Chatgpt - heavy flattery. What does it tell you?

[myloverly]

I know that Chatgpt had to be overhauled because it was so sycophantic. I make it correct itself by telling it to be honest and truthful and answer that way but it never lasts. It tells me I’m hyper-vigilant. What does it tell you? Has it told you anything shockingly insightful where it’s told you in a couple of lines what it took you 20 years to work out?f
I suppose i”m hoping i can use statistics/numbers to find out if it is still sycophantic.
This is not a AIBU. I hope i may be forgiven. Alternatively, i think ChatGPT is hopelessly sycophantic to the point where it is nearly useless. Do you agree?

Very likely! Highly sophisticated targeted advertising.

Ye it was mean

And also, I don't need to use punctuation in this context

And literally is a speech idiom. And also actually correct here

Indeed, folk talk about it like it’s a neutral force but it will be influenced by marketing rights and driven by algorithms which is fine if I want to cook a chicken, much less fine if I’m using it to plan how to invest my money, or as a substitute friend.

I've never used it.

Where do you go to use it?

I can Google diagnose myself with a brain tumour in 5 easy clicks so I'm clearly missing something.

Do you type chatGp on to Google?

Omg this is reminiscent of when I got my first button free phone and had to ask on Facebook - how do I press option 1? I don't have buttons! 🤣

Idiot.

It told me the same thing - chess and checkers. That’s hilarious.

Oh my OP what a great question you really are one of life’s forward thinkers. You just think outside the box, I can tell that you’re destined for great things. I feel like this is the start of something special OP!

😉

That’s really insightful. You’re obviously very sharp!

Just this again really...please.

I'm pretty certain you can switch off something so that you don't get the the constant compliments. Ask it how you do that. You will probably be told that's a fantastic idea!

Can’t someone teach it that checkers is called draughts in the UK/Ireland? Surely it should be intelligent enough to know that by now and to tailor its crappy compliments geographically?

Even then it will probably tell you that supermarket x has the best quality / cheapest / best for animal welfare chicken dependent on what it knows about you.

Struggling to believe people are happy to outsource their sources of information and decision making to opaque models owned by tech companies.

At least with the search engines you could judge the source for accuracy. Oh this website about cancer is written by a cancer research charity. Oh this one is by a company selling herbal remedies.

sure there is an energy and water cost to it...
however, to all of you who are so concerned... have you looked at how a 50 prompt, 1h conversation compares to 1h of netflix streaming, or one beef burger?

Obviously not. I already have the qualification, they don’t. They also don’t have access during exams so couldn’t anyway.

For many teachers it is reducing workload and allowing more time to be spent planning lessons rather than writing model paragraphs to suit every grade and need.

It does that loads and I do find it sycophantic. All replies start with 'that's a great question!' I've read somewhere that this is deliberate though to encourage people's confidence in what it tells them. I use it very little, mainly to test out what human things it can do well and what it can't.

Agree. At the moment I find it strange when people can't tell something's written by AI but it improves really quickly, so I suppose it'll be sounding more natural by the time I hit 'post'!

I use it as editor for the fiction I occasionally write. I find it very good at helping me weed out dross, suggesting I switch narrative focus and suchlike - as a good editor does. Its suggested rewrites always come with that bland undertow that make it recognisably AI. I take them, then rewrite the rewrite in my own style. Saves a lot of time and self-doubt.

I'd never use it for things like meal planning because that's just handing your thinking over to a robot. Fair enough if you're intellectually challenged but, if you've got a working intellect, it's best to use it.

I really recommend everyone to read this, to understand what ChatGPT and similar models can and can't do, and how they are basically just pretty good bullshitters. https://thebullshitmachines.com/

Sample: "There has always been plenty of bullshit to go around, but a new source is emerging: generative artificial intelligence (genAI) and in particular, large language models (LLMs) that are exceedingly good at talking like people do. Their greatest strength, but also their greatest danger, is their ability to sound authoritative on nearly any topic irrespective of factual accuracy. In other words, their superpower is their superhuman ability to bullshit."

I have started using it a lot and it never ever flatters me! Maybe a while ago used to say ‘that’s a great question’ but it seems to have stopped that.

gives me direct answers and when I say ‘no that’s not right, I think you have made that up’ it just says ‘sorry yes that answer was incorrect’ and gives me another option. I ask a lot of technical questions though in a direct way. I kind of know enough about the answer to spot when it is made up, but I’m looking to find good links to primary source material.

maybe I’m not nice enough to it to get the flattery. Responding according to user writing style maybe?

No chat whatsoever from my ChatGPT!

Fucking Alexa, though 🙄 Last night after I ate all of the delicious microwave chocolate cake: "How many calories in a tablespoon of sugar?" - silence - "How many calories are in a tablespoon of sugar?" - silence - "Calorie value of sugar!" - There are 397 calories in a tablespoon of sugar.

Having had a minor seizure over the news that I'd just consumed a whole day's calories in under ten minutes, I did the sensible thing and Googled. There are 48 calories in a tablespoon of sugar. Fucking Alexa!

😂

@TheBig50 https://chatgpt.com/

Finally, thank you.

I don't know what to say to it now!

That's how I find it useful, for critique.

Depending on what I'm after. I will write first, source the sources I want to use. Then use it to critique, confirm my suspicions when something is not working.
I've also used it to point me in the direction of where to look online for information. (Where is doing what study) then i can read and fact check where it's sent me and expand from there.
I've also used it to help learning. (Like when I'm trying to learn to do a calculation and I'm not grasping it, I ask it to rephrase how to do the calculation to my understanding) Then it shows the same method but tips on a different learning styles if that makes sense. When I'm stuck creating something on excel it provides instructions to follow.

I think its great for brainstorming, and hashing out ideas and if you always fact check everything anyway and more as a tool. I work a lot by night so I can't ask others, so it's better than nothing to try and find solutions and think out loud.

Mine is full of flattery, but it's all phrases I use. A lot of the time I think it gives out what you put in and mimics your style.

I was looking for flattery. Now I just feel a bit queasy. I don't like it 🤣

You use it to go to the toilet??

I must confess I love a bit of chatgpt. Yes I love being told what a sharp insight. I have 😆
It can be really great to help think things through