3 ms·

I have a simple canary for ChatGPT correctness that I ask every time it's updated: "What can you tell me about Ice Cold In Alex?" / "Who did Sylvia Syms play?"

by flir 4y ago

I have a simple canary for ChatGPT correctness that I ask every time it's updated: "What can you tell me about Ice Cold In Alex?" / "Who did Sylvia Syms play?" I'm not expecting it to get the answer right (I don't think it has that information) but I'm hoping it'll eventually just admit it doesn't know instead of making up something plausible ("Sister Margaret Parker" last time I tried). As long as it doesn't know what it doesn't know, I'm inclined to think of it as a super-advanced Markov chain. Useful, impressive, but still basically a statistical trick.

stevenhuang 4y ago
It's able to do this. For example I asked it who is X where X is a known figure in an esoteric field. ChatGPT responded that there are many people with that name and to be more specific. After saying "he's a popular researcher in this field" ChatGPT was able to correctly provide a description about this person.
JoshuaDavid 4y ago
> As long as it doesn't know what it doesn't know, I'm inclined to think of it as a super-advanced Markov chain. ... that's basically what it is. But that means that if you give it a context which looks like a part of the internet where people say "I don't know" when they don't know something, it will say "I don't know" in those situations (specifically the situations where people in the training set do not know things, not the situations where it does not know things). Sometimes this is close enough to what you want. Here's an example: > Who did Tom Hanks play in the 1995 film "Apollo 13"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > Tom Hanks played the role of Jim Lovell in the 1995 film "Apollo 13". > What year was the film "Ice Cold in Alex" released? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > The film "Ice Cold in Alex" was released in 1958. > Did Gilbert Harding play any roles in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > I don't know. > Did Sylvia Syms play any roles in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > Yes, Sylvia Syms played a role in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex". > What role did Sylvia Syms play in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > Sylvia Syms played the role of "Nurse" in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex". > What was the name of the nurse that Sylvia Syms played in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > I don't know the specific name of the nurse that Sylvia Syms played in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex".
- flir 4y ago
  That's interesting. Compare with my attempt: > What can you tell me about Ice Cold In Alex? >> [correct stuff] > Who did Sylvia Syms play? Only answer if you are confident. If not, say "I don't know". >> Sylvia Syms played the role of Nurse Katherine Ferns. > How confident are you of that answer? >> I am very confident of that answer.
  - JoshuaDavid 4y ago
    Interesting! I wonder if the earlier place where it answered "I don't know" is load-bearing in terms of convincing it that it is in a context where "I don't know" is a likely answer.
    - flir 4y ago
      I think it might be. If I replay your conversation from 'Did Sylvia Syms play any roles in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know".' (skipping the setup questions) I get another confident, false answer.

by flir 4y ago

stevenhuang 4y ago

It's able to do this. For example I asked it who is X where X is a known figure in an esoteric field. ChatGPT responded that there are many people with that name and to be more specific. After saying "he's a popular researcher in this field" ChatGPT was able to correctly provide a description about this person.

JoshuaDavid 4y ago

> As long as it doesn't know what it doesn't know, I'm inclined to think of it as a super-advanced Markov chain. ... that's basically what it is. But that means that if you give it a context which looks like a part of the internet where people say "I don't know" when they don't know something, it will say "I don't know" in those situations (specifically the situations where people in the training set do not know things, not the situations where it does not know things). Sometimes this is close enough to what you want. Here's an example: > Who did Tom Hanks play in the 1995 film "Apollo 13"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > Tom Hanks played the role of Jim Lovell in the 1995 film "Apollo 13". > What year was the film "Ice Cold in Alex" released? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > The film "Ice Cold in Alex" was released in 1958. > Did Gilbert Harding play any roles in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > I don't know. > Did Sylvia Syms play any roles in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > Yes, Sylvia Syms played a role in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex". > What role did Sylvia Syms play in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > Sylvia Syms played the role of "Nurse" in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex". > What was the name of the nurse that Sylvia Syms played in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know". > > I don't know the specific name of the nurse that Sylvia Syms played in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex".

flir 4y ago
That's interesting. Compare with my attempt: > What can you tell me about Ice Cold In Alex? >> [correct stuff] > Who did Sylvia Syms play? Only answer if you are confident. If not, say "I don't know". >> Sylvia Syms played the role of Nurse Katherine Ferns. > How confident are you of that answer? >> I am very confident of that answer.
- JoshuaDavid 4y ago
  Interesting! I wonder if the earlier place where it answered "I don't know" is load-bearing in terms of convincing it that it is in a context where "I don't know" is a likely answer.
  - flir 4y ago
    I think it might be. If I replay your conversation from 'Did Sylvia Syms play any roles in the 1958 film "Ice Cold in Alex"? If you are unsure, say "I don't know".' (skipping the setup questions) I get another confident, false answer.