Data Transformation with GPT-4 (Preppin Data, 2023, Week 1)

 

Environment:  ChatGPT Plus, GPT-4

Data:  Preppin Data, 2023, Week 1

Objective:  Transform data without prompting GPT-4 step-by-step

This video from the Information Lab tested whether ChatGPT can transform data.  However, the approach was not prompting GPT-4 to transform data step-by-step.  Rather the approach was uploading two files (one input and one output) and asking GPT-4 to produce an output file similar to the uploaded output file. 

Let’s test GPT-4 the same way and see how it performs.

1)  Output 1:  Upload 2 data files and prompt GPT-4 to produce output file without providing step-by-step instruction.

GPT-4 provided the steps how it transformed data and produced the output.

2)  Output 2:  Again upload 2 data files and prompt GPT-4 to produce output file without providing step-by-step instruction. 

3)  Output 3:  Finally, upload another 2 data files and prompt GPT-4 to produce output file without providing step-by-step instruction.

In all 3 scenarios, GPT-4 transformed data, provided the steps, and produced outputs.  Note that these data sets are considered simple.  The results are posted here.

Verdict:  For simple data sets, GPT-4 can transform data without step-by-step prompting. This is quite remarkable because GPT-4 is acting like human intelligence with cognitive ability to think through the process, transform the data, and provide the steps.

For complex data sets, GPT-4 cannot transform data without step-by-step prompting yet.  However, Sam Altman the CEO of OpenAI has recently said that the company has discovered an emergent new cognitive capability.  Perhaps with this new capability of critical thinking, the next version of ChatGPT will eventually be able to transform complex data sets.