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New technological advancement is always attention-grabbing. Data science and its applications have been the front-runner of attention for years. 2023 started strong with OpenAI releasing an AI-based chatbot, ChatGPT. The release of ChatGPT has been thunderous, with everyone using it in different ways, challenging the limits of AI and the chatbot itself. It even triggered other companies like Notion to build better chatbots to challenge and overcome ChatBGT.

Not just companies but also many data scientists, both novices and experts, played with the idea of building their own version of ChatGPT to gain more knowledge and experience in building AI-based chatbots or to challenge and grow their skills. You reading this article means you also thought about making a ChatGPT-like chatbot or are just curious about what it takes to build such a tool.

This article will review the knowledge you need to know to build your version of ChatGPT. But before we jump into the technical knowledge we need to develop a chatbot, let's talk briefly about what it takes to build a chatbot.

Since we are considering building a ChatBGT-like chatbot, which is a web-based chatbot, we will need to consider two parts when designing and building the chatbot. The front end (how the chatbot looks), what the user will interact with, and the core of the chatbot (the backend), or what we will call the brains of the chatbot.

Let's dive into some courses that will give you the knowledge you need to build an AI-based chatbot that looks good and functions well. Then, we suggest a course for each element to get you all the tools you need to build your ChatGPT.

 

The Looks

 

First, we will start with what it takes to build the looks of the chatbot; the more initiative your chatbot looks, the better the user experience will be. So, what do you know to make a good interface for your chatbot?

 

UI Design

 

There are two aspects of how a webpage looks: general aesthetics and the design's intuitive design. The feeling of the webpage (the chatbot in our case) is the UI (User Interface) design.

When you build a chatbot, knowing the fundamental principles of user interface design is essential. This course offered by CalArts will give you an understanding of the fundamentals of UI design.

 

UX Design

 

A beautiful design with color is good, but if it's challenging to navigate, then how it looks will matter little. Here is where knowing the basics of UX (User experience) comes in handy. UX is the art of designing applications that are easy to navigate and use, hence providing a better experience for anyone using that app. For example, if we want to build a good chatbot, it must look good and be easy and intuitive. CalArts also offers a course to help you gain the knowledge you need to make a chatbot with good UX.

 

HTML & CSS

 

Since we are trying to build a web-based, we need to know how to build web applications. That means we need to know some HTML and CSS. Of course, today, we can use many services to help develop a webpage without writing HTML or CSS.

But knowing them will give you more control of what you're building and the details of it. This course from CodeAcademy will help you learn the basics of HTML and CSS. Or you can check out this guided project from Coursera that you can get done in under 2 hours.

Image by Author
 

The Brains

 

Now that we designed how the chatbot looks, let's get into building its brains. We want to build an AI-based chatbot, so we must master the basics of data science, programming, and AI. We can divide the brains of ChatGPT into two sections, the basics of data science and the core of chatbots. Now let’s look at each of those in a bit of detail.

 

The Fundamentals of Data Science

 

Programming and Math

 

Data science and all its applications are based on some math knowledge (probability theory and linear algebra) and programming. However, if you already know the basics of data science, you can skip this step and move to the core of building the heart of the chatbots section.

If ChatGPT got you curious about starting your journey in data science applications, this course by Harvard University would help you get your foot in by providing the math and programming knowledge you need to begin building chatbots!

 

Machine Learning

 

Once you're comfortable writing code and know some math, we can now move on to one of the fundamental building blocks of any data science application, machine learning. Machine learning is a collection of algorithms and techniques used to make computers smarter. You can learn the basics of machine learning using this course from Stanford University.

 

The Core of Chatbots

 

Chatbots are a category of data science, namely, natural language processing, that aims to create a system for the user to converse with. When can categorize chatbots based on their main functionality into three categories:

1. Simple NLP ChatBots.
2. Implications-based ChatBots
3. Intelligence-based ChatBots

The first type is a basic chatbot with a simple conversation with the user; the second type is often used to deal with the users' problems. Those are usually the support bots on most websites. Finally, the third type simulates and predicts how the user may interact with the UI. Looking closely at ChatGPT, we will notice it's a mix of those three types. To build an AI-based chatbot, we need to know the basics of natural language processing (NLP), AI, and the fundamentals of building a chatbot.

 

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Natural Language Processing

 

This Udemy course will get you comfortable with NLP, what it means, its fundamentals, and its various applications, including chatbots.

 

Chatbot Basics

 

Covering the basics of NLP is the first step to building a chatbot. Once you know the basics, we can get into more details on how to design and build chatbots, mainly using this course.

 

Artificial Intelligence

 

For your chatbot to feel realistic and have engaging conversations with the user, the chatbot needs to be intelligent or resemble human intelligence. To do that, we will use AI. Hence we need to learn how to apply AI techniques to our chatbot. This course from DeepLearning.AI covers the basics of AI and how to use it to build chatbots.

 

Conclusion

 

ChatGPT has been the media's focus recently for an excellent reason. It is clear evidence of how powerful technology can be. It proves we can design great tools that make our lives easier and challenge us to be and do better simultaneously.

ChatGPT triggered the curiosity of so many people, both those in tech and outside, to know how such a tool can be built. Though some may feel like developing such a tool must be complex, the core of building a chatbot is more straightforward than it seems.

This article discussed what you need to know to build a ChatBGT-like chatbot. So, next time you have a free weekend, you can try building a chatbot; maybe the chatbot result will be the one that competes with ChatGPT!

 
 
Sara Metwalli is a Ph.D. candidate at Keio University researching ways to test and debug quantum circuits. I am an IBM research intern and Qiskit advocate helping build a more quantum future. I am also a writer on Medium, Built-in, She Can Code, and KDN writing articles about programming, data science, and tech topics. I am also a lead in the Woman Who Code Python international chapter, a train enthusiast, a traveler, and a photography lover.