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cahnLast post, along with the usual 18th-century suspects, included the Ottonians; changing ideas of conception and women's sexual pleasure; Isabella of Parma (the one who fell in love, and vice versa, with her husband's sister); Henry IV and Bertha (and Henry's second wife divorcing him for "unspeakable sexual acts"). (Okay, Isabella of Parma was 18th century.)
ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-08 06:23 am (UTC)The problem is that the way it works is not through making what a human would call reasoned sense (it doesn't actually understand anything), but rather by being trained by a whole lot of data and grabbing stuff from that data corpus. So you can ask it to explain a subject and something at a superficial general level it'll usually give you a pretty good general explanation, but as soon as you are interested in anything a little more specific, it starts falling apart (as it doesn't necessarily have enough or even any training data to be able to mine). Indeed, sometimes it gets things entirely wrong, but convincingly sounds like it knows what it's talking about (if one doesn't know better).
All that is to say that, of course, I asked it a few salon-related items and I thought you might be amused as to how well it does but at the same time how wrong it did get things :) Bold-faced are what I asked it; plain text is its reply:
write a story about voltaire and wilhelmine discussing katte
Once upon a time, Voltaire and Wilhelmine, a close friend of Frederick the Great, were discussing the fate of one of Frederick's closest friends, Katte. Katte had been sentenced to death for disobeying the king's orders and attempting to help one of Frederick's enemies escape from prison.
Voltaire was horrified by the news and could not believe that Frederick would allow such a thing to happen. He argued passionately with Wilhelmine, trying to persuade her to intercede on Katte's behalf and convince Frederick to spare his life.
Wilhelmine, however, was loyal to Frederick and believed that he had made the right decision. She argued that Katte had betrayed the king's trust and that he deserved to be punished.
Despite Voltaire's best efforts, Wilhelmine would not be swayed. In the end, Katte was executed, and Voltaire was left to mourn the loss of a brave and honorable man.
From that day on, Voltaire's respect for Frederick was forever tarnished, and he could never quite forgive him for the death of his friend.
wilhelmine is frederick the great's sister
Yes, you are correct. Wilhelmine was the sister of Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia. She was a close friend and confidant of the king, and she was known for her intelligence and her loyalty to her brother.
Katte was Frederick's friend
Yes, that is correct. Katte was a close friend of Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia. He was a talented officer and a brave soldier, and he was known for his loyalty and his devotion to the king.
However, despite his many good qualities, Katte was sentenced to death by Frederick for disobeying his orders and attempting to help one of his enemies escape from prison. This event caused a rift between Frederick and Voltaire, who was a friend of Katte and could not forgive the king for his actions.
No, Frederick the Great did not sentence Katte to death.
I apologize if I gave you incorrect information earlier. As a large language model, I do not have the ability to browse or search for information, and I can only respond based on the text that I was trained on. It is possible that I may make mistakes or provide incorrect information if the text I was trained on is incorrect or incomplete.
To my knowledge, based on the text that I was trained on, Frederick the Great did sentence Katte to death for disobeying his orders and attempting to help one of his enemies escape from prison. This event caused a rift between Frederick and Voltaire, who was a friend of Katte and could not forgive the king for his actions. If this information is incorrect, I apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding that I may have caused.
------------------------
[This is a natural mistake for it to have made, I think, because in English texts it would be natural to mix up "Frederick" and "Frederick Wilhelm" and think they were the same person! But now, the really interesting thing is that I did all this two days ago and then didn't have time to write it up for salon. I had mentioned to E that ChatGPT sometimes got things very wrong and tried the same thing again tonight to show her ChatGPT getting Katte wrong. And lo: it still gets things wrong (and warning to mildred for victim-blaming), but not as many! Someone is fixing their algorithms in real time...]
write a story about voltaire and wilhelmine discussing katte
Once upon a time, Voltaire and Wilhelmine met in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. As they strolled among the lush greenery, they began to discuss the tragic fate of a young man named Katte.
Katte, a close friend of the Prussian Crown Prince, had been sentenced to death for his role in helping the prince attempt to flee from his father, King Frederick William I. The king was known for his strict and authoritarian rule, and the prince had grown tired of the constant pressure to conform to his father's expectations.
"It is a shame that such a young man had to suffer for the mistakes of his friend," Voltaire said, shaking his head. "But perhaps it is a reminder to all of us to be careful in choosing our allies and our causes."
Wilhelmine nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Katte was a brave man, but he paid the ultimate price for his loyalty. I only hope that his sacrifice will not be forgotten and will serve as a warning to others who may be tempted to defy the king."
As they continued to walk and talk, Voltaire and Wilhelmine discussed the broader implications of Katte's fate and the harsh realities of life under an oppressive regime. They both agreed that it was important to stand up for what was right, but also to be mindful of the potential consequences of their actions.
In the end, Voltaire and Wilhelmine parted ways, each with a renewed sense of purpose and determination to fight for justice and freedom in their own ways. And though Katte's story had come to a tragic end, his legacy lived on in the hearts and minds of those who had known and loved him.
Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-08 06:27 am (UTC)Write a story with Frederick and Voltaire talking.
Frederick and Voltaire were sitting in the king's study, engaged in a lively conversation. Frederick was leaning back in his chair, his face animated as he spoke.
"Voltaire, you must understand that this is the only way," he said, his voice urgent. "We must take action now, before it is too late."
Voltaire shook his head, his expression skeptical. "I agree that the situation is grave, Frederick, but I am not convinced that violence is the answer. There must be another way to solve this problem."
Frederick sighed and rubbed his temples. He knew that Voltaire was a man of peace, but he also knew that the situation demanded decisive action.
"Voltaire, my friend, I understand your reservations," he said. "But trust me when I say that this is the only way. We must strike now, before our enemies have the chance to regroup and counter-attack."
Voltaire looked at Frederick for a long moment, his eyes searching the king's face. Finally, he nodded, his expression resigned.
"Very well, Frederick. I will trust your judgement. But I hope that you are right, for all of our sakes."
With that, the two men shook hands, united in their determination to protect their country from its enemies.
make it snarkier
Here is a revised version of the dialogue between Voltaire and Frederick that is snarkier in tone:
Frederick and Voltaire were sitting in the king's study, engaged in a lively conversation. Frederick was leaning back in his chair, his face smug as he spoke.
"Voltaire, you must understand that this is the only way," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "We must take action now, before it is too late. But of course, what do I know? I am just the king, after all."
Voltaire rolled his eyes, his expression sarcastic. "I agree that the situation is grave, Frederick, but I am not convinced that violence is the answer. There must be another way to solve this problem, one that doesn't involve spilling innocent blood."
Frederick sighed and rubbed his temples. He knew that Voltaire was a man of peace, but he also knew that the philosopher's sharp tongue could be irritating at times.
"Voltaire, my friend, I understand your reservations," he said. "But trust me when I say that this is the only way. We must strike now, before our enemies have the chance to regroup and counter-attack. But of course, what do I know? I am just the king, after all."
Voltaire looked at Frederick with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "Very well, Frederick. I will trust your judgement. But I hope that you are right, for all of our sakes. And for the sake of your ego, of course."
With that, the two men shook hands, united in their determination to protect their country from its enemies, even if they didn't always see eye to eye.
[LOL FOREVER to "for the sake of your ego, of course"!]
Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-08 06:54 am (UTC)This is amazing. I told it to write me a story, and it gave me a history lesson (mostly, not entirely accurate), and then I told it to "add more dialogue", and it ADDED MORE DIALOGUE! Now it reads like fiction.
Update: I just tried "make them more ruthless" on Charles XII and Görtz, AND IT DID. They're now plotting to kidnap family members as leverage.
Okay, wow, I need to stop and get back to German reading (I'm on a roll this week), but holy cow.
...I just told it "Gian Gastone was gay" and it changed "beautiful women" to "beautiful men." I'm dying.
Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-08 04:48 pm (UTC)Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-08 07:32 am (UTC)Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-09 07:05 am (UTC)Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-08 06:40 am (UTC)I can totally see how "Frederick" and "Frederick William" would be confused, makes perfect sense. And even in German, Friedrich and Friedrich Wilhelm would be--although if it were trained on German texts, there might be more relevant hits that would allow it to sort the two out. But still, wow!
In the end, Voltaire and Wilhelmine parted ways, each with a renewed sense of purpose and determination to fight for justice and freedom in their own ways.
I wrote a fic that ended like that, once. :P
This is great.
The timing is also something, because half an hour before you posted this, I was reading my RSS feed, and the SMBC comic was this. (More proof, imo, that we teach literature wrong, but don't get me started.)
Also, I admit that when I started reading this, I thought, "I know our topics are getting broader, but did you mean to post this here?" and then it turned into pure on-topic comedy gold! :'D
Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-08 04:45 pm (UTC)Loooool I betaed that fic, once :D
Heh, the timing is not coincidental... ChatGPT just came out last week and has sort of exploded onto the AI scene. (I learned about it from my best friend K.) Just in the last couple of days my phone has fed me articles from the Atlantic Will ChatGPT kill the student essay? and from Slate: A.I. could be great for college essays.. I don't really know what the right way to teach literature is, but I've said for years that the main useful adult skill I learned from my non-technical classes in college was the ability to argue convincingly in writing that I knew what I was talking about when I didn't really and possibly hadn't done the reading either. This turns out to be a Very Useful Skill for parts of my job! Though I'm more than willing to hand that one over to an AI :P
Also, I admit that when I started reading this, I thought, "I know our topics are getting broader, but did you mean to post this here?" and then it turned into pure on-topic comedy gold! :'D
:D
Re: ChatGPT and what it knows/doesn't know
Date: 2022-12-09 12:13 am (UTC)You wrote 10% of that fic, once!
Heh, the timing is not coincidental... ChatGPT just came out last week and has sort of exploded onto the AI scene.
Interesting! I know I've seen chatter at work recently about AI writing code, but, like, a couple months ago, not last week.
I don't really know what the right way to teach literature is, but I've said for years that the main useful adult skill I learned from my non-technical classes in college was the ability to argue convincingly in writing that I knew what I was talking about when I didn't really and possibly hadn't done the reading either.
And that may indeed be a very useful skill, but the one thing it's not is literature!