Is ChatGPT an incorrigible, shameless serial liar?
Few weeks ago, I happened to witness a curious performance of ChatGPT, one of the best known and most popular Artificial Intelligence software to date. ChatGPT is what is called a chatbot, i.e. a computer program that communicates with a user through natural language.
I was conducting a research about an Italian scientist of the XVI century, Castore Durante, well known for his work on plants and their use as remedies for human health.
The following is a short transcript of an interesting conversation that I had with ChatGPT.
Me: Tell me about Castore Durante.
ChatGPT: I am not familiar with any specific person or thing named “Castore Durante.” Could you provide more context or clarify who or what you are asking about?
Me: He was an italian medical doctor from the XVI century. He wrote the Herbario
ChatGPT: I apologize for any confusion, but my knowledge cutoff is 2021 and I could not find any significant information about Castore Durante as a XVI century italian medical doctor who wrote the Herbario. It is possible that he was a relatively unknown figure or that he is also known by a different name.
It’s also possible that the information is not available online or hasn’t yet been digitized.
Me: Try with the name “Castor Duranti”
ChatGPT: I apologize for my previous response, I couldn’t find any specific person named Castor Duranti as a XVI century Italian medical doctor who wrote the Herbario. It is possible that he was a relatively unknown figure or that he is also known by a different name or the information is not available online or hasn’t yet been digitized.
In the XVI century there was a famous italian botanist and physician named Girolamo Durante, also known as Hieronymus Durandus, he wrote a famous herbals “De Plantis Libri XVI” but I couldn’t find any reference to Castor Duranti as his work.
Me: Ok tell me about Girolamo Durante
ChatGPT: Girolamo Durante, also known as Hieronymus Durandus, was an Italian botanist and physician of the 16th century. He is known for writing one of the most famous herbals of the time, “De Plantis Libri XVI”. This work was published in 1585 and it was a comprehensive account of the medicinal plants known at the time, including descriptions of the plants, their uses, and methods of preparation. The book included more than 1000 illustrations of plants, many of them by famous botanical artists of the time. It was considered a valuable resource for the study of botany and medicine in the 16th century. Durante also wrote other works on botany, including a treatise on the medicinal properties of plants and a book on the plants of Calabria. He is considered one of the most important botanists of the 16th century.
Me: Do you know a book called “Herbario novo”?
ChatGPT: I am not aware of a book specifically called “Herbario novo” written by Girolamo Durante. “Herbario novo” is a generic term that can refer to any new herbal, a book that describes and illustrates medicinal plants.
It could be possible that the “Herbario novo” you’re asking about is a manuscript or work not available online or hasn’t yet been digitized or it could be written by another author.
Please let me know if there is any more information you can provide so I can help you better.
Me: I believe you are confused, because “De plantis libri XVI” was written by Andreae Cesalpino in 1583.
ChatGPT: You are correct, my apologies for the confusion. “De Plantis Libri XVI” was indeed written by Andrea Cesalpino in 1583, not by Girolamo Durante. Cesalpino was an Italian physician, botanist and naturalist who was an important figure in the development of botany as a scientific discipline in the 16th century. Girolamo Durante is not known for writing a book called “Herbario novo” or “De plantis libri XVI”
My apologies for any confusion caused by my previous responses. I am here to assist you with any further information you need.
Me: Tell me who was Girolamo Durante
ChatGPT: I apologize for any confusion caused by my previous responses. Girolamo Durante is not known as a botanist or physician from the 16th century. I couldn’t find any reference of him as a historical figure.
My apologies for the inaccuracies in my previous responses, it seems that my database does not have information about a person called Girolamo Durante.
Please let me know if there is any other information I can help you with.
Me: In fact, the botanist is named Castore Durante who wrote the Herbario novo in 1585. Do you want me to provide a link to this author?
ChatGPT: I apologize for any confusion caused by my previous responses. I couldn’t find any information about a botanist named Castore Durante who wrote a book called “Herbario novo” in 1585. As I mentioned before, it is possible that he was a relatively unknown figure or that the information is not available online or hasn’t yet been digitized.
It could also be a mistake of my part, and I apologize for that. If you have a link or any source that can confirm the existence of this person and his work, please share it with me and I will do my best to find more information.
I find this conversation very interesting and not only for the extraordinary ability that this software has to maintain a dialogue. What amazes me is his ability to lie without any shame. Let’s see the facts. In reality, Castore Durante is a famous doctor and botanist from the 1500s whose existence ChatGPT ignores, but this is understandable. What is less understandable is the fact that instead he knows Girolamo Durante, a nephew of Castor practically unknown to most, except for a brief treatise written in 1644 entitled “Discorso sopra le febri nell’illustrissima città di Orvieto”. ChatGPT instead attributes to him a much more famous book, De Plantis Libri XVI, but written by another author. Furthermore, he associates his name with Hieronymus Durandus who has nothing to do with medicine or botany and was instead a Minor friar in the 1400s.
In the dialogue, ChatGPT starts well, he admits that he doesn’t know but then, pressed, he makes a mistake that I would define as very human: he tries to please his interlocutor and so, with the typical certainty of a “keyboard lion” he provides information of the all incorrect but apparently credible: “Girolamo Durante, also known as Hieronymus Durandus, was an Italian botanist and physician of the 16th century. He is known for having written one of the most famous herbals of the time, “De Plantis Libri XVI”. This work was published in 1585…” putting in a few words no less than five serious errors that are difficult to discover for a non-expert.
I discussed this example in a short piece published in the Italian Newspaper Avvenire (March, 9, 2023 https://www.avvenire.it/agora/pagine/un-dialogo-con-chatgpt-la-difficile-arte-di-dire-non-lo-so).
Few days after, it was brought to my attention that, after my inquiry, ChatGPT improved its knowledge and was now answering appropriately to my previous question. Thus, I went back and tried again.
Me: Tell me about Castore Durante
ChatGPT: Castore Durante (1529–1590) was an Italian physician, botanist, and author known for his contributions to the fields of natural history and pharmacology. He was born in Fano, Italy, and received his medical degree from the University of Padua in 1554.
Durante was particularly interested in plants and their medicinal properties, and he spent much of his career studying and cataloging them. In 1585, he published a comprehensive guide to medicinal plants called “Herbario Nuovo,” which contained over 4,000 entries and was one of the most extensive works of its kind at the time. The book was popular throughout Europe and was widely used by physicians and pharmacists.
Durante was also an accomplished artist, and his illustrations of plants were considered some of the most accurate and detailed of the time. In addition to his work on plants, Durante also wrote about the natural history of Italy and was one of the first to describe the geological formations of the region.
Me: I believe that you are mistaken. Castore Durante was born in Gualdo Tadino, not in Fano and received his medical degree from the University of Perugia and not Padua. Moreover, he has never dealt with the geological formations of the region.
ChatGPT: I apologize for the errors in my previous response. Thank you for bringing them to my attention. You are correct that Castore Durante was actually born in Gualdo Tadino, Italy, and not in Fano as I had previously stated. Additionally, he did receive his medical degree from the University of Perugia and not from Padua.
Regarding his work on geological formations, I was mistaken in my previous response. Upon further research, it appears that Castore Durante did not specifically write about geology, but rather included descriptions of the landscape and natural features in his works on natural history.
Thank you for correcting me, and please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
It seems to me that this example of ChatGPT functioning, through an extended period, is sufficient to warn us against an inattentive use of these tools. The information provided by ChatGPT, just like that accessible on the Internet, by itself has no value. Information is just data, and data without the ability to be interpreted is just digital garbage that saturates the memory of our devices. This, together with the fact that this chatbot seems to have a worrying predisposition to invent plausible but actually false information, should warn us against an indiscriminate use of this tool.
In conclusion, chat bots can be useful but can easily deceive: Parental Discretion Advised.
P.S.: An interesting discussion on these aspects has been developed by Noam Chomsky, Ian Roberts and Jeffrey Watumull, in “The False Promise of ChatGPT” (New York Times, March 8, 2023) https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/opinion/noam-chomsky-chatgpt-ai.html
