In recent months, the term “generative AI” has become increasingly popular. With OpenAI continuously updating its language model that powers ChatGPT, there is intense competition in the field. Microsoft is developing Bing AI for most of its products, and Google has introduced its own chatbot, Bard. While tech giants are making the headlines, there are other open-source chatbots on the market with no major corporation backing them, such as ColossalChat.
ColossalChat is the first open-source AI chatbot, based on Meta’s LLaMA model. Developer Yang Yoo claims that ColossalChat is “the first practical open-source project that includes a complete RLHF process for replicating ChatGPT-like models.” Like ChatGPT, ColossalChat can answer questions, write emails, and create code. However, ColossalChat’s knowledge base ends in 2019, making it different from ChatGPT.
You can try out ColossalChat for free at chat.colossalai.org without logging in or creating an account. A quick test of its safeguards showed that it has some, but it is more relaxed than ChatGPT. ColossalChat is based on LLaMA, Meta’s open-source large language model, refined to respond more like ChatGPT. Yang You, one of ColossalChat’s developers, claims that it is “the closest project to the original technical route of ChatGPT.”
LLaMA can be used directly if the project can be built on the computer, but the results won’t be as engaging as those of ChatGPT or ColossalChat. RHLF is an essential feature of both ColossalChat and ChatGPT. It means reinforcement learning from human feedback, similar to how animals are taught to perform tricks. When the AI response is appropriate, it’s rewarded, which helps the network understand human preferences.
It’s too early to determine if ColossalChat is comparable to ChatGPT’s latest release, which used GPT-3.5 and could only process text. OpenAI’s latest update brings multimodal input, enabling images to be uploaded to help visually inform the chatbot about what you’re trying to do or the question you’re asking. Microsoft’s BingChat, another ChatGPT alternative, uses GPT-4 for text input and responses. Bing Chat can now generate images via a feature called Bing Image Creator.
It’s unlikely that ColossalChat will surpass ChatGPT in breadth, capabilities, or popularity, but alternatives are always good to have, especially when ChatGPT hits capacity.
