ChatGPT is testing a Study Together feature
OpenAI is testing a new feature in ChatGPT. It is called Study Together.
The problem is, nobody is really sure how it works. You see, OpenAI has not announced the feature, but some users are reporting they can access it. To check whether you have access to it, sign in to your account at https://chatgpt.com/, open a new chat, and click on the Tools button. The drop-down menu should show a new option called "Study Together". It's not a group study option, is it a deep research tool?
Anthropic's Claude for Education has a Learning Mode that is designed to "guide students' reasoning process rather than providing answers, helping develop critical thinking skills". Perhaps OpenAI's new feature will work similarly?
That's what I think it is, based on some posts on reddit and X, the feature appears to function like a guided teaching process. You ask ChatGPT to teach you something, and it responds with questions about your current learning level. Your responses will help the AI create a study plan, after which it will start teaching you. In other words, it is an AI tutor.
(Images via reddit)
Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of information beyond a couple of screenshots that highlight the option. It is unclear whether the feature will be available for all users or just to subscribers or students. Some ChatGPT Plus users say they have access to the feature, and so do some free users. I don't, and some Plus users say they don't have access to it. This pattern suggests that OpenAI could be A/B testing the Study Together feature.
That said, I asked ChatGPT to teach me Spanish, even without Study Together, and it does seem to work. That's the issue, if it works, how is this different from the new feature? Well, it seems to be responding to my queries normally, not in the "Study" mode you see in the above screenshot.
Have you tried the new feature? What are your thoughts about using AI to learn?
@Tom :)
I was doomscrolling X (for crying out loud) to see if someone had a better demo of the feature. All I can tell is that it uses the o4 and o4 mini high models. I agree with you, nothing is going to be better than reading real books, or being tutored by an experienced teacher.
AI just hallucinates, is often misused for nefarious purposes. These companies just want to make millions out of it, and we are paying for it with our data/privacy.
@Ashwin, I’ll have to beg your pardon for a big laugh over one sentence amid a serious and well documented article as always : “The problem is, nobody is really sure how it works.”. A delectable laugh :)
Seriously now. You have public libraries everywhere, academic ones as well, accessible moreover on the Web for many. Sources of knowledge, in their diversity, are everywhere. Why, again, have AI interfere in one’s paths to learning, not to mention the danger of bringing the same clean, formatted knowledge to all : no one will never know everything but diversity of sources, as diversity of human experiences participates to the uniqueness of each which is the heart of evolution given we then collaborate and exchange. AI, IMO, is bringing this world to a a civilization of brainless memory robots : we’ll know much but think little, and knowledge without reasoning is sterile.
I am extremely cautious with AI, and fed up with it invading our lives.
“AI isn’t just impacting how we write — it’s changing how we speak and interact with others. And there’s only more to come.” at [https://www.theverge.com/openai/686748/chatgpt-linguistic-impact-common-word-usage].
We write as we think, don’t we?