Chat GPT and AI stuff

[Billy Dat]

Over the past couple of days, teachers and professors around the US (and maybe the world) have likely been alerted to the AI app, Chat GPT, that allows anyone to ask it questions or request that it write essays, and, very quickly, spits out generic yet on-message content. I was just testing it out and it is pretty impressive.

https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/

Q. Write a poem about Zion Williamson

Within 30 seconds
Zion Williamson,
A force on the court,
With his power and speed,
He makes the game a sport,

A athlete like no other,
His dunks and his moves,
Leave us in awe,
And make us grooves,

From his days at Duke,
To his time in the league,
He has proven his worth,
And his skills are unique,

A star in the making,
A player to watch,
Zion Williamson,
A name we will not forget.

 

[PackMan97]

Aside from the last stanza...this was pretty good!

Write a poem about UNC's academic scandal

A scandal of corruption,
At UNC it did occur,
Athletes given easy passes,
While others had to toil and purr.

Athletic success was prioritized,
Over academics and the truth,
With fake classes and inflated grades,
The school lost its eternal youth.

But now the truth has come to light,
And justice will be served,
The guilty will face their punishment,
And the school will be preserved.

For UNC is more than just a scandal,
It's a community and a home,
And though this chapter was dark and tarnished,
The future is bright, and it will be shown.

 

[Kdogg]

I was playing with this a week ago. It’s scary that it responds with absolute confidence even if it’s wrong. It’s a matter of gold/garbage in gold/garbage out. If you can manage (manipulate?) it in the right way it’s frightening good. Like replace some human workers good. Did these people never watch Terminator?

 

[rthomas]

Here is a poem ChatbotGPT wrote about my dog:

Black and white, with eyes so bright,
The border collie is a sight to see.
Agile and quick, with energy to spare,
They are a joy to have as a friend and companion.

With their keen intelligence and boundless energy,
They are the perfect breed for those who love to be active.
Whether herding sheep on a farm or playing in the park,
The border collie is always up for a challenge.

So if you're looking for a loyal and loving friend,
A border collie is the perfect choice.
Their eagerness to please and their desire to learn,
Make them a joy to be around, and a lifelong companion.

 

[Skydog]

It is terrible with word problems though. I gave it “If a car goes 1 mph how long would it take to travel 5,280 feet?

It’s convoluted, totally confused response:
“At 1 mph, it would take about 880 seconds to travel 5,280 feet. This is because 1 mph is equivalent to 1.47 feet per second, so it would take 60/1.47 = 40.8 seconds to travel 88 feet. Since 5,280 feet is equal to 60 x 88 = 5,280 feet, it would take 5,280 / 1.47 = approximately 880 seconds to travel that distance at 1 mph.

It's important to note that this is a very slow speed, and most cars are not capable of moving at such a low speed. In fact, most cars have a minimum speed of around 10-15 mph, so it would be impossible for a car to travel at 1 mph for any significant distance.”

I gave it other word problems and it botched those as well.

But give it a non-mathematical question about human behavior and it is remarkably “intelligent.” Here is a made up question with a follow-up:

Me: Tanya and Jasmine are both attracted to their boss Caleb. Is this a problem and if so, why?
AI Answer: It is possible that Tanya and Jasmine being attracted to their boss, Caleb, could be a problem depending on the specific circumstances. If Tanya and Jasmine are both open about their attraction to Caleb and it creates tension or conflict between them, it could potentially be a problem for their work environment. Additionally, if Caleb is aware of the attraction and does not handle the situation professionally and with sensitivity, it could also create problems.

Me: What kind of problems specifically might it cause?

AI answer: If Tanya and Jasmine are both open about their attraction to Caleb and it creates tension or conflict between them, it could lead to a negative or uncomfortable work environment. This could potentially impact their ability to work together and could even lead to one or both of them feeling uncomfortable or unwelcome in the workplace. Additionally, if Caleb is aware of the attraction and does not handle the situation professionally and with sensitivity, it could lead to allegations of favoritism or even sexual harassment. This could be damaging for both Caleb and the company, and could potentially result in legal consequences.”

Ok, nothing brilliant in its response but it was well written and did cover most of the general issues and did well expounding after the follow-up question.

 

[DukeDude]

It is terrible with word problems though. I gave it “If a car goes 1 mph how long would it take to travel 5,280 feet?

It’s convoluted, totally confused response:
“At 1 mph, it would take about 880 seconds to travel 5,280 feet. This is because 1 mph is equivalent to 1.47 feet per second, so it would take 60/1.47 = 40.8 seconds to travel 88 feet. Since 5,280 feet is equal to 60 x 88 = 5,280 feet, it would take 5,280 / 1.47 = approximately 880 seconds to travel that distance at 1 mph.

It's important to note that this is a very slow speed, and most cars are not capable of moving at such a low speed. In fact, most cars have a minimum speed of around 10-15 mph, so it would be impossible for a car to travel at 1 mph for any significant distance.”

I gave it other word problems and it botched those as well.

But give it a non-mathematical question about human behavior and it is remarkably “intelligent.” Here is a made up question with a follow-up:

Me: Tanya and Jasmine are both attracted to their boss Caleb. Is this a problem and if so, why?
AI Answer: It is possible that Tanya and Jasmine being attracted to their boss, Caleb, could be a problem depending on the specific circumstances. If Tanya and Jasmine are both open about their attraction to Caleb and it creates tension or conflict between them, it could potentially be a problem for their work environment. Additionally, if Caleb is aware of the attraction and does not handle the situation professionally and with sensitivity, it could also create problems.

Me: What kind of problems specifically might it cause?

AI answer: If Tanya and Jasmine are both open about their attraction to Caleb and it creates tension or conflict between them, it could lead to a negative or uncomfortable work environment. This could potentially impact their ability to work together and could even lead to one or both of them feeling uncomfortable or unwelcome in the workplace. Additionally, if Caleb is aware of the attraction and does not handle the situation professionally and with sensitivity, it could lead to allegations of favoritism or even sexual harassment. This could be damaging for both Caleb and the company, and could potentially result in legal consequences.”

Ok, nothing brilliant in its response but it was well written and did cover most of the general issues and did well expounding after the follow-up question.

I read an interesting article on The Atlantic from a high school teacher saying this is the beginning of the end of students learning to write. It hypothesized that students will generally take the path of least resistance in learning, and this program can handle all sorts of writing work for them from History and English papers to college application essays. Unfortunately, it is behind a paywall:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/openai-chatgpt-writing-high-school-english-essay/672412/?utm_term=2022-12-09T13%3A56%3A32&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-atlantic

 

[rsvman]

Meh. Those poems were both execrable. The bot is entirely artless, imo. Poems are not just about finding rhyming words. If I were a high school English teacher I would give both poems a C, at best.

 

[snowdenscold]

Meh. Those poems were both execrable. The bot is entirely artless, imo. Poems are not just about finding rhyming words. If I were a high school English teacher I would give both poems a C, at best.

Still better poetry than what I’m able to come up with!

I think poetry assignments were my absolute least favorite part of school growing up.

 

[Bluedog]

I read an interesting article on The Atlantic from a high school teacher saying this is the beginning of the end of students learning to write. It hypothesized that students will generally take the path of least resistance in learning, and this program can handle all sorts of writing work for them from History and English papers to college application essays. Unfortunately, it is behind a paywall:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/openai-chatgpt-writing-high-school-english-essay/672412/?utm_term=2022-12-09T13%3A56%3A32&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-atlantic

Thanks for the link. These passages stood out to me:
"Let me be candid (with apologies to all of my current and former students): What GPT can produce right now is better than the large majority of writing seen by your average teacher or professor. "


"It made quick work out of an assignment I’ve always considered absolutely “unhackable.”"

"It goes further. Last night, I received an essay draft from a student. I passed it along to OpenAI’s bots. “Can you fix this essay up and make it better?” Turns out, it could. It kept the student’s words intact but employed them more gracefully; it removed the clutter so the ideas were able to shine through. It was like magic."

"Which is why I wonder if this may be the end of using writing as a benchmark for aptitude and intelligence."

"Many teachers have reacted to ChatGPT by imagining how to give writing assignments now—maybe they should be written out by hand, or given only in class—but that seems to me shortsighted. The question isn’t “How will we get around this?” but rather “Is this still worth doing?”"

 

[duke74]

The question isn’t “How will we get around this?” but rather “Is this still worth doing?”"

Or…perhaps we can figure out how to use the technology in the learning process. Make it just a tool to achieve the learning objective.

 

[Bluedog]

Microsoft buying 49% stake

Microsoft is reportedly set to invest $10B in OpenAI and will get a 49% stake + 75% share of OpenAI's profits until it makes back its money on its investments. Will we see ChatGPT part of Bing search or even as part of MS Office? It'd be pretty powerful in Word if someone wrote "please write me an essay on X" and it populates the doc for you...I know people say "well, I could just copy/paste" but people tend to be lazy and integrated functionality tends to get used A LOT more. Office has over 1.5 BILLION users.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/10/mic...on-in-chatgpt-creator-openai-report-says.html

 

[PackMan97]

I think one of the challenges in investing in something like Chat GTP - I think there are going to be competitors, LOTS of competitors. This is not going to remain some proprietary technology for long.

I don't think the patents will hold things back all that much as there are so many different ways to do things in programming.

 

[Bluedog]

I think one of the challenges in investing in something like Chat GTP - I think there are going to be competitors, LOTS of competitors. This is not going to remain some proprietary technology for long.

I don't think the patents will hold things back all that much as there are so many different ways to do things in programming.

I think the larger challenge right now is what their strategy is to monetize the technology. Subscription model? Advertisers? Right now, it's free for all and can't imagine it's generating much revenue.

But certainly if there are equal competitors in the marketplace, monetizing things will be even harder.

 

[PackMan97]

I think the larger challenge right now is what their strategy is to monetize the technology. Subscription model? Advertisers? Right now, it's free for all and can't imagine it's generating much revenue.

But certainly if there are equal competitors in the marketplace, monetizing things will be even harder.

I'm guessing two ways:
1) product integration. Search engines seem particularly ripe. Returning a good explanation to a question would be quite valuable (this is basically ad revenue through a third party).
2) subscription. I've tested it for a few things programming related and it does a very good job with the code and a tutorial on what the code does. It would really depend on the cost and the abilities, but I could easily see paying some money to use it monthly.

 

[Skydog]

I'm guessing two ways:
1) product integration. Search engines seem particularly ripe. Returning a good explanation to a question would be quite valuable (this is basically ad revenue through a third party).
2) subscription. I've tested it for a few things programming related and it does a very good job with the code and a tutorial on what the code does. It would really depend on the cost and the abilities, but I could easily see paying some money to use it monthly.

It is terrible with word problems though. I’ve tried a few simple ones and it argues persuasively for 100% incorrect answers. But that will likely be solved in a couple years. Then when we get to the point that AI is good enough to turn on itself (use AI to improve AI) then we better watch out. Don’t connect them to Boston Dynamics or else the rule of man will be over!

 

[tommy]

I just became aware of this two weeks ago when away on a big family trip with my kids and their cousins and aunts and uncles etc. All the kids are high school and college age, and every single one of them knew all about this thing. I had never heard of it, and they demonstrated how it works, primarily on writing essays about any topic, of any length. It was really amazing. They all say, of course, that they don't have it do their writing for them, that they "just use it for ideas here and there," but who knows? Do all the schools know about it? What are they going to do about it? In my opinion there is little that is more foundational to a good education than learning how to write well, and this technology essentially provides students a way to get by in school, or even to excel, without learning how to communicate using the written word. To me, this is a frightening development.

 

[Bluedog]

I just became aware of this two weeks ago when away on a big family trip with my kids and their cousins and aunts and uncles etc. All the kids are high school and college age, and every single one of them knew all about this thing. I had never heard of it, and they demonstrated how it works, primarily on writing essays about any topic, of any length. It was really amazing. They all say, of course, that they don't have it do their writing for them, that they "just use it for ideas here and there," but who knows? Do all the schools know about it? What are they going to do about it? In my opinion there is little that is more foundational to a good education than learning how to write well, and this technology essentially provides students a way to get by in school, or even to excel, without learning how to communicate using the written word. To me, this is a frightening development.

I think the "getting ideas" is totally valid from one perspective (it would call out themes that could talk about), but also certainly is "unfair" in the traditional sense in that that is usually the most difficult part of writing a cohesive piece. In addition, most students are not stupid enough to copy/paste the result EXACTLY as there are now detectors to give a percentage likelihood that it was generated with AI, but one could very easily simply edit the language/word choice to get around this and basically keep all the sentences/themes/structure there and avoid detection I expect...I don't see how teachers are going to get ahead of it. Yes, schools/teachers are aware of it.

 

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I think the "getting ideas" is totally valid from one perspective (it would call out themes that could talk about), but also certainly is "unfair" in the traditional sense in that that is usually the most difficult part of writing a cohesive piece. In addition, most students are not stupid enough to copy/paste the result EXACTLY as there are now detectors to give a percentage likelihood that it was generated with AI, but one could very easily simply edit the language/word choice to get around this and basically keep all the sentences/themes/structure there and avoid detection I expect...I don't see how teachers are going to get ahead of it. Yes, schools/teachers are aware of it.

The irony of it is that in the time the students spend agonizing over how to make it so that it can avoid detection, they could have just done it themselves.

This will only apply in a very limited number of situations, but one solution is to have students do their writing in class. This doesn't really work for research papers and the bulk of the other assignments for which this tool most applies, but it does help a little bit. Of course, it is also not the best use of class time.

Speaking of which, whatever happened to the woman who gave the Duke commencement speech last year that seemed to be plagiarized?

 

[gumbomoop]

Here’s a good discussion from a couple weeks back among some academics and writers. Lots of very important issues are discussed in this video: student learning, teaching, writing, plagiarism (though not really the focus, as it’s a concept that may already or soon be outmoded?). Thoughtful folks here who are already dealing with this, thinking creatively, or trying to. Close to an hour, but obviously you can quit watching if not worth your time.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz7aW6vStBw&list=PLlcx8yl6hlPC3QjlbIHzxGqCP3qRa0zcg&index=3

 

[Bluedog]

The irony of it is that in the time the students spend agonizing over how to make it so that it can avoid detection, they could have just done it themselves.

This will only apply in a very limited number of situations, but one solution is to have students do their writing in class. This doesn't really work for research papers and the bulk of the other assignments for which this tool most applies, but it does help a little bit. Of course, it is also not the best use of class time.

Speaking of which, whatever happened to the woman who gave the Duke commencement speech last year that seemed to be plagiarized?

Her LinkedIn hasn't been updated since spring 2022 when she was at Duke...She was a Rhodes Scholar and Young Trustees Finalist after interning at Credit Suisse as a Summer Analyst. Clearly, a very smart and motivated individual. No idea what she's done post graduation. She issued a half apology, blaming others for giving her "ideas" that were taken from the Harvard speaker but that she didn't know the source of those ideas (Even though it was the language that was used that was basically identical in many cases....).