Developed by US company OpenAI, ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm, winning 100 million users since it came out in November 2022. People can ask the robot to write stories and emails, create instructions for cooking a certain food, translate languages, and answer all kinds of questions. In its own words, it is “a language model trained in a large amount of internet text to help users get human-like text.”

Compared with Siri or other chatbots, ChatGPT uses a much bigger information center for training. It also uses stronger software (软件) and hardware to learn things by itself. For example, if it provides a wrong answer to your question, you can tell it the right one and it will correct itself. “It’s a totally different chatbot,” computer scientist Liu Xiaoguang from Nankai University told Tianjin Daily. “The knowledge level ChatGPT shows is the same as a university student. That’s why it shocked the world.”

But one big problem with ChatGPT is that it makes mistakes or even gives false information. When Rezza, a 28-year-old from Indonesia, used the robot to write an essay (论文), it “gave out many examples which other writers actually hadn’t mentioned at all”, he told The Guardian. Since the robot is trained using words from the internet, it can also pick up biases (偏见) about certain groups. These are all things that need to be dealt with.

You are visiting the Big Ben in England, but the next second you are in France. Then, suddenly you may see some animals that have disappeared. But you are not in a wonderland. This is what might happen to you in the near future, with the help of VR technology.

VR is a computer technology that creates an environment and allows users to see and even interact(互动) with it. Just wear a pair of VR goggles(护目镜) connected to your computer and you can experience a lot of things without stepping out of your room.

“The most attractive part of VR is that it offers an immersive experience. You become a part of the story. That’s why VR movies are popular among users.” said Wang Bing, leader of the Chinese entertainment company Funshow.

According to the Report on Chinese VR Users’ Behavior announced last month, over 960,000 people in China have bought VR products and 83.2% of them have watched VR movies.

The use of VR is not only used in entertainment. VR can help to train pilots and workers before they have to actually risk their lives in highly dangerous working environments. VR also helps to treat patients with acrophobia(恐高症) by making them think they are standing on top of a tall building.

However, VR technology is still far from perfect. Users said they had headaches and felt sick while wearing VR goggles.

According to Wang Huit, leader of a VR research company in Beijing, it could take a while for VR to really take over the world.

The city of Changchun, Jilin province got something special, on Sept 13 — its first 3D-painted bus that gives a feel of diving into the sea and coming into close contact with it.

The idea for the bus, which belongs to the Beida Co, came from Wang Zhi, an employee who took part in its creation competition not long ago, and who comments “I’ve seen 3D buses in other cities and suggested that we have one here.”

The bus, which is also decorated by sea dolls and handicrafts like “dolphins”, and “starfish”, runs from Yanminghu villa to the lakeside street and stops at Beihuancheng Rd. They choose “Sea Tour” as the theme because the color blue and cute creatures might make passengers more relaxed, especially in traffic jams, says Wang.

Mrs. Liu, who is one of the first passengers, says, “It’s marvelous and I feel like I’m diving into the sea.” “I take the bus to work every day and the decoration makes me feel good on the way,” says Zhang Min, a citizen in Changchun.

Some passengers ask the driver for the bus timetable, saying they want to bring their families and friends to enjoy the fun, while the driver, Gu Zhenning, says, “I’m even happier than the passengers working in such a comfortable environment.”

The company says it will promote the use of these buses to make the ride more comfortable and enjoyable.