How does ChatGPT work and do AI-powered chatbots “think” like us?

The current whirlwind of interest in artificial intelligence is largely down to the sudden arrival of a new generation of AI-powered chatbots capable of startlingly human-like text-based conversations. The big change came last year, when OpenAI released ChatGPT. Overnight, millions gained access to an AI producing responses that are so uncannily fluent that it has been hard not to wonder if this heralds a turning point of some sort.

There has been no shortage of hype. Microsoft researchers given early access to GPT4, the latest version of the system behind ChatGPT,…