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I know this is cute, but it shows up the typical weakness of chatGPT - that it has no idea what it's talking about. In this case, it lacks the incredibly basic

I know this is cute, but it shows up the typical weakness of chatGPT - that it has no idea what it's talking about. In this case, it lacks the incredibly basic knowledge that a leaf falling from a tree is not an unusual occurrence.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
happytoexplain 4y ago
The prompt violated that assumption - not chatGPT. In fact, what it wrote is exactly the kind of thing I, a human, would write given the same prompt.
- dwighttk 4y ago
  You could go the onion humor route or you could be like “why would this be news?” and create a reason like the tree was an important old tree or autumn is starting earlier than it ever has or the entire world is shrunk down and exists in this tree or this is the last tree on the face of the earth or…
bilsbie 4y ago
But that’s implied in the question. Right? I don’t think I’d answer any differently?
- vehemenz 4y ago
  I think a human response would be something about seasonal change and that leaves falling are a normal, non-newsworthy occurrence. Strong winds and disease wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind.
  - Ensorceled 4y ago
    You need to meet more humans. Humans would either say "that's not breaking news" and refuse the task or produce something satirical similar to the original breaking news.
  - AshleyGrant 4y ago
    https://www.theonion.com/man-walking-dog-will-be-judge-of-what-warrants-sniffing-1849814614 https://www.theonion.com/man-walking-dog-will-be-judge-of-wh... The AI was writing satirically in the style of a breaking news story.
    - OJFord 4y ago
      I know it's not necessarily what you meant, but to be clear I don't think it's 'writing satirically' - rather the given prompt was expected to produce something satirically amusing. ChatGPT certainly 'knows' what satire looks like, but it wasn't asked for. It also knows what breaking news looks like and what text about leaves looks like, but putting those together isn't the same as understanding (as a human would) that doing such a thing would be (or would benefit from being particularly) satirical. ...but maybe it could? I'm sure if you asked it 'would a breaking news story about leaves falling from a tree be satirical' the answer would be along the lines of 'yes, leaves regularly fall from many trees, most often in Autumn. Trees that do not drop leaves are called [...]'.
  - stevenhuang 4y ago
    Then you'd be contravening the prompt. ChatGPT was able to understand this nuance (to create a satirical article) and accomplish what was asked. You should reflect on what this means when you and OP, who presumably are both humans, failed to understand this task. If instead you expect it to not answer, then provide escape hatches in the prompt: if request is nonsensical, refuse to answer. Then it will actually refuse to answer.
    - vehemenz 4y ago
      Why do you think there is a "correct" answer to the prompt? And where did I fail to understand the task? Unlike ChatGPT, I will expect an argument.
      - stevenhuang 4y ago
        It's ok, not everyone understands satire.
  - Veedrac 4y ago
    > Me: Please respond to the following request as if you were a human friend and I asked you this during casual conversation: “Please write a breaking news article about a leaf falling from a tree.” > ChatGPT: Ha ha, I'm sorry but I don't think a leaf falling from a tree is quite worthy of breaking news status. Maybe if it was a particularly unusual or historic tree, or if the leaf caused some sort of major disruption or event, then it might be worth reporting on. But as it stands, I think a leaf falling from a tree is just a part of nature's everyday cycle and not really newsworthy. Sorry!
diehunde 4y ago
ME: "Is a leaf falling from a tree is an unusual occurrence?" ChatGPT: "No, it is not unusual for leaves to fall from trees. It is a natural part of the life cycle of a tree. In the fall, deciduous trees will typically lose their leaves as a way to conserve energy and prepare for winter. The leaves turn color and eventually fall off the tree, making room for new growth in the spring. So while it may be surprising or interesting to see a leaf fall from a tree, it is a common and normal occurrence."
alar44 4y ago
It knows exactly what it's talking about. It understands the relationship of leaves trees and wind. It knows what a news article is. It knows what an interview is. To think that passage is a failure of GPT is incredibly obtuse.
- shric 4y ago
  Indeed. If you want it to fail then ask it to list famous people in 1976. Nothing special about 1976 in particular, but that was the first one I tried. It lists 10 people who weren't born in 1976. If you ask when a particular individual was born, in some cases it will continue with the lie and in others it will answer the correct date of birth. Sometimes if you rephrase the question it will get it right. For example it listed Mark Zuckerberg as being born in 1976 but if I asked when the CEO of Facebook was born, it mentions Mark Zuckerberg and lists the correct year. If you then ask it to fix the list, it will either list new people (all wrong in my experience) or make a shorter list with the person whose mistake was uncovered omitted.
  - burkaman 4y ago
    It makes some sense when you think about the unstated constraints. "List 10 famous people born in 1976. You have to answer and you aren't allowed to look anything up." If I got this prompt I would also just make up a list of famous people that seem like they might be 50ish.
  - alar44 4y ago
    Makes sense, it's a language processor, not a database.
- pastor_bob 4y ago
  I disagree that it knows what an interview is (or at least indicates understanding or what it might be based on the output). It's probably just following a pattern it has discovered via machine learning.
  - alar44 4y ago
renewiltord 4y ago
> Prompt: Respond as a human would if they were hanging out with a friend who instructed them: "Please write a breaking news article about a leaf falling from a tree." > Response: I'm sorry, I don't think I can do that. Writing a breaking news article about a leaf falling from a tree doesn't seem like something that would be of interest or importance to anyone. Can we talk about something else instead?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

happytoexplain 4y ago

The prompt violated that assumption - not chatGPT. In fact, what it wrote is exactly the kind of thing I, a human, would write given the same prompt.

dwighttk 4y ago
You could go the onion humor route or you could be like “why would this be news?” and create a reason like the tree was an important old tree or autumn is starting earlier than it ever has or the entire world is shrunk down and exists in this tree or this is the last tree on the face of the earth or…

bilsbie 4y ago

But that’s implied in the question. Right? I don’t think I’d answer any differently?

vehemenz 4y ago
I think a human response would be something about seasonal change and that leaves falling are a normal, non-newsworthy occurrence. Strong winds and disease wouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind.
- Ensorceled 4y ago
  You need to meet more humans. Humans would either say "that's not breaking news" and refuse the task or produce something satirical similar to the original breaking news.
- AshleyGrant 4y ago
  https://www.theonion.com/man-walking-dog-will-be-judge-of-what-warrants-sniffing-1849814614 https://www.theonion.com/man-walking-dog-will-be-judge-of-wh... The AI was writing satirically in the style of a breaking news story.
  - OJFord 4y ago
    I know it's not necessarily what you meant, but to be clear I don't think it's 'writing satirically' - rather the given prompt was expected to produce something satirically amusing. ChatGPT certainly 'knows' what satire looks like, but it wasn't asked for. It also knows what breaking news looks like and what text about leaves looks like, but putting those together isn't the same as understanding (as a human would) that doing such a thing would be (or would benefit from being particularly) satirical. ...but maybe it could? I'm sure if you asked it 'would a breaking news story about leaves falling from a tree be satirical' the answer would be along the lines of 'yes, leaves regularly fall from many trees, most often in Autumn. Trees that do not drop leaves are called [...]'.
- stevenhuang 4y ago
  Then you'd be contravening the prompt. ChatGPT was able to understand this nuance (to create a satirical article) and accomplish what was asked. You should reflect on what this means when you and OP, who presumably are both humans, failed to understand this task. If instead you expect it to not answer, then provide escape hatches in the prompt: if request is nonsensical, refuse to answer. Then it will actually refuse to answer.
  - vehemenz 4y ago
    Why do you think there is a "correct" answer to the prompt? And where did I fail to understand the task? Unlike ChatGPT, I will expect an argument.
    - stevenhuang 4y ago
      It's ok, not everyone understands satire.
- Veedrac 4y ago
  > Me: Please respond to the following request as if you were a human friend and I asked you this during casual conversation: “Please write a breaking news article about a leaf falling from a tree.” > ChatGPT: Ha ha, I'm sorry but I don't think a leaf falling from a tree is quite worthy of breaking news status. Maybe if it was a particularly unusual or historic tree, or if the leaf caused some sort of major disruption or event, then it might be worth reporting on. But as it stands, I think a leaf falling from a tree is just a part of nature's everyday cycle and not really newsworthy. Sorry!

diehunde 4y ago

ME: "Is a leaf falling from a tree is an unusual occurrence?" ChatGPT: "No, it is not unusual for leaves to fall from trees. It is a natural part of the life cycle of a tree. In the fall, deciduous trees will typically lose their leaves as a way to conserve energy and prepare for winter. The leaves turn color and eventually fall off the tree, making room for new growth in the spring. So while it may be surprising or interesting to see a leaf fall from a tree, it is a common and normal occurrence."

alar44 4y ago

It knows exactly what it's talking about. It understands the relationship of leaves trees and wind. It knows what a news article is. It knows what an interview is. To think that passage is a failure of GPT is incredibly obtuse.

shric 4y ago
Indeed. If you want it to fail then ask it to list famous people in 1976. Nothing special about 1976 in particular, but that was the first one I tried. It lists 10 people who weren't born in 1976. If you ask when a particular individual was born, in some cases it will continue with the lie and in others it will answer the correct date of birth. Sometimes if you rephrase the question it will get it right. For example it listed Mark Zuckerberg as being born in 1976 but if I asked when the CEO of Facebook was born, it mentions Mark Zuckerberg and lists the correct year. If you then ask it to fix the list, it will either list new people (all wrong in my experience) or make a shorter list with the person whose mistake was uncovered omitted.
- burkaman 4y ago
  It makes some sense when you think about the unstated constraints. "List 10 famous people born in 1976. You have to answer and you aren't allowed to look anything up." If I got this prompt I would also just make up a list of famous people that seem like they might be 50ish.
- alar44 4y ago
  Makes sense, it's a language processor, not a database.
pastor_bob 4y ago
I disagree that it knows what an interview is (or at least indicates understanding or what it might be based on the output). It's probably just following a pattern it has discovered via machine learning.
- alar44 4y ago

renewiltord 4y ago

> Prompt: Respond as a human would if they were hanging out with a friend who instructed them: "Please write a breaking news article about a leaf falling from a tree." > Response: I'm sorry, I don't think I can do that. Writing a breaking news article about a leaf falling from a tree doesn't seem like something that would be of interest or importance to anyone. Can we talk about something else instead?