Reply To: ChatGPT – need we worry?

[Robin GrahamParticipant @robingraham42208]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 27/09/2023 11:02:26:

Posted by Robin Graham on 27/09/2023 00:40:54:

Posted by blowlamp on 25/09/2023 14:29:47:

How long to dry nine towels?

 

That's really interesting. I think that it shows (as with my crossword clue example) that ChatGPT is not especially good at problem solving. …

Well, fellow humans, did we watch the nine towels example carefully and then engage brain. Or did we jump to the conclusion that ChatGPT was wrong, because 'obviously' an AI must be more stupid than us?

I suggest that ChatIPT gives the correct answer for the correct reason. It does not assume, as might a foolish human, that a washing line must be capable of supporting 9 towels at the same time. The length of the line is not specified: all that is known for sure is that the line will take 3 towels. Assuming otherwise is unjustified.

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I didn't myself jump to the conclusion that ChatGPT must be wrong because of its artificiality. It's more a matter of teasing it with questions to try and understand how it 'thinks'

I'm not sure that the assumption that the washing line can take more than three towels is unjustified, though I take your point. From a purely logical point of view perhaps, but it would have been more impressive if the machine had pointed out that it was an ill-posed question (or super-impressive if it had mentioned protases and apodoses!) A lot of human discourse is predicated on the assumption of shared experience and I could argue that most, or at least a substantial subset, of humans possess washing lines capable of supporting more than three towels. ChatGPT should know that! Socks would be another matter entirely of course.

Possibly the weirdest thing about all this is that I now know that we own the same type of socks. The stripy ones on the left*. Cheapskate!

Robin.

* To be accurate I should say I have at least one sock which, on one side, superficially resembles at least one of your own. Perhaps.

R.

Edited By Robin Graham on 28/09/2023 00:41:53

Edited By Robin Graham on 28/09/2023 00:48:09