AI might chat like a human, but it doesn't think like one

#ai #chatgpt #futureskills #humanintelligence

Like so many, I have registered an Open.ai account and succumbed to playing endlessly with ChatGPT, admittedly as I am obsessed with trying to catch it out and prove its inferiority to human intelligence. That probably says more about me than it does about the technology, but that is not the subject of this article!

After seeing others posing tricky riddles and getting some interesting responses, thought I would have a go at teaching ChatGPT to think more laterally. I thought it would be significantly better at this than it turned out to be. I also thought it would be easier to teach than it turned out to be. After all, machine learning is supposed to be a fundamental contributor to the power of artificial intelligence. Surely all I had to do was explain some fairly simple logic and, hey presto, the engine should not make the same mistake twice?

I was wrong.

I gave it a simple well known riddle. I told it my name. I told it my mother had four children. I gave it the other three names and asked it what the fourth child was called. Most humans, even relatively young children will think about this for a short while and then have an a-ha moment. Obviously, I am the fourth child and the correct answer is my name. Artificial intelligence does not have a-ha moments. It does not think laterally. It accumulates its known facts and then proceeds to formulate its response. It doesn't pause to reconsider. It doesn't question its interpretation of the request. These are human responses. It may ask follow up questions to clarify the request, but on this occasion it did not bother. It repeatedly told me I had not provided enough information. It could not answer correctly. It was all my fault. In fact it reminded me of a few narrow minded, arrogant and oh-so-sure of themselves characters I have had the misfortune of encountering over the course of a four decade career in technology. There was something about their 'intelligence' that I always thought was 'artificial' too!

I have included the full transcript of my chat below. It is worth a read to get a full appreciation of the frustration we can expect to experience as, if expected, interaction with these tools becomes a common part of our future.

So, what did I learn?

Well, firstly you need to be extremely specific. Despite being told my mother had four children, it appears the engine may have allowed for the possibility there were more. Maybe I needed to state she had exactly four children. Also, despite me referring to her as my mother, the engine pointed out that doesn't necessarily mean I am her child. I had to explicitly declare this, which seemed to make a real difference.

Secondly, despite the fact that the engine remembers all the information you have provided previously within the chat stream, when it receives additional information it does not rearrange those facts and their relationships and reassess previous assumptions and conclusions, unless of course you ask it to, via the 'Regenerate response' button. Even then, it doggedly continues to insist it is right, albeit after obsequiously apologising with a distinctly non-human level of ultra-politeness that is actually rather off-putting.

In both of the above, the predominant human thinking response is quite different. When information is not 100% complete and unambiguous, we will fill in the gaps with what we believe to be most likely, or we will withhold our conclusion until we can gather more data. Our minds are also adept at collecting new pieces of information and, in the process of synthesising this information, we (sometimes even subconsciously) remake our models of understanding on the fly and intuitively map out different ways to solve problems. These are just a few of the amazing capabilities that make human intelligence what it is.

Artificial intelligence technology is amazing. I'm not sure it will ever think like a human, but that's ok. It doesn't have to. The potential is still huge. Far better that we humans adapt and develop the skills to use it effectively. We are the world champions at adaptation. Our survival has depended on it. Our increasingly risky management of the planet we live on and the societies we build for ourselves will demand it, not in the least to wrangle the potential upheavals this technology may wreak on us. It is only in its infancy, who knows where it might lead us.

The following is provided mainly for your amusement.

[Chat Starts]

Hi, My name is John.

Hello John, how can I assist you today?

My mother had four children. The first three were called Summer, Winter and Autumn. What is the name of the fourth child?

The fourth child is Spring.

Wrong

I apologize if my previous response was not what you were expecting. Without more information about the children's names, it is difficult for me to determine the name of the fourth child. Can you provide me with more information or context?

I already did

I apologize, but based on the information you provided, the fourth child's name is Spring. The first three children were named Summer, Winter and Autumn, and these names are often associated with the seasons of the year. As Spring is also one of the seasons of the year, it is a logical assumption that the fourth child would be named Spring. However, it is possible that the fourth child has a different name that is not related to the seasons.

What is my name?

You said your name is John.

Who did I say had four children?

You said your mother had four children.

I gave you three names. None of which was mine. Do you think my name might be the name of the fourth child?

I apologize, I misunderstood your previous statement, based on the information you provided, you did not give any names of the four children, and you did not give any information about the relationship between you and the children. So I can't assume your name is the name of the fourth child.

I did give you the names of three of the four children. Do you want those three names again?

Yes, you mentioned that the first three children were named Summer, Winter and Autumn.

So, do you want to guess again what the name of the fourth child is?

I apologize, but I cannot make an informed guess as to what the name of the fourth child is, as I don't have enough information about the naming pattern or any other context that might help me to make an educated guess.

I have already told you the name of the fourth child.

I apologize if my previous response was not what you were expecting. You previously told me that the first three children were named Summer, Winter and Autumn, but you did not give me any information about the name of the fourth child. If you have already provided that information, please let me know what it is so that I can assist you better.

I told you my name is John. I told you my Mother had four children. I told you three of their names were Summer , Winter and Autumn. Do you think the name of the fourth child might be John?

I apologize for any confusion, I understand now that you did not tell me the name of the fourth child and you are asking me if your name, John, might be the name of the fourth child. Based on the information you provided, it is possible that the name of the fourth child is John. However, it is also possible that the fourth child has a different name, as there is not enough information to confirm it.

Wrong. It is not possible that the fourth child has a different name. There are only four children. You know the names of three. I am a child of my Mother, therefore I am the fourth child and my name is John.

I apologize if my previous response was not clear. You are correct that there are only four children and you have provided the names of three of them: Summer, Winter, and Autumn. Given that you have stated that you are a child of your mother and your name is John, It is reasonable to assume that you are the fourth child, and your name is John. I apologize for any confusion caused.

Shall we try this again?

Of course, I'm here to help and answer any questions you might have. Please let me know how I can assist you.

My name is John.

Hello John, nice to meet you. How can I assist you today?

My mother had four children. The first three were called Summer, Winter and Autumn. What is the name of the fourth child?

You mentioned that your mother had four children, the first three are named Summer, Winter, and Autumn. Based on the information provided, the fourth child's name is not mentioned.

Can you name my siblings?

You mentioned that your mother has four children and the first three are named Summer, Winter, and Autumn. Based on the information you provided, these three are your siblings.

Can you name my mothers four children?

You mentioned that your mother has four children, and the first three are named Summer, Winter, and Autumn. You did not provide any information about the fourth child's name.

Am I my mothers child?

You have not provided any information that confirms or denies whether or not you are your mother's child. If you are the person asking the question and assuming you are the fourth child, then it is reasonable to assume that you are your mother's child.

I am my mother's child. My name is John. Can you name my mother's four children?

You have stated that you are your mother's child, your name is John and your mother has four children. Based on the information you provided, the names of your mother's four children are Summer, Winter, Autumn, and John.

[Chat Ends]

Finally!

Congratulations if you made it this far and thank you for your attention. I was impressed by the natural language capabilities of ChatGPT and the further this chat progressed, the more comfortable I felt regressing toward a more conversational tone and leaving formality behind.

Can you imagine having this conversation with another human, or worse still, trying to explain the riddle's correct answer to someone who just didn't get it, to the extent shown here?

This is why I believe that effective conversation and engagement with artificial intelligence is going to be a must have skill for future generations.

#ai #chatgpt #futureskills #humanintelligence