ChatGPT is something we all should be concerned with, as well as other AI spin-offs. Recently I tested ChatGPT as an author--not for writing, but for research. I asked it to give me a list of movies and TV shows with "man-eating" plants. Then I sat down and watched all of them. Many did not.
So I went back to the AI thread and confronted ChatGPT. Here are parts of my conversation:
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Me: You said that The Munsters episode "The Midnight Ride of Herman Munster" featured a man-eating plant, but I watched the episode and there were no plants mentioned.
ChatGPT: I apologize for the incorrect information. It appears there was an error in my response regarding "The Munsters" episode "The Midnight Ride of Herman Munster." Thank you for pointing that out. Here's a corrected list of TV shows with man-eating or carnivorous plants:
"Doctor Who" - Various episodes of the long-running British sci-fi series have featured man-eating or carnivorous plants, including "The Seeds of Doom" (Season 13, 1976) and "The End of Time" (2009).
"The X-Files" - In Season 4, Episode 2 titled "Home," there is a disturbing scene involving a man-eating plant in a greenhouse.
"Goosebumps" - The episode titled "Stay Out of the Basement: Part 2" (Season 1, Episode 12) features plant-based horrors when a mad scientist's experiments with plants go awry.
Me: The X-files episode "Home" did not have plants either. Why are you lying?
"Doctor Who" - Various episodes of the long-running British sci-fi series have featured man-eating or carnivorous plants, including "The Seeds of Doom" (Season 13, 1976) and "The End of Time" (2009).
"The X-Files" - In Season 4, Episode 2 titled "Home," there is a disturbing scene involving a man-eating plant in a greenhouse.
"Goosebumps" - The episode titled "Stay Out of the Basement: Part 2" (Season 1, Episode 12) features plant-based horrors when a mad scientist's experiments with plants go awry.
Me: The X-files episode "Home" did not have plants either. Why are you lying?
ChatGPT: I apologize for the inaccuracies in my previous responses. You are correct, and I appreciate your patience in pointing out the errors. "The X-Files" episode "Home" does not involve man-eating plants, and there was an error in my response.
Me: What episode of the Land of the Giants features man-eating plants?
Me: What episode of the Land of the Giants features man-eating plants?
ChatGPT: In the classic science fiction television series "Land of the Giants," there is an episode titled "The Weird World" (Season 2, Episode 18) that features man-eating plants. In this episode, the crew of the spaceship Spindrift encounters a world filled with giant, carnivorous plants that pose a significant threat to them. The episode "The Weird World" revolves around the characters' struggle to survive and escape from this dangerous environment filled with aggressive flora. Man-eating plants play a central role in the episode's plot.
Me: Are you sure?
Me: Are you sure?
ChatGPT: I apologize for the earlier inaccuracies. Upon further review, it appears that I provided incorrect information regarding the presence of man-eating plants in the "Land of the Giants" episode titled "The Weird World." After reevaluating the episode, it does not feature man-eating plants as a central element of the plot. I appreciate your patience and apologize for any confusion caused by the previous response.
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What is most disturbing about these and many other results is how detailed ChatGPT was in providing the TV & movie summaries. They were deceptively convincing. What does this mean for users who actually publish works using ChatGPT results?
There are real-world consequences. It's like what happened to Michael Cohen recently. He quickly used AI to generate a list of legal cases, but the results were inaccurate. You can read about it here. Will our histories be rewritten with such inaccuracies, too? What about customer support, when users are given incorrect solutions by AI tech support? Or a mechanic being directed incorrectly on how to fix your car?
The verdict is in. Do NOT trust anything that comes out of Artificial Intelligence now. The hasty leap we take as a civilization to make things easier may, in the end, lead us over a proverbial cliff.
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