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Note: The question was originally asking about the difference between the gpt-4 and gpt-4-0314. As of June 15, 2023, there are new snapshot models available (e.g., gpt-4-0613) so the question and its answer are also relevant for any future snapshot models that will come in the following months.

Can anyone help explain the difference to me between gpt-4 and gpt-4-0314 (which appear on the OpenAI playground dropdown menu below)? I have checked various search engines and its not clear from the OpenAI forum results.

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GPT-4-0314 could refer to a specific version or release of GPT-4 with a particular set of updates or improvements, perhaps released on March 14th. Anyone any experience of the differences, feedback would be welcome.

Rok Benko
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Christopher
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1 Answers1

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Note: For better understanding, please read the whole answer along with the update below.

OpenAI does incremental model updates, as stated in the official OpenAI documentation:

As announced in March 2023, we regularly release new versions of gpt-4 and gpt-3.5-turbo.

Each model version is dated with an -MMDD suffix; e.g., gpt-4-0613. The undated model name, e.g., gpt-4, will typically point to the latest version (e.g. gpt-4 points to gpt-4-0613). Users of undated model names will be notified by email typically 2 weeks before any change takes place.

After a new version is launched, older versions will typically be deprecated 3 months later.

Also, see the official OpenAI documentation on models for additional explanation:

LATEST MODEL DESCRIPTION MAX TOKENS TRAINING DATA
gpt-4 More capable than any GPT-3.5 model, able to do more complex tasks, and optimized for chat. Will be updated with our latest model iteration. 8,192 tokens Up to Sep 2021
gpt-4-0314 Snapshot of gpt-4 from March 14th 2023. Unlike gpt-4, this model will not receive updates, and will only be supported for a three month period ending on June 14th 2023. 8,192 tokens Up to Sep 2021
gpt-4-32k Same capabilities as the base gpt-4 mode but with 4x the context length. Will be updated with our latest model iteration. 32,768 tokens Up to Sep 2021
gpt-4-32k-0314 Snapshot of gpt-4-32 from March 14th 2023. Unlike gpt-4-32k, this model will not receive updates, and will be deprecated 3 months after a new version is released. 32,768 tokens Up to Sep 2021

This means that if there are any new improvements or updates made to the GPT-4 after March 14, 2023, those changes will not be reflected in this particular snapshot version (i.e., gpt-4-0314). It's kind of like taking a picture of the GPT-4 at a certain point in time and not being able to add any new features or upgrades to that specific picture once it's been taken.

All deprecated models are listed in the official OpenAI documentation.

UPDATE: June 15, 2023

June 14, 2023, is over. Consequently, both models gpt-4-0314 and gpt-4-32k-0314 are now listed as deprecated. See the screenshot below.

Screenshot 1

But if you read the official OpenAI documentation carefully, you'll see the following:

Based on developer feedback, we are extending support for gpt-3.5-turbo-0301 and gpt-4-0314 models in the OpenAI API until at least June 13, 2024. We've updated our June 13 blog post with more details. On June 13, 2023, we announced new chat model versions in the Function calling and other API updates blog post. The three original versions will be retired in June 2024 at the earliest.

Initially, OpenAI announced that on June 15, 2023, both models gpt-4-0314 and gpt-4-32k-0314 would be immediately deprecated and replaced by gpt-4-0613 and gpt-4-32k-0613. Now they have changed their plans based on developer feedback and will still support gpt-4-0314 and gpt-4-32k-0314 until at least June 13, 2024. In the meantime, new models gpt-4-0613 and gpt-4-32k-0613 are already available.

The idea of gpt-4-0613 and gpt-4-32k-0613 remains the same. Both models are snapshots. See the table below.

LATEST MODEL DESCRIPTION MAX TOKENS TRAINING DATA
gpt-4 More capable than any GPT-3.5 model, able to do more complex tasks, and optimized for chat. Will be updated with our latest model iteration 2 weeks after it is released. 8,192 tokens Up to Sep 2021
gpt-4-0613 Snapshot of gpt-4 from June 13th 2023 with function calling data. Unlike gpt-4, this model will not receive updates, and will be deprecated 3 months after a new version is released. 8,192 tokens Up to Sep 2021
gpt-4-32k Same capabilities as the base gpt-4 mode but with 4x the context length. Will be updated with our latest model iteration. 32,768 tokens Up to Sep 2021
gpt-4-32k-0613 Snapshot of gpt-4-32 from June 13th 2023. Unlike gpt-4-32k, this model will not receive updates, and will be deprecated 3 months after a new version is released. 32,768 tokens Up to Sep 2021
Rok Benko
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  • So what does a snapshot mean in this context? It's not the training data, as both models are up to the same date – noamt Apr 04 '23 at 15:32
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    @noamt It means "Unlike gpt-4, this model will not receive updates, and will only be supported for a three month period ending on June 14th 2023.". That's literally it. So GPT-4 will get updates and the snapshot won't. – Hack-R Apr 07 '23 at 21:51
  • I wonder if this is because of legal reasons - the snapshot might be before they were accused of training on illegal data – Janac Meena May 02 '23 at 20:42
  • @JanacMeena Hm, I never thought of that. One possible reason could also be that if they make an update to the `gpt-4` model and it turns out for some reason that the previous version worked better for you, you can still use it. In other words, you have multiple versions of the GPT-4 model, so you can pick whichever you want. Kind of having a "beta" (i.e., `gpt-4`) and a "stable" version (i.e., `gpt-4-0314`). – Rok Benko May 03 '23 at 07:22
  • What is gpt-06-13? – Anshuman Kumar Aug 09 '23 at 08:37
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    @AnshumanKumar First of all, it's `gpt-4-0613`, not `gpt-06-13`. The logic is exactly the same as in my answer above, which means that `gpt-4-0613` is just a snapshot of `gpt-4` from June 13, 2023, with function calling data. Unlike `gpt-4`, this model will not receive updates, and will be deprecated 3 months after a new version is released. Read the official [OpenAI documentation](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/gpt-4). – Rok Benko Aug 09 '23 at 11:06