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> Assistants demos in particular showed that they are a black box within a black box within a black box that you can't port anywhere else. I'd argue the opposi
by mvkel 3y ago
> Assistants demos in particular showed that they are a black box within a black box within a black box that you can't port anywhere else.
I'd argue the opposite. The new "Threads" interface in the OpenAI admin section lets you see exactly how it's interpreting input/output specifically to address the black box effect.
Source: https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/runs/listRunSteps https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/runs/listRunS... tells you exactly how it's stepping through the chain. Even more visibility than there used to be.
- DerJacques 3y agoI agree that some parts of the process now seem more like “open”, but there is definitely a lot more magic in the new processing. Namely, threads can have an arbitrary length, and OpenAI automatically handles context window management for you. Their API now also handles retrieval of information from raw files, so you don’t need to worry about embeddings. Lastly, you don’t even need any sort of database to keep track of threads and messages. The API is now stateful! I think that most of these changes are exciting and make it a lot easier for people to get started. There is no doubt in my mind though that the API is now an even bigger blackbox, and lock-in is slightly increased depending on how you integrate with it.
- mvkel 3y agoI wouldn't say the black box issue is unique to OpenAI. I suspect nobody could explain certain behaviors, including them. As for lock in, agreed completely.
- kevindamm 3y agoIndeterminate context, unknown/hidden values and a stateful API are usually reasons for me to look elsewhere for a solution.