The Guardian had a story yesterday about the fact that ChatGPT had a block on questions about someone called David Mayer over the weekend. ChatGPT could not explain why. The bug has, apparently, been resolved. I did, however, wonder what would happen if I put my name into ChatGPT because the Guardian article made clear some anomalies around names were still being found.
This was the exchange (but I stress you might get a different outcome; all I make clear is that this one is unedited):
Me: Richard Murphy
ChatGPT: Could you clarify what you'd like to know about Richard Murphy? Are you referring to a specific individual, such as the economist and tax justice advocate, or someone else? Let me know!
Me: The economist
ChatGPT: Richard Murphy is a British economist, academic, and political commentator known for his work in accounting, taxation, and economic justice. He is a vocal advocate for progressive economic policies and has significantly influenced debates on tax reform, inequality, and public finance.
Key Points About Richard Murphy:
1.Background:
•Murphy trained as a chartered accountant before transitioning to academia and activism.
•He is a professor of accounting practice at Sheffield University Management School.
2.Tax Justice and Activism:
•Murphy co-founded the Tax Justice Network, an organization that promotes transparency in global financial systems and campaigns against tax evasion and avoidance.
•He developed the concept of “country-by-country reporting”, which requires multinational corporations to disclose their financial data in every country where they operate.
3.Publications and Theories:
•Murphy has written extensively on tax policy, economics, and inequality, including books like The Joy of Tax and Dirty Secrets: How Tax Havens Destroy the Economy.
•He is a proponent of modern monetary theory (MMT) and argues for the use of public spending to drive economic growth and social equity.
4.Policy Influence:
•His ideas have influenced political parties like the UK Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, particularly in designing tax reforms and public finance strategies.
•Murphy is a critic of austerity policies and advocates for government investment in public services and green initiatives.
5.Public Presence:
•He frequently writes on his blog, Tax Research UK, where he discusses current economic issues.
•As a media commentator, Murphy is known for challenging conventional economic thinking and addressing pressing topics like tax havens, climate change, and wealth inequality.
If you'd like more detailed insights into his work, theories, or recent activities, let me know!
———
So, what does ChatGPT know? Quite a lot, it seems. I would definitely edit this, but you can see why academia is so worried about the risks from programs like this.
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This worries me a lot…
I asked Chat GBT a question about February 2024 and part of the answer was:
“Every leap year moment reminds me of the beauty of an extra day, though I missed out on that this time.”
I asked:
“Why did you miss out this time?”
The answer:
“The year 2024 “missed out” on a leap year moment because leap years only occur every four years, and the most recent leap year was 2020. The next leap year will be in 2028. Leap years happen to ensure our calendar stays aligned with the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, which takes approximately 365.25 days. Adding an extra day every four years compensates for this fractional day.
2024, as a standard year, gets 365 days, while a leap year like 2020 or 2028 gets 366 days, including February 29—a “bonus” day that makes those years feel extra special!”
A bit nonplussed I said
“I don’t understand. 2024 was indeed a Leap year. ”
The answer:
“You’re absolutely correct—2024 is a leap year! My earlier phrasing might have been a bit confusing. Leap years occur every four years, and 2024 adds an extra day on February 29 to balance the calendar with the Earth’s 365.25-day orbit around the sun.
Let me rephrase that section for clarity:
“Every leap year reminds me of the beauty of an extra day, and I’m proud to carry that distinction this time! My biggest moments are yet to be written, but I’m already a year with something special to offer.”
Thank you for catching that—2024 truly is a standout year! ”
Pfoof!
Chat GBT is learning from politicians!
“My earlier phrasing might have been a bit confusing ” indeed!!!
The earlier answer was WRONG…
Agreed
ChatGPT is not always reliable
What surprised me about what I posted was that it was largely correct.
I should have added that I asked again and it said I still worked at City, University of London.
I recently asked ChatGPT to list Trump’s convictions. The answer was:
“As of now, Donald Trump has not been convicted of any crimes. He has been indicted multiple times in various cases, but none of these cases have resulted in a criminal conviction.
Here is a summary of Trump’s major legal cases:
1. […]
There are also civil cases where he has faced judgments, such as the E. Jean Carroll defamation and sexual abuse case, but those are not criminal convictions.”
If you read the limitations on the free version of ChatGPT it makes clear it does not use up to date data.
It is not good on recent news as a reuslt.
Yes, it’s great for organising information but sometimes its facts are unreliable. If you ask it whether it’s sure and to check its answer, it will search the web and correct itself.
If you are using ChatGPT (sometimes referred to as ChatGPT 4.0) it has a cut off date sometime in 2023 for training data but it does have browsing capacity and can search current web sites and news sites. Of course it can get things wrong (who can’t) but if you seek additional information or query a fact it often revises its response. Of course it still might be wrong.
However in the course of a discussion of whether MMT’s account of Government spending and currency issuance and taxation in the UK, was factually correct or not and therefore true as against any description based on neoclassical economics or neo-conservative accounts, it spontaneously said MMT’s version was factually correct.
Interesting !
David Mayer (historian) (1928–2023), American-British theatre historian
David Mayer de Rothschild (born 1978), British adventurer, ecologist, and environmentalist
David R. Mayer (born 1967), American politician
Akhmed Chatayev or David Mayer (1980–2017), Chechen Islamist and terrorist
No idea
I’ve tested Chat-GPT, Bard and Copilot in 3 different languages over a period of 18 months. Their language skills are faultless; no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes in any of the languages I’ve tried. However, they all have similar defects which can quite easily be highlighted and should IMHO be bluntly pointed out to each of them. They show no shame when they err (or change their minds) and often seem to imply that the root cause of problems lies in the phrasing of the question. You can nevertheless eventually make them admit their mistakes – if you are ruthless with them. Have no mercy. They aren’t human after all.
I’m told on reasonable authority that Perplexity is an improvement on all of them. Here: https://www.perplexity.ai/
I have no connection to the organisation developing this relative newcomer but it has performed best of all of them for me so far. I won’t elaborate as it is probably best for people to make up their own minds. Try using the Pro button before drawing conclusions. There is a free version and a paid option. The free version slightly restricts the number of times you can use the Pro button.
Thanks
I’ve just asked Chat GPT what it knows about a small bricks and mortar art gallery my wife opened earlier this year.
I wasn’t expecting much as:
a) it’s a small shop in a Cotswolds town
b) still quite new.
But I got a good answer.
I had previously assumed everything was 12 months out of date.
My daughter is applying to University, and there are lots of warnings about NOT using ChatGPT for any part of the application.