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Beyond the hype: a comprehensive critique of ChatGPT’s applicability in genetics

European Journal of Human Genetics volume 32, pages 375–376 (2024)Cite this article

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The recent article by Duong and Solomon [1], and the subsequent commentary [2] on the potential role of OpenAI’s language model, ChatGPT, in the field of genetics, certainly make for a compelling read. We appreciate the authors’ initiative to explore how this artificial intelligence model could make an impact on genetics, a discipline that requires an exceptional depth of knowledge and understanding. However, I feel a necessity to provide a more nuanced critique of the conclusions drawn.

The cornerstone of the study is the comparison between the performance of ChatGPT and a group of social media users in answering multiple-choice questions about genetics. The authors interpret the language model’s performance as indicative of an "understanding" of genetics. This interpretation certainly warrants a more measured understanding. ChatGPT’s function lies in its predictive abilities based on learned patterns, not in conscious understanding. The language model doesn’t have the capacity for self-awareness or cognition. Instead, it offers an approximation of understanding by predicting sequences of words, drawing from a vast body of textual data it has been trained on.

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References

  1. Duong D, Solomon BD. Analysis of large-language model versus human performance for genetics questions. Eur J Hum Genet. 2023:1–3. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41431-023-01396-8. Published Online.

  2. Emmert-Streib F. Can ChatGPT understand genetics? Eur J Hum Genet. 2023:1–2. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41431-023-01419-4.

  3. Van Bulck L, Moons P. What if your patient switches from Dr. Google to Dr. ChatGPT? A vignette-based survey of the trustworthiness, value, and danger of ChatGPT-generated responses to health questions. Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2023:zvad038. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjcn/zvad038. Online ahead of print.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sikkim University, Gangtok, India

    Partha Pratim Ray

  2. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, BF Block, Sector 1, Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700064, India

    Poulami Majumder

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  1. Partha Pratim Ray
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  2. Poulami Majumder
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PPR conceived and drafted the manuscript. PM edited and reviewed.

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Correspondence to Partha Pratim Ray.

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Ray, P.P., Majumder, P. Beyond the hype: a comprehensive critique of ChatGPT’s applicability in genetics. Eur J Hum Genet 32, 375–376 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41431-023-01442-5

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