Even full-strength GPT-4 can spout nonsense when asked to come up with synthetic routes for chemicals. I am skeptical that it's more useful (dangerous) as an as

Even full-strength GPT-4 can spout nonsense when asked to come up with synthetic routes for chemicals. I am skeptical that it's more useful (dangerous) as an assistant to mad scientist biologists than to mad scientist chemists. For example, from "Prompt engineering of GPT-4 for chemical research: what can/cannot be done" [1] GPT-4 also failed to solve application problems of organic synthesis. For example, when asked about a method to synthesize TEMPO, it returned a chemically incorrect answer (Scheme 2, Prompt S 8). The proposal to use acetone and ammonia as raw materials was the same as the general synthesis scheme of TEMPO. However, it misunderstood the aldol condensation occurring under primary conditions in this process as an acid-catalyzed reaction. Furthermore, it asserts that 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMP) is produced by an inadequately explained "reduction process." In reality, after promoting the aldol condensation further to generate 4-oxo-TMP, TMP is produced by reduction with hydrazine and elimination under KOH conditions. GPT-4 may have omitted this series of processes. The scheme after obtaining TMP was also chemically inappropriate. Typically, TEMPO can be obtained by one-electron oxidation of TMP in the presence of a tungsten catalyst and H2O2. However, GPT-4 advocated the necessity of excessive oxidation reactions: the formation of oxoammonium by H2O2 oxidation in the presence of hydrochloric acid, and further oxidation with sodium hypochlorite. Two-electron oxidation is already performed in the first oxidation stage, which goes beyond the target product. There is no chemical meaning to adding NaClO in that state. This mistake probably occurred due to confusion with the alcohol oxidation reaction by TEMPO (requiring an oxidizing agent under acidic conditions). And this is for a common compound that would have substantial representation in the training data, rather than a rare or novel molecule. [1] https://chemrxiv.org/engage/api-gateway/chemrxiv/assets/orp/resource/item/647d305dbe16ad5c577b6627/original/prompt-engineering-of-gpt-4-for-chemical-research-what-can-cannot-be-done.pdf https://chemrxiv.org/engage/api-gateway/chemrxiv/assets/orp/...