?

    • The Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the concept of SMART Police.
    • SMART stands for: S: Strict but sensitive, M: Modern and mobile, A: Alert and accountable, R: Reliable and responsive, and  T: Trained and tech-savvy.
    • It also aims to make the police more responsive to the needs of the people, and to address issues of police brutality, corruption, and lack of accountability to citizens.

    Conclusion

    • The Prime Minister’s concept of SMART Police, which aims to create a force that is strict and sensitive, modern and mobile, alert and accountable, reliable and responsive, techno-savvy and trained, has the potential to bring about a significant change in the working of the police and a new era for the people of the country. It’s important for the conference to review the progress made in implementing this transformation in the police and work towards achieving these objectives to bring about a much-needed change in the police force.

    Mains question

    Q. What are the major challenges faced by the Indian police force? Discuss improvements suggested to address them?

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  • [Burning Issue] Storm of ChatGPT

    Context

    ChatGPT, which was only released a few months ago, is gaining popularity online as users marvel at its incredible powers. The latest artificial intelligence tool is creating a buzz among computer scientists and programmers due to its creative capabilities.

    In this context, this edition of the burning issue will elaborate on this latest buzz in the technology sector- ChatGPT

    What is ChatGPT?

    • About ChatGPT: ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3 family of large language models and is fine-tuned with both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.
    • OpenAI: ChatGPT has been developed by OpenAI, which is a research institute and company that focuses on developing artificial intelligence technology responsibly and safely. It was founded in 2015 by a group of entrepreneurs and researchers, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman.
    • A human-like language model: ChatGPT is built on a large-scale transformer-based language model that is trained on a diverse dataset of text and is capable of generating human-like responses to prompts. It is based on GPT-3.5, a language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text.
    • It is more engaging with details: However, while the older GPT-3 model only took text prompts and tried to continue on that with its own generated text, ChatGPT is more engaging. It’s much better at generating detailed text and can even come up with poems.
    • Keeps the memory of the conversations: Another unique characteristic is memory. The bot can remember earlier comments in a conversation and recount them to the user.
    • Human-like resemblance: A conversation with ChatGPT is like talking to a computer, a smart one, which appears to have some semblance of human-like intelligence.

    The evolution of ChatGPT

    • Generative Pre-Training (GPT) language model: ChatGPT follows a generation of language models that were released by OpenAI in 2018. In 2018, OpenAI released the Generative Pre-Training (GPT) language model. Here, generative means that it is a type of neural network that can create new content based on input content called Training Data. This technology makes it suitable for creative tasks like writing a new story.
    • Transformer technique: With the transformer technique mentioned above, GPT was improved and “Generative Pre-trained Transformer 2” or GPT-2 was released in 2019. GPT-3 with even more sophisticated neural networks was launched in 2020.
    • GPT3.5: In early 2022, GPT3.5 was released and ChatGPT is a successor to GPT3.5. Each successive generation is more advanced than its predecessor. For example, GPT-3 was trained with 175 billion parameters. These large language models have looked at almost all text available on the internet and many other text documents, thereby making them highly informed. Finally, ChatGPT was launched in November 2022.

    About Chatbots and AI

    What is a ChatBot?

    • A chatbot (coined from the term “chat robot”) is a computer program that simulates human conversation either by voice or text communication, and is designed to help solve a problem.
    • Organizations use chatbots to engage with customers alongside classic customer service channels like phone, email, and social media.

    What is Artificial intelligence?

    • AI is a constellation of technologies that enable machines to act with higher levels of intelligence and emulate the human capabilities of sense, comprehend and act. Thus, computer vision and audio processing can actively perceive the world around them by acquiring and processing images, sound and speech.
    • Natural language processing and inference engines can enable AI systems to analyze and understand the information collected.
    • An AI system can also take action through technologies such as expert systems and inference engines or undertake actions in the physical world.
    • These human-like capabilities are augmented by the ability to learn from experience and keep adapting over time.

    Working of ChatGPT

    • ChatGPT is what is called a Language Model, rather than a chatbot. A language model is a software that prints out a sequence of words as output that are related to some words given as input with appropriate semantic relation;
    • in practical terms, it means that it can perform tasks like answering questions and carrying on a conversation with humans. It is often used in natural language processing (NLP) applications, such as speech recognition, automatic translation, and text generation.
    • It is also a neural network. A neural network can be thought of as a large network of computers that can fine-tune its output of words based on the feedback given to it during stages of training: this training process and the technology together are called Reinforcement Learning.
    • With a further refining technique called “Transformer”, a neural network can accurately “understand” the context of a sentence or a paragraph. This “comprehension” can be used for multiple purposes like answering a question, summarising a paragraph or an article, translating documents and so on.

    Applications of ChatGPT

    • A virtual study mate: ChatGPT could be used to generate practice questions or prompts for students to use when studying or preparing for exams. Input a prompt into ChatGPT that relates to the topic you are studying. For example, you might write ‘generate practice questions from Indian Polity on fundamental rights’. ChatGPT will then generate a series of practice questions that could range from multiple choice, true/false, or short answers.
    • A writing assistant: ChatGPT can be used to generate text in a variety of styles and formats, such as stories, news articles, poems, and more. This could be useful for creative writing, or for generating content for websites and social media.
    • A human-like search engine: One of the most used applications of ChatGPT is to answer specific questions and get answers in human talking style-dialogue format. It can also simplify complex theories. Microsoft is planning to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot into its Bing search engine in order to take advantage of its ability to respond to a wide range of questions while mimicking human conversation styles.
    • For language translation: ChatGPT could be used to automatically translate text from one language to another, making it easier for people to communicate with each other across language barriers.
    • A customizable chatbot: You could use the ChatGPT model to create a chatbot that can answer questions or have a conversation with a user. ChatGPT could answer customer questions or provide assistance in online chatbots or virtual assistants, allowing businesses to provide 24/7 support to their customers. It is trainable with specific data to create a virtual customer service bot that can converse and respond to queries.

    Advantages

    • Available for customers 24/7: ChatGPT could answer customer questions at any hour, day or night. Now, the customer can ask a query to the chatbot and get an instant reply or get sent to the page with the right product. 
    • Offers Better personalization: Personalization is important for customers. In fact, about 44% of buyers become repeat customers after receiving a personalized experience. It pays off to customize your messages to clients and provide more personalized customer service. 
    • Faster response time: About 96% of shoppers expect a response within five minutes. And chatbots like ChatGPT can provide instant responses to help customers with simple questions right there and then. This helps to decrease the waiting time for customer support to a couple of seconds. 
    • Increase sales: Chatbots can bring more sales for businesses. Bots turn first-time website visitors into new customers by showing off your new products and offering discounts to tempt potential clients.
    • Save costs: Cost saving is another essential benefit. It can automate day-to-day tasks that include everything from answering FAQs to booking appointments. This allows the customer support team to concentrate on more complex queries. 

    Concerns and Limitations

    • Implications for cybersecurity: Check Point Research and others noted that ChatGPT was capable of writing phishing emails and malware, especially when combined with OpenAI Codex.
    • May involve in unethical use: ChatGPT attempts to reject prompts that may violate its content policy. However, some users managed to jailbreak ChatGPT by using various prompt engineering techniques to bypass these restrictions in early December 2022 and successfully tricked ChatGPT into giving instructions for how to create a Molotov cocktail or a nuclear bomb, or into generating arguments in the style of a Neo-Nazi.
    • ChatGPT is not entirely accurate: It is not entirely accurate, something even OpenAI has admitted. It is also evident that some of the essays written by ChatGPT lack the depth that a real human expert might showcase when writing on the same subject.
    • ChatGPT lacks depth like the human mind: It doesn’t quite have the nuance that a human would often be able to provide. For example, when asked ChatGPT how one should cope with a cancer diagnosis. The responses were kind but generic. The type of responses you would find in any general self-help guide.
    • It lacks the same experiences as humans: AI has a long way to go. After all, it doesn’t have the same experiences as a human.
    • ChatGPT does not excel in code: ChatGPT is writing basic code. As several reports have shown, ChatGPT doesn’t quite excel at this yet. But a future where basic code is written using AI doesn’t seem so incredible right now.
    • ChatGPT is still prone to Misinformation: Despite of abilities of the bot, there are some limitations. ChatGPT is still prone to misinformation and biases, which is something that plagued previous versions of GPT as well. The model can give incorrect answers to, say, algebraic problems.
    • ChatGPT can write incorrect answers: OpenAI understands some flaws and has noted them down on its announcement blog that “ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but the incorrect or nonsensical answer

    Conclusion

    • OpenAI’s ChatGPT turned that simple experience into something entirely different. ChatGPT is a path-breaking example of an AI chatbot and what the technology could achieve when applied at scale.
    • Limitations aside, ChatGPT still makes for a fun little bot to interact with. However, there are some challenges that need to be addressed before it becomes an unavoidable part of human life.

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