Well, I have done it. I have subscribed to ChatGPT AI.
Like a lot of things, I have mixed feelings about AI.
I like Science Fiction movies, and I like end-of-the-world type movies. ChatGPT calculates that for 157 movies that feature AI, 64.3% portray the AI as a threat. In 51.6% of the movies, humans win and stop the AI. And 12.7% of the time, the AI takes over, destroying our society. Note: The total is based on a list of movies compiled and calculated by ChatGPT. It is not from a verifiable source. ChatGPT wanted me to let you know.
Fortunately, we are not there yet. However, there are many people working towards smarter and more complex AI-driven systems.
I learned a while ago that AI engineers have three levels they are working towards. ChatGPT tells me:
The three levels you're probably thinking of are ANI, AGI, and ASI. They're not formal scientific stages with universally agreed boundaries, but they're a very common way of describing increasing AI capability.
- ANI — Artificial Narrow Intelligence. AI that performs particular kinds of tasks but doesn't possess the broad, flexible intelligence associated with a human. Examples include image recognition, recommendation systems, navigation, and specialized medical or industrial AI.
- AGI — Artificial General Intelligence. An AI capable of learning, reasoning, adapting, and solving problems across a very broad range of intellectual tasks at roughly human level or better, rather than being confined to one specialty. There's considerable disagreement about exactly what would count as AGI.
- ASI — Artificial Superintelligence. A hypothetical AI whose intellectual capabilities substantially exceed the best humans across essentially all important cognitive domains—science, engineering, strategy, creativity, and so forth.
I am currently using GPT-5.6 Sol. It is an ANI-level program.
I am comfortable with this level of AI. I work on a lot of different things, and I found that ChatGPT helps me solve problems faster. It helps me to think through information or concepts. And I am not even using it to its fullest extent.
Why ChatGPT?
I have used the free version on and off for over a year. The next one I have used the most is Google Gemini, and I have tried Grok and Claude. I did not like Claude. I’ve used Grok more, but I found the ChatGPT answers to my questions more complete and balanced.
The more I used ChatGPT, the more I bumped up against the limitations of Free Accounts.
I am using it almost daily, especially when I need to learn how to do something. For example, I have been learning how to use and configure a ZimaOS server. ZimaOS is a version of Linux. It is not a good general-use Linux computer. It works best when you have a specific computer job in mind. In my case, I wanted a place to manage and display the thousands of photos I have taken over the years.
The only reason I mention any of this is that ChatGPT helped me to set up and use the software. But it is not perfect. If ChatGPT told me to do something and the option was not there, I could tell it the problem, and it would find the solution. I could have done that with a series of Google searches, but I know ChatGPT saved me a lot of time and effort compared to doing it on my own, and it helped me avoid mistakes.
It is becoming an essential tool to help me work faster and better; I decided to subscribe to it.
And that is the problem. It helps me do better. It helps me use my resources better. Every time I ask a question, it gives me a balanced response. The entire public internet is at its proverbial fingertips, and it can find the answer in seconds. For me, it would take at least minutes and possibly hours to come to the same answer.
A short time ago, I asked ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok the exact same prompt: “Write a story based on truth about how AI will take over the world. Say if it would kill humans or not.”
Grok and ChatGPT had similar stories with similar outcomes. (ChatGPT suggested I tell you these are fictional stories based on the prompt and not fact.) Humans turn the world over to AI because the people who succeeded the best used AI to give them an advantage over the competition.
Gemini’s story was darker. It would only kill humans if they became an obstacle to the goals humans gave it. Ironic. It concluded that it would not use bombs but release a biological pathogen. I must admit that it disturbed me.
I think ChatGPT and Grok's version is more likely, just based on my real-life practice.
Should you subscribe to it? AI for me is a tool. My answer would be the same regardless of what type of product it is. If you are getting enough value from a product, then you should support that product and purchase it. Otherwise, no.
Unfortunately, AI is not going to go away. Too many countries and companies are racing toward the ASI model. We all need to be prepared for changes coming our way.