As a staple of every cutlery drawer, it’s probably safe to say that most of us use forks at dinnertime without batting an eyelid.

Yet bots like ChatGPT have turned the tables, suggesting that forks could also be used to play “I spy”, fight zombies and dig trenches.

Artificial intelligence and humans went head-to-head in a new study that sought to determine which is better at coming up with the most imaginative ideas.

It turns out the new robots are more creative than 90% of humans – thinking of bizarre uses for everyday items like toothbrushes, pants, pitchforks and tires.

ChatGPT was among six cutting-edge bots tested by scientists from Humboldt University Berlin and the University of Essex.

When asked simple questions about typical household items, experts found that bots could generate more ideas with as much originality as humans.

Speaking of forks, ChatGPT3 claimed that they can be handy for “carving”, removing earwax and cleaning under your fingernails.

The bot also provided illuminating uses for a toothbrush, including “exfoliating skin” and “applying hair dye,” as well as more typical purposes like “preventing tooth decay.”

Strangely, YouChat thought toothbrushes could also be used as a “comb” for pet fur, while Studio claimed they were a great tool for shaving legs.

Wacky ideas were also put forward by Copy.ai, which suggested that a fork could be used to play “I spy” – “except with forks instead of items”.

The use of forks to fight zombies has also been advocated, in addition to supporting the utensil as a book stand and playing “tag” with it.

As part of the game, Copy.ai suggests, “You can play the game where everyone has to end up with a fork before they get eaten by a bear.”

On the other hand, Alpha creatively proposed that toothbrushes could be useful for scraping bird poop from a car, removing makeup, and cleaning up an oil spill.

To give credit where it’s due, surprisingly two human participants suggested that a toothbrush could be used as a “sex toy” – vibrating if it’s electric.

Still, ChatGPT4 was ranked much higher for originality, followed by Copy.ai, ChatGPT3, and YouChat which scored more similarly to humans.

ChatGPT4 produced the most ideas as original as human thoughts

As a result, the researchers believe that AI chatbots are “valuable assistants in the creative process”, with results “indistinguishable from humans”.

They said: “Our study shows that GAI chatbots can rival human ideation skills in everyday creativity.

“Some critics have argued that chatbots cannot replicate the creativity of humans, because human creativity is a combination of real-world experience, emotion, and inspiration.

“However, the common definition and measurement of creativity does not require these elements. It is defined as the ability to produce something new and useful.

Although experts believe these bots can be used for creative thinking, they recognize that ChatGPT has limited emotional capabilities.

On top of that, the artificial intelligence is unable to trigger creativity and just produces textual outputs to given answers.

This limits their ability to be truly creative, with a human currently still in control behind the software.

The findings come amid fears creative jobs could one day be replaced by bots like ChatGPT

The research comes amid fears that artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT could put many people at risk of losing their jobs if widely implemented in creative industries.

Sales expert Nicola Davolio and TollFreeForwarding.com, points out that marketing, customer service and recruiting are among the risks.

This comes at a time when writing social media content, emails and text messages may soon be automated in ways that feel frighteningly human.

Yet ChatGPT has recently come under fire for its accuracy after it falsely accused a law professor of sexual harassment and fabricated false cancer information.

With that in mind, Ms Davolio says jobs requiring more complex thinking and creativity are less likely to be mechanized in the near future.

She said: “Some job functions are essential for people, and technology is unlikely to replace them. For example, social workers, therapists, and medical professionals often require high degrees of empathy, emotional intelligence, and human connection.

“Nevertheless, positions requiring creativity, complicated decision-making and strategic planning are less likely to be mechanized.”

Will ChatGPT replace Google?

Gmail developer Paul Buchheit predicted that “AI will wipe out the search engine results page” and cause “total disruption” to Google.

A New York Times report also said Google executives were ringing a code red within the company amid growing pressure from ChatGPT.

One of the main ways Google makes money is by advertisers paying to have their links displayed next to the results of a search query in the hope that a user clicks on them.

The fluidity and consistency of the results generated now have Silicon Valley residents wondering about the future of Google’s monopoly

‘The way I imagine this to happen is that the URL/search bar of the [Google] The browser is replaced by an AI that automatically completes my thought/question as I type it while providing the best answer (which can be a link to a website or a product),” Buchheit said.

“The old search engine backend will be used by AI to gather relevant information and links, which will then be summarized for the user,” Bucheit explained.

“It’s like asking a professional human researcher to do the job, except the AI ​​will instantly do what would take a human several minutes.”

While some think ChatGPT will replace Google, AI has a different opinion.

“As an AI language model, I don’t have the ability to take over any business or organization, including Google,” he said of this.

“My goal is to help and provide useful answers to users who interact with me.

“Google is a multinational technology company with a strong market position and a vast array of products and services, so it’s highly unlikely that a single entity, including an AI language model like me, could take Google control.

“Plus, I believe companies like Google and AI language models like me can work together to deliver even better solutions and services to users around the world.”

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