I asked GPT (via Bing) for a five paragraph explanation. Here's what it wrote:

Sure, I'll try to explain what a transformer is in the context of AI tools like ChatGPT, and what attention references in this context. Here is a five paragraph explanation:

*Paragraph 1: What is a transformer?*
A transformer is a type of neural network that can process sequential data, such as natural language text, by learning the context and meaning of the data elements. A neural network is a computer program that can learn from data and perform tasks such as classification, regression, generation, etc. A transformer can take an input sequence, such as a sentence or a paragraph, and convert it into another sequence, such as a translation or a summary. A transformer can also generate sequences from scratch, such as writing a poem or a story.

*Paragraph 2: How does a transformer work?*
A transformer works by using two main components: encoders and decoders. An encoder takes an input sequence and converts it into a vector representation called an encoding. A decoder takes an encoding and converts it back into an output sequence. Both the encoder and the decoder use a technique called attention to focus on the relevant parts of the input and output sequences. Attention is a way of measuring how much each element in a sequence influences or depends on another element.

*Paragraph 3: What is attention?*
Attention is a mathematical technique that allows a transformer to learn the relationships between the elements in a sequence. For example, in a machine translation task, attention allows the transformer to translate words like 'it' into the correct gender in another language by looking at all the relevant words in the original sentence. Attention also allows the transformer to handle long sequences without losing information or context. There are different types of attention, such as self-attention, cross-attention, global attention, local attention, etc.

*Paragraph 4: Why are transformers important?*
Transformers are important because they are among the most powerful and versatile types of neural networks invented to date. They can handle many types of sequential data, such as text, speech, images, videos, etc. They can perform many tasks, such as machine translation, text summarization, text generation, image captioning, speech recognition, etc. They can also learn from large amounts of data and make accurate predictions that drive their wider use.

*Paragraph 5: What are some examples of transformers?*
Some examples of transformers are:

- ChatGPT: A transformer that can generate realistic and engaging conversations based on a given topic or context.
- BERT: A transformer that can understand natural language and answer questions or perform other tasks based on it.
- GPT-3: A transformer that can generate text for any purpose or domain based on a few words or sentences.
- DALL-E: A transformer that can generate images from text descriptions.
- AlphaStar: A transformer that can play the strategy game StarCraft at a superhuman level.

I hope this explanation helps you understand what a transformer is and what attention references in this context.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 5/17/2023
(1) What Is a Transformer Model? | NVIDIA Blogs. https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2022/03/25/what-is-a-transform....
(2) Transformer Neural Network Definition | DeepAI. https://deepai.org/machine-learning-glossary-and-terms/trans....
(3) Generative AI: AI Transformers. https://lablab.ai/blog/generative-ai-ai-transformers.
(4) The Ultimate Guide to Transformer Deep Learning - Turing. https://www.turing.com/kb/brief-introduction-to-transformers....
(5) How Transformers Work. Transformers are a type of neural… | by Giuliano .... https://towardsdatascience.com/transformers-141e32e69591.