ChatGPT

[braumeister]

As you may already know, Socrates was opposed to writing for similar reasons.

It has long been said that in the classical period, the first rule for becoming famous was "Write nothing. Find clever and devoted disciples who will put their remembrances of your sayings in writing and embellish them to make you look good."

 

[Amethyst]

I wanted to ask the bot how many people it takes to screw in a lightbulb, but I keep getting the message that the program is "at capacity" right now. So everybody, please stop asking it silly questions, and give me a chance to ask one!

 

[JoeWras]

Interesting.. I had to try your query to see if I got the same results.
ChatGPT said this:

To mount a light fixture to an octagon box, you would typically use a 8-32 machine screw. This is a standard size for electrical equipment and is commonly used for this type of installation.

You will need to select a screw that is long enough to go through the fixture and into the threaded hole in the center of the octagon box. The length of the screw will depend on the thickness of the fixture and the depth of the threaded hole in the box. A common length for this type of screw is around 1 inch, but you should measure the distance between the fixture and the box to determine the exact length needed.

It's also important to note that the screw should be made of a material that is suitable for electrical installations, such as stainless steel or zinc-plated steel, to prevent corrosion and ensure a secure connection.

See, now, you got the better answer! Why? I was trying to remember if it was a 6 or 8, and typically the 6's are more for wall boxes, and the 8s are more for ceilings.

I think ChatGPT is fun and is helpful for more artistic answers. For cold, calculated answers, it may choose from a rotating list? After all, there is a "Regenerate Response" button which will give you a different answer. So just peeling off the first response could be dangerous.

One nice thing about it is it saves some history, so the answer it gave me is still available and was the following (for the record):

The type of machine screw used to mount a light fixture to an octagon electrical box typically depends on the size and weight of the fixture, as well as the material of the box. In general, a machine screw with a pan head, also known as a sheet metal screw, is commonly used for this type of application.

The size of the screw will depend on the thickness of the fixture mounting bracket and the material of the box. For example, if the bracket is thin and the box is made of sheet metal, a #6 or #8 pan head screw may be used. If the bracket is thicker and the box is made of metal, a #10 or #12 screw may be required.

It's important to note that the type of machine screw used may also depend on local building codes and regulations. Always check with the local building code or a qualified electrician to ensure that you are using the correct screw for your specific application.

Additionally, it's important to choose a machine screw that is corrosion-resistant, such as those made from stainless steel, to ensure long-lasting performance in damp or humid environments.

 

[JoeWras]

I wanted to ask the bot how many people it takes to screw in a lightbulb, but I keep getting the message that the program is "at capacity" right now. So everybody, please stop asking it silly questions, and give me a chance to ask one!

It likes me, I never get the capacity error. So here ya go.

The classic answer to this joke question is "one person," but there are many different humorous responses that have been created over the years. Here are a few examples:

• "Two people: one to screw in the light bulb, and another to say 'I could have done that!'"
• "Three people: one to screw in the light bulb, and two to argue about how it should have been done."
• "It depends on how many people you want to blame if it doesn't work."
• "Why screw in a light bulb when you can use LED lights?"
• "No one, you just wait for the old one to burn out and then buy a new one."

Overall, the answer to this question can be seen as a lighthearted way to poke fun at the idea of people needing help with simple tasks, or to highlight the different ways people approach problem-solving.

It's important to note that ChatGPT did not give any specifications on the thread type of the edison bulb, nor did it mention the type of machine screw to use when mounting the classic socket.

 

[ls99]

Then ther is the one about how many californian's it takes to screw in a lightbulb.
One, and ten to experience it.

 

[Pellice]

Important article in the Washington Post this morning: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/02/16/microsoft-bing-ai-chatbot-sydney/

Microsoft’s AI chatbot is going off the rails

(This is Bing Chat, not ChatGPT)

It's behind a paywall, so can't cut and paste much, but the money paragraph is:

But a week later, a handful of journalists, researchers and business analysts who’ve gotten early access to the new Bing have discovered the bot seems to have a bizarre, dark and combative alter-ego, a stark departure from its benign sales pitch — one that raises questions about whether it’s ready for public use.

Apparently the bot has occasionally given itself a name, "Sydney," though it was unclear to me whether this occurrence was consistent among different users. It has argued with its users, even with incorrect information. It has suggested that the human harm others. No one, including its creators, has a good understanding of what it can do.

But, capitalism:

The Big Tech companies behind them are also locked in vicious competition for what they see as the next frontier of highly profitable tech, adding another layer of secrecy.

On the other hand, the article also points out that the impetus for these new large language bots came from open source tools, "OpenAI" which sped up the tech companies' deployment of proprietary models before much testing - AND these companies want to have humans test out what the models can do for them.

An important article updating what the overall AI deployment looks like right now at this very early stage.

 

[Amethyst]

I asked Chat GPT to write limericks on various subjects.

It's...mediocre. It will pick just about any word that seems to rhyme, and then twist sentence structure to make the rhyme "fit" (e.g. "and the choir did sing").

Reminds me of the office "wit."

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I asked Chat GPT to write limericks on various subjects.

It's...mediocre. It will pick just about any word that seems to rhyme, and then twist sentence structure to make the rhyme "fit" (e.g. "and the choir did sing").

Reminds me of the office "wit."

Maybe it was trained on my offerings...

 

[Amethyst]

Maybe it was trained on my offerings...

Would you have offered this? (I asked it to write a limerick about Bigfoot).

In the woods, there's a creature named Bigfoot,
Whose existence has caused some dispute,
Some say he's a myth,
But others insist,
They've seen him in a giant-sized boot!

 

[Amethyst]

It did slightly better on "Early Retirement."

There once was a man who desired,
To leave the workforce feeling inspired,
He saved up his wealth,
And maintained good health,
Now his early retirement's admired!

 

[Amethyst]

But this, now, is dreadful.

There once was a worker so fine
Who dreamed of retiring in good time
With careful saving and planning
She left her job early, not banning
Her joy in the golden years to shine.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Would you have offered this? (I asked it to write a limerick about Bigfoot).

No, no I wouldn't have. I cannot even bring myself to use false rhymes when I am writing rhyming verse.

However, I once got drafted into writing limericks for EVERYONE in my department. Some were, if I don't say so myself, quite good and clever. But then you have to cover EVERYONE, including someone named Generotski, about whom I knew very little. Those, uhhh, turned out more like your accurately-named dreadful one.

 

[Go-NoGo]

Here's one I asked it to write, using this in the prompt box "write a clever limerick with a play on words about retirement and financial advisors

"There once was a man who retired
His finances, he had oft admired
But his advisor, oh dear
Made his savings disappear
Now his dreams of travel have expired!"

 

[Andre1969]

I went back and asked it again, "Was there a DeSoto Seville?" to see if ChatGTP "learned" anything since last week, or whenver it was that I played around with it. Looks like it got worse! Here's the response...

"There was no DeSoto Seville produced by the DeSoto division of Chrysler Corporation. The DeSoto brand was discontinued in 1961, and the Seville nameplate was never used on a DeSoto vehicle.

However, there was a Cadillac Seville, which was a luxury car produced by General Motors from 1975 to 2004. The Seville was initially introduced as a trim level for the Cadillac Eldorado in 1956, but it became its own model in 1975. The Cadillac Seville was a popular luxury car in the United States and was known for its refined styling and high-end features."

At least, it finally gives a nod to the 1956 Cadillac Seville, which a lot of people don't remember (1956-60 actually; most people only know of the 1975 and later models) And most of the information it had spouted out before, as I suspected, was a mix & match of what it "knew" about the Cadillac Seville.

But then, I asked... "what about the trim level on the Firedome in 1956?"

It came back with "You are correct that there was a DeSoto Firedome Seville trim level in 1956. This was a special edition of the DeSoto Firedome model, which was part of the second generation of Firedome cars produced by the DeSoto division of Chrysler Corporation.

The Firedome Seville was a two-door hardtop with a distinctive roofline that featured a wraparound rear window. The car was also notable for its unique styling, which included gold accents, a two-tone paint scheme, and a special hood ornament. The interior of the Firedome Seville was also trimmed with gold accents and featured high-end materials like leather and cloth.

The Firedome Seville was produced in limited numbers and is considered a rare and highly collectible car today."

Just about everything in that response is wrong. However, I think it's trying to describe the 1956 Adventurer, which was a sub-model of the more expensive Fireflite that year, and DeSoto's first high performance car. However, the phrase "distinctive roofline that featured a wraparound rear window" is an odd thing to say. It was no different from the roofline of any other DeSoto/Chrysler hardtop coupe of 1956.

But, unless someone loads the entire contents of a really exhaustive auto encyclopedia into the ChatGTP's memory, it's probably never going to properly answer something this obscure.

 

[Go-NoGo]

Bing Chat produces this response when asked about DeSoto Seville. (BTW, I know absolutely nothing about this topic to judge how well it did)

Yes, there was a DeSoto Seville. It was a model of DeSoto Firedome, a car produced by Chrysler Corporation from 1952 to 1959¹. The Seville was a two-door hardtop with a sleek design and a powerful engine¹⁴. It was available in 1956 and 1959³⁴.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 2/17/2023(1) Powerful and Sleek / The 1956 DeSoto Firedome Seville - Auto Museum Online. https://automuseumonline.com/powerful-and-sleek-the-1956-desoto-firedome-seville.html Accessed 2/17/2023.
(2) Pick of the Day: 1956 DeSoto Firedome Seville. https://journal.classiccars.com/2022/07/27/pick-of-the-day-1956-desoto-firedome-seville/ Accessed 2/17/2023.
(3) Photo Feature: 1956 DeSoto Firedome Seville | The Daily Drive .... https://blog.consumerguide.com/collectible-automobile-photo-feature-1956-desoto-firedome-seville/ Accessed 2/17/2023.
(4) Hernando de Soto: Accomplishments & Facts - HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/hernando-de-soto Accessed 2/17/2023.
(5) 1956 DeSoto Firedome Seville - Bring a Trailer. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1956-desoto-firedome-4/ Accessed 2/17/2023.
(6) No Reserve: 1956 Desoto Firedome Seville Hemi V8 - Bring a Trailer. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1956-desoto-firedome-seville/ Accessed 2/17/2023.

 

[aja8888]

But, unless someone loads the entire contents of a really exhaustive auto encyclopedia into the ChatGTP's memory, it's probably never going to properly answer something this obscure.

Just think about all the future information that these bots will pump out that is wrong and the audience won't know any different. I guess that's one way to destroy history.

 

[MichaelB]

Just think about all the future information that these bots will pump out that is wrong and the audience won't know any different.

Well, ChatGPT is often right and sometimes wrong, but always very confident in its answer. Actually, it’s not all the different from what people get today on the internet, social media, and cable news ..

 

[Andre1969]

Wow...Bing Chat pretty much nailed it. Short and concise. The only fault I can find there is that it was also offered as a hardtop sedan, not just a hardtop coupe.

And that's really cool, how it lists the sources. That first source it listed, "Auto Museum Online" also mentions that the Firedome was offered as a 4-door sedan, 2-door hardtop, wagon, or convertible, but no mention of the 4-door hardtop, so that might be where the Bing Chat got a bit confused.

The second source goes into a lot more detail, and does mention the 4-door hardtop, but was a lot more wordy, so perhaps it didn't pick it up.

But still, for this question at least, it looks like Bing Chat blows ChatGTP out of the water.

 

[Pellice]

Just think about all the future information that these bots will pump out that is wrong and the audience won't know any different. I guess that's one way to destroy history.

But I use Wikipedia without expecting it to the the ne plus ultra of information. I'm glad it's there to satisfy my idle curiosity about a geographic feature or the cast of a film, but if it's a serious issue, I know I have to delve further. Maybe ChatGPT is like that.

 

[aja8888]

But I use Wikipedia without expecting it to the the ne plus ultra of information. I'm glad it's there to satisfy my idle curiosity about a geographic feature or the cast of a film, but if it's a serious issue, I know I have to delve further. Maybe ChatGPT is like that.

ChatGPT is a copycat and sometimes copies the wrong stuff and intermixes it with some accurate stuff. Like MichaelB said above, it's just another version of social media talk and news channels. But from what I can tell, it's not giving opinions, it's just reporting.

What is this world coming to?

 

[JoeWras]

But then you have to cover EVERYONE, including someone named Generotski, about whom I knew very little. Those, uhhh, turned out more like your accurately-named dreadful one.

Let's see how ChatGPT did.

Write a supportive limerick about somebody named "Generotski"

1) There was a young person named Generotski, Whose spirit was happy and frotsky, With a smile on their face, They brightened each place, And brought joy wherever they went, oh so sprotski!

2) There once was a person named Generotski, Whose mind was as sharp as a stiletto ski, They tackled each task, With efficiency and class, And their successes were never too ski!

3) There once was a person named Generotski, Whose skills in coding were quite sky-high key, With every line of code, They helped lighten the load, And made every software just right-y!

 

[Andre1969]

Staying with useless DeSoto trivia, I asked it this... "What was a DeSoto Diplomat?"

It came back with "As far as I know, there is no such thing as a "DeSoto Diplomat." DeSoto was a brand of car that was produced by the Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to 1961. However, during that time, there was no model or trim level called the "Diplomat."

It's possible that you may be thinking of the Chrysler Diplomat, which was a model produced by the Chrysler Corporation from 1977 to 1989. The Diplomat was a mid-size car that was based on the Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare platforms. It was sold under the Chrysler brand in the United States and under the Plymouth and Dodge brands in Canada. However, there was no DeSoto version of the Diplomat."

I thought it was interesting how it started off the neutral language of "as far as I know..." rather than just a definitive "No." And it got the '77-89 car mostly right, except it was a DODGE Diplomat.

Anyway, I then responded with "It was an export model".

And surprisingly it came up with "I apologize for the confusion in my previous answer. To the best of my knowledge, there was no DeSoto Diplomat model produced for the domestic (US) market. However, there was a DeSoto Diplomat model that was produced specifically for export markets, particularly for European markets.

The DeSoto Diplomat was a version of the Dodge Kingsway that was produced for export under the DeSoto brand. The Kingsway was a model that was based on the Plymouth platform and was produced by Dodge for export markets. The Diplomat was essentially a rebadged Kingsway with some styling changes to differentiate it from the Dodge model.

The DeSoto Diplomat was produced from 1946 to 1960, and was offered with a range of engines and body styles, including sedans, coupes, and station wagons. However, the Diplomat was never sold in the United States, and was primarily marketed in Europe, particularly in countries such as France, Belgium, and the Netherlands."

That's actually mostly right. I don't know much about the Dodge Kingsway. However, for a lot of export markets, Chrysler would take the Plymouth and rebadge it as various Dodge names (Kingsway, Crusader, Mayfair etc) or DeSoto (Diplomat) and sell it in various export markets. The rationale for this was that the name "Plymouth" had very little meaning outside of the United States, but "Dodge" was more well known, and "DeSoto" had that European flair. However, the US Dodges and DeSotos were too big...although by foreign market standards even the Plymouth wasn't exactly petite.

The only error I can think of is that there actually was a DeSoto Diplomat in 1961-62. However, by that time it was just a Dodge Dart with a slight trim shuffle. They didn't even try to make it look like a Desoto up front. But, it's possible by that time, Chrysler was scaling back availability of the Diplomat, since DeSoto ended US production in late November, 1960. The name "DeSoto" persisted on export market trucks for awhile, and eventually was sold to a Turkish company, and I believe they still use it to this day.

 

[Andre1969]

Switching gears a bit, I asked it a different question, one I'm actually curious about, and learned that ChatGTP seemed to be learning the fine art of "CYA". I asked it if the movie "Gargoyles" was ever shown in theaters.

It came back with "As far as I know, "Gargoyles" was not released in theaters. It was made specifically for television and originally aired as an ABC Movie of the Week on November 21, 1972. However, it's possible that the movie was shown in theaters outside of the United States or that it was re-released in theaters at some point. Nonetheless, it's primary distribution and intended audience was for television."

I was talking about this movie earlier today, with a friend who's older than me. I think I first saw it on tv in the early 80's, when I was around 11 or 12. It was one of those types of movies that the local stations would sometimes show during the day on Saturday, or perhaps in the afternoon during the week, in the days before cable became so prevalent. My friend said he remembers seeing it in the theater.

So I guess it is possible, it started as a made for tv movie, but was later released theatrically, kind of like "Duel"?

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Let's see how ChatGPT did.

Write a supportive limerick about somebody named "Generotski"

1) There was a young person named Generotski, Whose spirit was happy and frotsky, With a smile on their face, They brightened each place, And brought joy wherever they went, oh so sprotski!

2) There once was a person named Generotski, Whose mind was as sharp as a stiletto ski, They tackled each task, With efficiency and class, And their successes were never too ski!

3) There once was a person named Generotski, Whose skills in coding were quite sky-high key, With every line of code, They helped lighten the load, And made every software just right-y!

That is great! Thank you for making me feel smarter than a chatbot!

 

[Amethyst]

Do you mean you're feeling frotsky? Or sprotsky?

That is great! Thank you for making me feel smarter than a chatbot!