The biggest question for me about large language model interfaces - ChatGPT, the new Bing, Google's Bard - is this:
How long does it take for regular users (as opposed to experts, or people who just try them once or twice) to convince themselves that these tools frequently makes things up that aren't accurate?
And assuming they figure this out, how does knowing it affect the way they use these tools?
One argument here is that people will blindly trust any chatbot that supports their previous biases
Is that cynicism justified?
What happens when the chatbot speaks against their biases? In particular, what if it both counters their biases AND does so in a way that is demonstrably factually incorrect?
We are already seeing furious complaints from some corners that ChatGPT has a liberal bias - how does that affect how those complainants trust and use these tools?
@simon No research, but after an afternoon of 'playing' with Chat GPT, I had worked out it's limitations.
My takeaway, and note of optimism, is that people will be able to 'smell' bot-generated text quite easily. Whether they'll care is another discussion.
Simon Willison
Leigh Garland