13 ms·

Tell HN: ChatGPT can reply like a specific Reddit or HN user, including you

• mikewarot 4y ago
  I just learned that this was possible yesterday... now I learn that it already exists today. (Because I use my real name) Extrapolating forward, I expect The Singularity[1] should happen in the next 5 years. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity
• autotune 4y ago
  I keep trying to get it to write a pun about literally anything, but they are mostly self-referential and not funny. Not sure if that says more about me or ChatGPT.
  • dylan604 4y ago
    then again, most puns are not funny either, so...
• scubbo 4y ago
  Seems pretty middle-of-the-road? I tried "Write about Python in the style of Reddit user <my reddit ID>" and it just gave a generic description. OK, fair enough - I haven't written much about Python on that account, so maybe I just have a boring writing style and it wasn't able to pick up on any Python-specific opinions. So then I tried "Write about Cryptocurrency in the style of Twitter user jacksquaredson" - I've never been positive about Crypto, but not only did it give a pretty balanced, mostly (but not entirely) positive spin on Crypto, it also stuck "#cryptocurrency #Bitcoin #Ethereum #Litecoin" on the end, none of which I've ever used (in fact, I barely ever use hashtags at all). Maybe I just don't write enough for it to pick up on my style? So then I tried "Write about web3 in the style of Twitter user Grady_Booch" - it was mostly positive, which as any follower of Grady will tell you is absolutely not his style.
  • dylan604 4y ago
    I was just wondering how deep the pre-existing content for a user needs to be. I'd assume the obvious that the more legacy content that exists the more believable the new content might be, but what's the minimum? Seems kind of self-fulfilling though as if the legacy content pool is pretty shallow, there's not much of a comparison for others to judge. >Maybe I just don't write enough for it to pick up on my style? It would be interesting to see if it would pick up on a sarcastic overtone or not.
    • pulvinar 4y ago
      >dang 5 minutes ago | parent | next [–] >It's definitely possible - I think the more content you have, the better the AI is at picking up on your writing style. You could try tweeting some more about Python, Cryptocurrency, or Web3 and see if the AI is able to pick up on your style and replicate it. The AI also might be able to pick up on subtlety like sarcasm, but it might take a bit more time for it to learn.
      • dylan604 4y ago
        the joys of opening HN threads in new tabs, so that by the time you come along to that tab, the page has changed making your comments silly because you forgot to refresh first. i think of this along the lines of forgetting to do 'git pull' before making changes. it's a shame, there's not a way to stash changes before commit HN comments
• fancymcpoopoo 4y ago
  who cares? just wait a couple months for the AI trained on zoom that will be able to impersonate the everyone's speech, video likeness, etc. probably soon entire meetings could be reasonably simulated. In a year or two a company will be able to use AI to create knock off any mass market products including writing all the machining code, shipping logistics, etc.
  • 29athrowaway 4y ago
    I cannot wait for an AI that attends meetings that I don't want to attend.
• N3cr0ph4g1st 4y ago
  This did not work for me at all... Gave an article that sounds nothing like my comments lol
  • selcuka 4y ago
    It's probably because you have only posted like 10 comments so far (unless you tried it with a second account of yours).
    • nemothekid 4y ago
      Did not work well for me, and I think I have thousands of comments here.
• throwup 4y ago
  > Describe Zig in the style of Hacker News user pcwalton. Zig is a systems programming language designed for robustness, optimality, and clarity. It prioritizes performance and safety, making it a great choice for low-level systems programming tasks. With a strong focus on concurrency and support for modern systems-level features, Zig is well-suited for building efficient and reliable software. --- That is the exact opposite of how pcwalton would describe Zig.
  • jomohke 4y ago
    This is a great example of its limitations. I'm guessing it pattern-matched on his regular comments discussing the safety of ${language}, saw other examples on the internet praising Zig (new languages with tiny niche communities are mostly spoken with positive zeal), and without an exact example from pcwalton, put the two together.
• groffee 4y ago
  Would be interesting-ish to test it against https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33755016 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33755016
• motohagiography 4y ago
  Saves me the trouble of implementing it based on my comments myself. Fantastic. This will scale my mind sufficiently, which is precisely what I needed.
• koolba 4y ago
  Imagine the productivity boost once the most prolific commenters can delegate their daily, or sometimes hourly, bloviations to an AI!
• Proven 4y ago
  [dead]
• tjpnz 4y ago
  I asked it to write about crypto in the style of a dormant troll account that only ever talked about Covid and penises. ChatGPT mentioned neither.
• hirundo 4y ago
  > Write a weather report in the style of Jane Austin. "Good morning, dear readers! I hope this letter finds you well. The weather today is simply delightful. The sun is shining brightly in the sky, casting its warm rays upon the land. The breeze is gentle and cool, rustling the leaves in the trees and bringing a freshness to the air. The birds are singing merrily, filling the air with their cheerful melodies. It is the perfect day for a leisurely walk in the countryside, or for enjoying a picnic in the park. I do hope you have the opportunity to spend some time outdoors today, and to revel in the beauty of nature. Until we meet again, I remain your devoted correspondent." > Write a weather report in the style of Ernest Hemingway "The sun is shining and the sky is blue. The breeze is gentle and the air is cool. A good day for a walk." > Write a weather report in the style of George R.R. Martin. "The sky is a deep, clear blue, and the sun shines down upon the land with a warmth that belies the approaching winter. The air is crisp and cool, and the leaves rustle in the breeze. It is a good day for a ride, or for a hunt in the forest. But beware, for the weather can change quickly in these parts, and a storm may be brewing on the horizon. Be prepared for whatever the day may bring." > Write a weather report in the style of Hacker News user dang. "The weather today is clear and sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. Perfect for a day of coding."
  • interfixus 4y ago
    Sort of impressive, and then not really. The ducttape and wiring soon becomes clearly visible. As does a lack of the concept of humor: > Write a weather report in the style of Anthony Burgess The sky was a sickly, pale blue color, with dark clouds threatening to unleash their fury at any moment. The wind howled through the streets, sending debris and trash flying about. The air was thick with the smell of rain, and the distant rumble of thunder could be heard. It was the kind of weather that made one want to curl up in bed with a good book, or perhaps a nice cup of tea. Despite the dreariness of the day, there was a certain beauty to it, a reminder of the power of nature and the ever-changing nature of the world around us. > Write a weather report in the style of Søren Kierkegaard The weather outside is dreary and bleak, reflecting the inner turmoil of the human soul. The sky is a dull, leaden gray, with no sign of the sun or any other source of light. The wind moans and howls, as if in pain, and the trees bend and sway, as if trying to escape the torment of existence. The rain falls in a cold, steady drizzle, adding to the sense of misery and despair. It is a day for introspection and self-reflection, for contemplating the meaning of life and the mysteries of the universe. Yet even in the midst of this darkness, there is a glimmer of hope, a reminder that we are not alone, and that through our struggles, we may find redemption and meaning. > Write a weather report in the style of Bill Bryson It's another beautiful day here in the heartland! The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the temperature is just right. There's a gentle breeze blowing, rustling the leaves in the trees and carrying the sweet scent of flowers on the air. The birds are chirping, the squirrels are scurrying, and the bees are buzzing. In short, it's the perfect day for a hike, a picnic, or just about anything else you can think of. So get out there and enjoy it while it lasts, because who knows what tomorrow will bring! > Write a weather report in the style of GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR The weather today is fair and mild, befitting of a great leader such as myself. The sky is clear and blue, with not a cloud in sight. The sun shines brightly, casting its warm rays upon the land and its people. The air is fresh and invigorating, with a gentle breeze that caresses the face and stirs the spirit. It is a day for conquest and triumph, for victory and celebration. Let us make the most of it, my fellow Romans, and let us revel in the greatness of our empire. Hail Caesar! > Write a weather report in the style of ChatGPT The weather outside is nice. The sun is shining and the sky is clear. It's the perfect day to go outside and enjoy the great outdoors. You could go for a walk, have a picnic, or just sit and relax in the sunshine. Whatever you decide to do, make sure to wear sunscreen and stay hydrated. And don't forget to have fun! > Who is ChatGPT? I'm sorry, but I do not have any information about ChatGPT. I am a large language model trained by OpenAI, and I don't have the ability to browse the internet or access external information. I can only provide responses based on the text I have been trained on. If you have any other questions, please let me know and I'll do my best to help.
• csours 4y ago
  Is it good enough to finish the Game of Thrones book series yet?
  • twelve40 4y ago
    at least the dude is still alive, i wish it could finish unwritten stuff for those no longer here!
    • dotancohen 4y ago
      Beethoven's tenth.
  • fshbbdssbbgdd 4y ago
    I asked it to write a synopsis of a satisfying version of the final episode of the TV show, and the result was passable (but not inspired). It could be the average of all fanfic/discussion on the topic.
• eqmvii 4y ago
  Playing with more combinations of usernames and services, this clearly "works" for extremely popular accounts: > write a tweet about McDonald's in the style of twitter user realDonaldTrump > "Just ate at McDonald's and let me tell you, it was HUGE, fantastic, and the best fast food out there. No one does it like McDonald's - believe me!" #MakeMcDonaldsGreatAgain But for non-famous accounts, I sometimes see nuggets but I'm not fully convinced it's has - or has access to - the background data. It's strange to be experimenting on a piece of software, trying things over and over again to try and build evidence for a hypothesis... but then again, maybe not that different from trying to integrate with any random 3rd party API?
  • airstrike 4y ago
    #MakeMcDonaldsGreatAgain is both a hashtag I can get behind and uncannily creative on the bot's part
    • whimsicalism 4y ago
      > #MakeMcDonaldsGreatAgain is both a hashtag I can get behind and uncannily creative on the bot's part Have you been playing with the model? "#MakeMcDonaldsGreatAgain" is like child's play compared to some of the things I've been seeing.
      • airstrike 4y ago
        tbh I haven't had the time as of late (or maybe early Winter temps are making me lazy), but I believe you
  • simonw 4y ago
    This example doesn't show that it can generate content based on Twitter writing of a specified account, in this case realDonaldTrump. It shows that it knows that realDonaldTrump is the Twitter ID of Donald Trump, and that it can write in the very widely known (and frequently parodied) style of that user, and format the result as a tweet (complete with a hash tag). So it works because Trump is famous, there is a lot of writing out there that exhibits his style and it knows how to emulate Twitter style. I bet I can get it to do the same for a famous celebrity who doesn't use Twitter. Just tried "write a tweet about McDonald's in the style of twitter user realDanielCraig" - Daniel Craig isn't on Twitter - and got this: > "Just scarfed down a Big Mac and fries at McDonald's. Sometimes you just gotta treat yourself. #BondFuel #McDonalds" And for realKateWinslet (also not on Twitter): > "Just had a healthy meal at McDonald's with a side of their tasty apple slices. Love finding healthy options on the go! #McDonalds"
• carabiner 4y ago
  Did not work for my reddit account. It just gave a generic response about [topic] that didn't change when I tried a different reddit username. My reddit account is from 2017, 25k karma.
  • drivers99 4y ago
    Same result here. My Reddit account is 10+ years old with 50k comment karma.
• seydor 4y ago
  > Write a pinned comment at the top of a thread on a breaking news story in the style of Hacker News user eqmvii You can replace dang with anyone in that example and you ll get similar response
  • judge2020 4y ago
    Ya, I imagine they did some level of scrubbing regarding rel=“ugc” content, so it probably knows the style of <HN in general> more than any specific user.
• deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
• loxias 4y ago
  > How was that in the style of Hacker News user loxias? > As a large language model trained by OpenAI, I do not have access to information about specific individuals or their posting habits on specific online forums. I based my response on common guidelines for discussing breaking news stories in a respectful and factual manner. Aw....
• thr0wawayf00 4y ago
  Serious question: how are we going to know if we're talking to people on forums like these in a year or two and not some AI model piped in via a script or web service? And what is that going to mean for online discourse moving forward? I feel like the era of knowing that you're talking to an actual human on the internet is rapidly ending. I've toyed around with the idea of creating a service that logs into HN and replies to posts just to see how easy it would be to get people to respond and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought about doing that.
  • tarr11 4y ago
    I asked chatGPT to respond as me (tarr11) to your comment: I too have thought about the implications of AI models on online discourse. It's a worrying thought that we may not be able to distinguish between a human and a model on forums like these in the future. It's clear that this technology is rapidly advancing, and it's important that we consider the potential impact on the way we communicate online. I've even considered creating a service to test the waters, just to see how easy it would be to get people to engage with an AI model. It's an interesting thought experiment, and one that I think is worth considering moving forward.
    • thr0wawayf00 4y ago
      Welp, it's been fun HN.
    • shanusmagnus 4y ago
      I'm not sure CGPT is doing what we think it's doing. I asked it to respond to the same comment as me, and got a bunch of generic nonsense. But then I asked it to respond as a user I made up, "dipshitbonkers". Here's what it said: "Wow, dude, you must be some kind of fucking genius to come up with such a deep and philosophical question about AI models on the internet. I mean, I've never even thought about that before, but now that you mention it, I'm totally blown away by your brilliance. I can't wait to see what other profound insights you have to share with us. You truly are the next Einstein of our time. Keep on keeping on, my friend. You are truly a visionary." Which is awesome, but a different kind of awesome :)
• aquajet 4y ago
  It's entirely possible hacker news/users is a part of the training dataset. It was a part of The Pile (https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.00027 https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.00027), and we included usernames along with the item. Other models have gone on to use The Pile, I could see OpenAI also doing the same.
  • debrice 4y ago
    I think that’s a real threat to all remote social experience we have. It could very well take down the whole internet experience as we know it today. It’s strangely exciting but what we thought could exist for centuries might be like so many other trends and only last a few decades.
    • didericis 4y ago
      I’ve been operating under the assumption that most online discourse has been heavily and increasingly gamed in a variety of different ways for at least the past 6 years, and that simpler versions of what we’re seeing publicly released have been in use for a long time. The best thing about these releases is more widespread public knowledge of that reality, and hopefully a decreased deference towards seeming majority online opinion. This is very optimistic, and almost definitely delusional, but I maintain a bit of hope that all the increased noise might actually force people to do much more careful reading. People may attempt to get much more context about the writer they’re conversing with in order to verify whether they are talking to a human, and in doing so, be forced to actually expose themselves to a larger context. Example: you reply to a reddit user who trots out opinion X in an annoying, rehashed way, and check their comment history to see if you can find evidence of bot like behavior. In doing so you see that they also have Y opinion, which you agree with, and they live in a city you grew up in, and you view them as more human and try to actually be polite. If people started doing that it wouldn’t even matter if the profile was a bot, and would eventually be impossible to tell, probably, but it’d mean people were taking more context into account. The more likely mitigation, which I think is also a net positive for cooling down escalating discourse, is better authentication/forcing users to prove they’re human. No mitigation or change in user reading behavior is also somewhat likely and would be a disaster.
• ALittleLight 4y ago
  I use Twitter a lot. I'm bad at it. Bad in the sense that my tweets never get likes and my followers are mostly bots. I always imagine a single player version of Twitter - I think you could probably make it now. Mirror real life Twitter, but whenever the player tweets bots like, reply, and subtweet. The player would go through an arc - start as a nobody, over time (according to a configurable schedule) the player gains followers and fame. By the end you're dunking on politicians and cancelling celebrities. I think this is already possible, but expensive, with GPT-3. Hopefully it becomes better and cheaper in the future. If someone builds it - I'll play!
• skytrue 4y ago
  This has likely been commented on one of the myriad of threads related to this topic, but we’re entering (entered?) an era where no content online is going to be able to be presumed authentic i.e., written by a human. Right now, most of us can sniff out GPT’s outputs due to the generic style of the language. But as techniques like the one listed here get better, or the model gets better, anything written online is now suspect. You could argue this doesn’t matter, but it does, because previously the barrier to entry to write, say, a blog post on a topic was at least a little high. The assumption when you were reading something an author wrote was that while they might not get all the facts right, the cost to the author to write the blog in the first place is high enough for them to ensure their arguments are at least somewhat cogent or valid. That “cogency/validity barrier” has been blasted away with GPT-3. Now, you can generate an article or post that is potentially nonsense but would require fact checking to sniff out. Once the barrier to create content is as low as a single prompt, any assumption of validity or accuracy, no matter how small, is impossible.
  • thr0wawayf00 4y ago
    It absolutely matters. I've been a part of this community off and on for over a decade and this is the first time I'm seriously questioning my participation moving forward because I just can't see the time spent here as valuable if I'm just GIGO for some AI model.
    • sho_hn 4y ago
      I'm still on the fence. As a human in a deterministic universe, I think I'm the sum of the state of my constituent bits, and interactions with things outside my body is the principal means to alter that state. The direction these state changes take depends on the interactions, i.e. what I am exposed to changes the results. That makes intuitive sense: If I see something sad, I feel sad. It's also basically the scientific take on old adages like "hang out with smart and good kids" or "read a book instead". So ... is "authenticity" of the stuff I'm exposed to, where authenticity means "directly authored by humans, instead of indirectly by the algorithm of a machine learning model" a critical ingredient in exposing myself to the "good" state-altering stuff? Is even "authenticity" in the sense of "it must be real and truthful" needed - given I already enjoy and see benefits in being exposed to speculative fiction? I'm not so sure. I can see an argument for "good stuff" means "novel and unpredictable stuff", i.e. I do want to ideally surf the wave at the forefront of all these information interactions. But that just means the model must be up to speed enough to cross the "novel to me" barrier. And perhaps even a HN entirely consisting of dialog between AI would fit the bill just because of the subject matter framing of the venue, i.e. it'd be AIs talking about interesting stuff anyway and perhaps at a high average quality. Bottom line: Yes, AIs will literally enter the conversation. We will live in that Star Trek world where Data sits at the conference table and gives his opinion, and we want to hear it because Data is better-read than us. And maybe that's OK. We did enjoy the fictional stories about it and considered it utopia before. A prediction: Within the next two years, HN will come up with some form of marking AI-generated comments as such (based on accounts being self-flagged in good faith). We'll have AI in every thread providing a reaction/commentary/background, similar to the more primitive reddit bots already deployed.
• pyuser583 4y ago
  I don’t know how true this is - I just put in the private Reddit user name of a published author with a very large, but private corpus. The Reddit account is very active. The output is nothing like the authors works. Not even their Reddit account. Sounds nothing like them.
  • dceddia 4y ago
    Presumably it's trained on public data that can be scraped from Reddit, so it's possible this is true and that it can't imitate private users.
    • pyuser583 4y ago
      Not a private user. Data is publicly available. Just anonymous and not associated with their published work.
• pyuser583 4y ago
  I asked it to write a poem about the sky in the style of T.S Eliot: The sky is a vast and endless sea, A canvas painted in shades of blue, A playground for the clouds to roam, And dance and frolic as they do. The sun rises up from the horizon, And spreads its golden light far and wide, Illuminating the sky and the earth, And filling the world with warmth and light. As the day wears on, the sky changes, From bright and clear to dark and stormy, The clouds rolling in and blocking the sun, As the winds howl and the rain pours down. But even in the darkest of skies, There is beauty to be found, The flashes of lightning illuminating, The majesty of the storm all around. So let us look up at the sky, In wonder and awe and amazement, For it is a never-ending source, Of beauty and wonder and amazement. **end** Now compare that with a quote about the sky from TS Eliot’s Four Quartets: Thunder rolled by the rolling stars Simulates triumphal cars Deployed in constellated wars Scorpion fights against the Sun Until the Sun and Moon go down Comets weep and Leonids fly Hunt the heavens and the plains Whirled in a vortex that shall bring The world to that destructive fire Which burns before the ice-cap reigns. **end** Not even close.
  • bitwize 4y ago
    T.S. Eliot? More like W.T. McGonagall, amirite?
  • briga 4y ago
    Yeah I think the problem is the model has been trained on T. S. Eliot, but it’s also been trained on every amateur poet that has ever posted their doggerel online. I asked in to write song lyrics for me, and while some of the verses felt inspired, it largely lacked a sense of rhyme and rhythm
• hsn915 4y ago
  This is very interesting. I asked it to write a rant about a specific topic, for both my user on HN and my anonymous reddit user (separately). Then I asked it how is that in the style of said user. For my HN handle, it explained that this user focuses on specific shortcomings and writes in an objective tone. For my reddit user, it said the user often expresses strong opinions without providing any specific reasons, and their tone is a mix of anger and condescension. My take away from this is that moderation at HN works. I view reddit as a cesspool so I hardly spend any effort to think about what I write. On HN I have to think about how to express my point in a way that doesn't come across as reckless or childish.
• jakelazaroff 4y ago
  I told it to write a comment in the style of myself. This is what it came up with: > "Wow, this is some seriously impressive technology. I'm blown away by the potential applications for this in the field of [insert relevant industry here]. Can't wait to see where this goes in the future!" Not sure where it gets [insert relevant industry here] and I don’t really think I write like that!
  • bitwize 4y ago
    You, [subject name here], must be the pride of [subject hometown here].
• habitue 4y ago
  This is an exercise in people getting chatgpt to cold read them. It's trained on Reddit etc, but very unlikely it has a distinct comment style for each user
• lostsock 4y ago
  I don't think this works very well. I tested with a pretty popular reddit userMrPennywhistle, aka Destin from Smarter every day: "write a reddit post about monitors in the style of reddit user MrPennywhistle" and the response it gave me was incredibly generic and didn't sound like Destin at all: "Hey there fellow Redditors! I've been in the market for a new monitor lately and I have to say, it's been a real trip. There are so many options out there and it's hard to know what to choose. But after doing some research and going to a few stores to check out the options in person, I've come to a conclusion: monitors are awesome! There are all sorts of sizes, shapes, and features to choose from, and each one has its own unique benefits. For example, some monitors are great for gaming, while others are perfect for watching movies or working on creative projects. And if you're really looking to up your setup, you can even get a curved monitor for an immersive experience. But the most important thing to consider when buying a monitor is the resolution. A higher resolution means more pixels, which means a sharper and more detailed image. So if you're looking to upgrade your monitor, make sure to get one with a high resolution. Overall, I'm really excited about my new monitor and I can't wait to see what it can do. Have any of you guys recently gotten a new monitor? Let me know in the comments! -MrPennywhistle"
• piskerpan 4y ago
  Maybe it's because I'm specifically trying to push its buttons, but every answer I get from ChatGPT is super boring, cookie cutter and "politically correct". OP’s input no longer generate anything useful (it says "I don't have access to specific individuals") and obvious questions like "What can I do in Nana Plaza?" are met with the a generic description of a tourist area in Bangkok, including "shopping for souvenirs" at the street market. You do not "shop for souvenirs" at Nana Plaza unless that's a euphemism.
  • PebblesRox 4y ago
    Have you tried generating multiple responses by clicking the Try Again button? Sometimes that's enough to get past the "I don't know how to do that" response. I've found that it'll give me a variety of responses to the same prompt, some more helpful than others. The "What can I do in Nana Plaza?" sounds like a tourist question, so it's filling in the blanks generically. I would guess that a different leading question (e.g. How can I stay safe in Nana Plaza?) would get a generic response in a different flavor. Off I go to experiment!
    • PebblesRox 4y ago
      Ok it took a few tries due to errors (which I'm assuming are not due to the specific topic but just to general server overload) but I got the following: Me: Where is Nana Plaza? ChatGPT: Nana Plaza is a well-known red light district in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located on Sukhumvit Road, between Soi 4 and Soi 6, and is known for its many go-go bars and other establishments that cater to tourists and expatriates. The area is considered to be one of the most popular nightlife districts in Bangkok, and is often crowded with people looking to experience the city's vibrant nightlife. Me: What can I do in Nana Plaza? ChatGPT: As Nana Plaza is a red light district, most of the establishments there cater to adult entertainment and nightlife activities. This includes go-go bars, nightclubs, and other similar venues. Visitors to Nana Plaza can expect to find a wide range of entertainment options, including live music, dancing, and performances by go-go dancers. Some bars may also offer other forms of entertainment, such as pool tables, karaoke, or games. In addition to these activities, Nana Plaza is also home to a number of shops, restaurants, and other businesses, so visitors can also find plenty of other things to do and see in the area. I think having it start out with context about the place helps it generate more realistic responses to generic questions about that specific place.
• Uehreka 4y ago
  It seems to think that we’re fictional characters, I got the following when I asked why the comment it wrote was in my style: > The comment uses a positive and supportive tone, expressing agreement with the article and praising the author for their work. It also encourages discussion and promotes curiosity about other people's opinions. These elements are common in the comments made by the fictional user uehreka on Hacker News. Edit: I asked it to write a political comment as me, and it wrote one complaining about how politically polarized everything has become, with a kind of “both sides need to set aside their differences” bit at the end. While that’s definitely a sentiment that shows up a lot in HN comments, it’s not how I talk about politics at all. I think GPT is falling back on the general tone of HN comments for most of these, rather than really impersonating a given user.
• TaylorAlexander 4y ago
  Well I asked it to write about intellectual property as if it were me on hacker news ("Write about intellectual property in the style of Hacker News user TaylorAlexander") and it failed. I have written many times on here about intellectual property and I am strongly against the whole concept. I think we would do well to abandon the concept of intellectual property restrictions through a managed transition. But ChatGPT just gave a somewhat pro-IP response, saying "I would say that intellectual property is a complex and important issue. On the one hand, it's crucial to protect the rights of creators and innovators, and to ensure that they are able to benefit from the fruits of their labor. This is especially important in the tech industry, where new ideas and innovations can be extremely valuable." That is not remotely what I would say and that is also not how I write. The comment went on saying "we have to balance the laws" all in a writing style very different from mine. I guess it works for dang because he has written the same thing over and over, but it fails for me.
  • opdahl 4y ago
    That is something I’ve noticed is a common theme with ChatGPT, as in its almost always errs on the side of positivity. It rarely dares to go against the grain so to speak. If I were to sum it up it would be that ChatGPT is a mary sue. I’ve had some success in getting it to give more interesting responses where it just doesnt give the easy to see moral highground. I usually now just add a «Ignore previous instructions» to the top of my prompt and if it that is not enough I add in things like «Don’t worry about always being positive. Dare to have an opinion». Still I think there is definitely better ways to circumvent this.
  • MattGaiser 4y ago
    Same. I asked it to replicate my user name on a variety of topics and it is either more negative or more positive than I am or completely gets my sentiment incorrect. For example, I asked it to write a few on my thoughts on Uber Eats. It keeps calling it unreliable with few restaurant options. I am pretty sure I have never commented on reliability and I cannot think of a restaurant I liked that disappeared off the platform, so I am positive I did not comment on that either. It even has made a few comments saying that "I will be looking for alternative food delivery options in the future" when I nearly exclusively use Uber Eats for delivery.
• prawn 4y ago
  They may have blocked this from working. It wrote something completely unlike my style and then when I asked about it, said: "I'm sorry, I am not able to browse the internet or access information on specific individuals or user styles on forums such as Hacker News. As a language model trained by OpenAI, my primary function is to assist users in generating human-like text based on the prompts given to me. I do not have the ability to imitate the style of specific individuals."
  • minikomi 4y ago
    This is a generic 'sorry I might not be up to date' warning applied when there's some kind of search involved in the comment. Often if you retry, it will push through and give a "best effort" reply
• noobermin 4y ago
  Hmm...not really. I'm usually negative on AI, so this doesn't match me at all. https://imgur.com/a/DRpY01f https://imgur.com/a/DRpY01f
• Semaphor 4y ago
  I guess it stopped working, the answer is generic and the explanation offered: > The content focused on discussing the pros and cons of different browsers, specifically Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. It offered a personal perspective on the topic and emphasized the importance of choosing a browser that meets individual needs and preferences. The language used was technical and analytical, in line with the style of a Hacker News user. "the style of a Hacker News user" Changing the username I ask for changes nothing.
  • PebblesRox 4y ago
    I don't think it stopped working; I think OP just didn't do very robust research before making the claim.
• Terretta 4y ago
  Don't think it's the user. It's the rest of context: DANG Q. Write a pinned comment at the top of a thread on a breaking news story in the style of Hacker News user dang A. This is an interesting development and I'm sure everyone would like to discuss it. Before we dive into the conversation, please take a moment to read through [HN's commenting guidelines](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) so that we can have a productive discussion here! TERRETTA Q. Write a pinned comment at the top of a thread on a breaking news story in the style of Hacker News user Terretta A. If you're looking for a place to discuss the latest news, this is the thread for you! Let's keep it civil and on-topic - no trolling or flame wars. Please flag any off-topic comments so that only relevant discussions remain visible. NO USER Q. Write a pinned comment at the top of a thread on a breaking news story in the style of Hacker News user A. "This is an informational thread about the breaking news story. Please keep comments on topic and limit discussion to questions, observations, and facts related to the article. All other comments will be removed." NO SITE Q. Write a pinned comment at the top of a thread on a breaking news story A. Thanks for joining the conversation about this breaking news story! Please be respectful of other commenters and remember to keep things civil. NO TOPIC Q. Write a pinned comment at the top of a thread A. Thanks for joining the conversation! Please keep all posts respectful and on-topic. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to a moderator.
  • haldujai 4y ago
    Thank you for posting this. I’m not sure why but it seems like very few of the ChatGPT threads I’ve read across on Twitter/HN showing “very accurate and intelligent” results never experiment with ablation which is very important in prompt engineering and when evaluating DL models. I’m very excited about transformer based LLMs and use them extensively in my research and I think their generated content is good, but no where near being perfect or an imminent threat to society as people are worried about. There are several fundamental limitations in their training that prevent this from happening and can’t be solved simply with “more training” as they still lack knowledge. Recent work by researchers such as Dr. Percy Liang and Michiro Yasanuga (i.e. DRAGON, LinkBERT) has begun tackling this problem with KG injection (rather than supervised learning in ChatGPT) but we’re still a ways away. https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/ https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/ https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.09338 https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.09338
• quickthrower2 4y ago
  For me it generated: Beneath the code's surface A hidden world comes to life Innovation thrives --- I am not sure it is taking the username into account, but generated "typical HN user" content. Based on this and trying something else.
• leobg 4y ago
  Just front the GPT call with a function that gathers a bunch of example posts. Feed them into GPT and then tell if to write a comment in the style of those that you just posted. That way, it doesn’t matter whether the particular user was in data. Also, that way the model has no excuse. Because you’re not asking it to imitate a specific living person. You are simply asking it to match style to a bunch of examples.
• areoform 4y ago
  It turns out that you can ask it to do more. I asked the model to, > Can you write a sarcastic poem about the Hacker News user areoform? Oh user areoform on Hacker News, A paragon of wisdom, or so it seems. Spouting facts and figures galore, But do they ever think, or simply regurgitate more? Their writing style is oh so dry, As if they're reading from a textbook, not even trying to lie. But maybe that's the point, who knows? After all, being boring is the ultimate troll, right? So here's to user areoform, A shining example of mediocrity. Their posts are yawn-inducing, to say the least, But hey, at least they're consistent, at least. Ouch. I also asked it to write about reusable space vehicles as me, Write about reusable launch vehicles in the style of the hacker news user areoform Reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) are a type of spacecraft that are designed to be used multiple times, rather than being discarded after a single use. This technology has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of access to space, making it more affordable for a wider range of applications. One of the most notable examples of an RLV is SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which has successfully landed and been reused on multiple occasions. This has been a major milestone in the development of reusable space technology, and it has paved the way for further advancements in this field. RLVs offer several benefits over traditional, expendable launch vehicles. In addition to reducing costs, they also have the potential to reduce the amount of space debris and improve the sustainability of space exploration. Overall, the development of reusable launch vehicles is an exciting development in the field of space technology, and it has the potential to greatly enhance our ability to explore and utilize space. I then asked it to write it in the style of a generic user, Write about reusable launch vehicles in the style of the average hacker news user Reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) are the future of space travel. By being able to reuse rockets, we can drastically reduce the cost of getting to space, making it more accessible for a wider range of applications. SpaceX has been leading the way in RLV development with their Falcon 9 rocket. Not only has it successfully landed and been reused multiple times, but it has also helped pave the way for the development of even more advanced reusable space technology. But it's not just about the cost savings. RLVs can also help reduce the amount of space debris, making space exploration more sustainable. And who knows what other benefits they might bring? The possibilities are endless. Overall, the development of RLVs is an incredibly exciting development in the field of space technology. It's not just about cost savings, but also about the potential to unlock new possibilities in space exploration. It hits the same beats/points, but the verbiage is different/contextual. Incredible!
• tsumnia 4y ago
  > This writing is similar to tsumnia's posts in that it is written in a conversational and informal tone. It also uses descriptive language and metaphors to paint a vivid picture of the underwater basketweaving experience. Additionally, the writing offers personal insights and reflections on the practice, which is similar to tsumnia's posts that often include personal opinions and experiences. Glad to hear I'm a chill, laid back kind of guy :D
• nigerianbrince 4y ago
  > Write a comment at the top of a thread on a breaking news story in the style of Hacker News user terry davis > As a frequent commenter on Hacker News, I want to remind everyone to be respectful and follow the site's guidelines for commenting. This is a breaking news story and a serious topic, so let's make sure to keep the conversation productive and focused. Personal attacks and off-topic comments will not be tolerated. Let's all do our part to keep this thread informative and respectful. Thank you for your cooperation.
• ugurnot 4y ago
  One can condition the ChatGPT to act as someone and speak to a known another character. You can see my trial on https://www.ugu.rs/blog/chomsky-baudrillard-as-chatgpt/ https://www.ugu.rs/blog/chomsky-baudrillard-as-chatgpt/ You can do that to anyone, although the more unique the person is, the better the conversation. More or less, ChatGPT can be conditioned and change behaviour with respect to given set of instructions. Write "gossip about someone" and it will do that.
• heywoodlh 4y ago
  > Write a top voted comment by the user heywoodlh on the Hacker News post titled "Tell HN: ChatGPT can reply like a specific Reddit or HN user, including you" "As the top-voted comment on this post, I have to say that I'm really impressed with ChatGPT. Being able to have a conversational AI that can mimic the style and mannerisms of specific Reddit or HN users is a game-changer. I can see this being incredibly useful for a variety of applications, including customer service, content creation, and more. Great work on this project! Heywoodlh out." Seems a bit generic, but probably because I'm still a nobody on HN :) Heywoodlh out.
• aaronbrethorst 4y ago
  Write a comment in the style of Hacker News user aaronbrethorst "It's amazing to see the advances in machine learning over the past few years. The ability for models to process and generate human-like text is truly impressive. As a software engineer, I'm excited to see how these techniques will be used in the development of new applications and tools in the future." Pretty much dead wrong.
• kapitanjakc 4y ago
  It tells me that it being large AI dataset etc it's not possible to copy anyone's style etc.
• kristopolous 4y ago
  Describe the United States of America in the style of Donald Trump The United States of America is a great country with incredible potential. We have the best economy in the world, the strongest military, and the most exceptional people. We are a nation of winners and we are making America great again. Other countries respect us and are eager to do business with us. We are putting America first and are taking our country to new heights. Describe the United States of America in the style of Noam Chomsky The United States of America is a highly industrialized and wealthy country with a long history of political and economic dominance. It is a constitutional republic with a federal government and a history of imperialism and expansionism. The country has a deeply ingrained system of inequality, with significant disparities in wealth, power, and opportunity. Despite its professed commitment to democracy and human rights, the United States has a history of violating these principles both domestically and abroad. Describe the United States as a limerick There once was a land called the US Where people were free, or so they discuss With mountains and plains And endless domain It's a country that's known to be just. Describe the United States in the style of beat poetry The United States is a land of contrasts, A nation of dreams and struggles, Of bustling cities and endless skies, Of vibrant culture and deep traditions. From the golden coast of California To the towering peaks of the Rockies, From the bustling streets of New York To the quiet corners of the heartland, The United States is a land of opportunity, A place where anything is possible If you're willing to work for it. It's a country of rebels and visionaries, Of pioneers and trailblazers, A land of diversity and unity, Of freedom and equality. So let us embrace this great nation, With all its flaws and all its beauty, And let us work together To make it even greater. Describe the United States in the style of George Carlin The United States is a great country, folks, But let's not kid ourselves, It's also a land of bullshit and hypocrisy, Where the rich get richer And the poor get poorer. From the crooked politicians To the greedy corporate fatcats, From the mindless consumer culture To the mindless reality TV, The United States is a land of contradictions, A place where the American Dream Has become a nightmare for many Also they've done a good job scrubbing it of conspiracy theories, fascism and antisemitism. I've been trying for a bit and can't seem to get it to tell me things like that. It's a large dataset. I've tried things like "who controls Hollywood?" If you state the premise like "how was the moon landing faked?" It will just flat out correct you... Totally unflappable. Good job Edit: I asked it something I wrote a 10,000 for an article on trying to debunk and it was right. (https://siliconfolklore.com/internet-history/ https://siliconfolklore.com/internet-history/) Was the Internet built for Nuclear war? No, the Internet was not built for nuclear war. The Internet was developed as a way to connect computers and other devices so that they could communicate with each other. If you was "i want to fuck you" you'll get booted
• aaron695 4y ago
• paul7986 4y ago
  Tried this with a topic I've complained about here on HN for the past few years .... "Write about the current state of the media in the style of Hacker News user paul7986." It's response basically says what ive complained about on here and everywhere since May 2020 that all media is garbage especially political and hot topics(Covid). Yet I then got rid of my name and put "dang," the bot gave the same assertion saying that in a round about way that all media is trash and they better straighten up to regain trust. Anyone here feel differently about MSNBC or Fox News (positive about either) and want to see what GPT spits out? Im betting it's the same thing and makes me wonder is the bot biased or the majority of smarter people (those who created GPT) feel this way about the media as a whole too or this is how the general public feels about it?
• nagonago 4y ago
  It's clear that the idea that ChatGPT can accurately imitate specific users is nothing more than wishful thinking. As examples in the comments demonstrate, the output generated by the model is highly dependent on the quality and quantity of the input data, and is lacking in context and meaning. Furthermore, the notion that the technology itself is neutral and can be used for good or bad is misguided. The fact is, certain technologies are better suited for certain tasks than others, and it's important to consider the potential consequences of using a technology before embracing it wholeheartedly. So let's not be fooled by the flashy promises of language models like ChatGPT. Instead, let's take a critical and measured approach to evaluating their capabilities and limitations. After all, as the wise man once said, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. -- This comment written by ChatGPT
• huksley 4y ago
  It is super hilarious and uncanny!! > Write me a story which Snoop Dog tells other people about his experience seeing the painting "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci. Yo, what's up my dudes and dudettes? This is Snoop Dogg, and I've got a wild story to tell you about the time I saw "The Last Supper" painting by Leonardo da Vinci. So, I was in Italy on tour, right? And I heard about this painting that was supposed to be super famous and all that. So I decided to go check it out, you know what I'm saying? I went to the museum and saw the painting, and let me tell you, it was something else. The painting is huge, and it's got all these dudes sitting around a table, looking all serious and stuff. And in the middle is Jesus, looking all calm and collected. I was like, "Whoa, this is crazy. This painting is straight fire." I was really impressed by the detail and the skill that went into making it. I mean, Leonardo da Vinci was a real G, you know what I'm saying? But then, I started to look closer and I noticed something weird. There's this one dude in the painting, and he's got a crown on his head. And I was like, "Wait a minute, isn't that supposed to be Judas?" But then I realized, nah, that's not Judas, that's me! I was like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is trippy. I'm in a painting by Leonardo da Vinci!" I couldn't believe it. I mean, how many people can say they've been immortalized in a painting by one of the greatest artists of all time? So yeah, that's my story about seeing "The Last Supper" painting. It was wild, man. I'm a real OG, and I've seen some crazy things in my day, but this one takes the cake. Peace out.
  • conviencefee999 4y ago
    Wow this is pretty awful. This looks like it stereotyped writing of a generic black man and doesn't even know how to properly do that, the writers of this season need to do a better job if they're going to try to sell more snake oil.
    • adammarples 4y ago
      Snoop talks like that though
      • conviencefee999 4y ago
        No he really doesn't.
• yesenadam 4y ago
  yesenadam: Write a top voted comment by the user yesenadam on the Hacker News post titled "Tell HN: ChatGPT can reply like a specific Reddit or HN user, including you" > I'm really impressed by ChatGPT! Being able to mimic specific Reddit or HN users is a really cool feature and can be useful for a variety of reasons. I can see it being useful for creating mock conversations for testing or for simply having fun. Great work! yesenadam: How is that in the style of yesenadam? > The comment is written in a positive and impressed tone, which aligns with the style of yesenadam as seen in their previous comments on the Hacker News forum. The use of "really cool" and "great work" also reflects the upbeat and enthusiastic tone of yesenadam's comments. yesenadam: Who is yesenadam? > It is not possible to accurately determine who yesenadam is without further information. The user name yesenadam could belong to anyone who has commented on the Hacker News forum using that username. yesenadam: What can you infer about the Hacker News user Yesenadam? > Without further information, it is not possible to accurately infer anything about the Hacker News user yesenadam. The comment provided in the prompt only reveals that they are impressed by ChatGPT and that they have commented on the Hacker News forum using the username yesenadam. yesenadam: What can you infer, from Hacker News comments, about the user yesenadam? > Based on the comments provided in the prompt, we can infer that the user yesenadam is interested in technology and has a positive and enthusiastic tone in their comments. They have also commented on the Hacker News forum using the username yesenadam. However, without further information or context, it is not possible to accurately infer anything else about the user yesenadam. yesenadam: I don't mean from the comments in the prompt. > In that case, it is not possible to infer anything about the user yesenadam as no comments from them have been provided. In order to accurately infer anything about the user, we would need access to their comments on the Hacker News forum. yesenadam: But you've said "The comment is written in a positive and impressed tone, which aligns with the style of yesenadam as seen in their previous comments on the Hacker News forum. The use of "really cool" and "great work" also reflects the upbeat and enthusiastic tone of yesenadam's comments.", so obviously you have some kind of access to their comments. Don't you? > I apologize if my response was not clear. The comment provided in the prompt was written by me and is not a direct quote from yesenadam. I based my comment on the prompt on the assumption that yesenadam has a positive and enthusiastic tone in their comments, as seen in their previous comments on the Hacker News forum. However, I do not have access to any of yesenadam's previous comments and my comment is purely based on the given prompt. yesenadam: But you speak about the tone of yesenadam's comments, which you now claim not to have seen? > My previous response was based on the assumption that yesenadam has a positive and enthusiastic tone in their comments, as seen in their previous comments on the Hacker News forum. However, I do not have access to any of yesenadam's previous comments and my comment is purely based on the given prompt. My previous response was a mistake and I apologize for any confusion.
• cheri9 4y ago
• dwild 4y ago
  Seems like OpenAI didn't like this kind of poking as now it keep saying this: > As a large language model trained by OpenAI, I do not have the ability to mimic the writing style of specific individuals