Clive ThompsonNov 15, 2023

Pierre-Carl Langlais custom-trained a version of ChatGPT on English texts from the 17th century and earlier ...

... so that it speaks like a 17th-century learned monk ...

... whose factual knowledge of the world ends in the 17th century

It's called "Monad-GPT"

Here's a sample of the dialogue

Item #1 in my latest "Linkfest" newsletter, here: https://buttondown.email/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-13-17th-century-chatgpt-the-merovingian/

Linkfest #13: 17th-century ChatGPT, the "Merovingian" knot, and CT scans of knockoff Airpods

Welcome to the latest edition of the Linkfest! "The opposite of doomscrolling", as I call it πŸ˜… Thank you for subscribing -- and if you’re enjoying it, spread...

Show threadGeoff 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Nov 15, 2023
@clive It's at least as accurate as ChatGPT, and far more historically charming.
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 15, 2023

@_thegeoff

Yeah, I think I might prefer it

Show threadAlexander Doria
@clive @_thegeoff Hi. MonadGPT creator here. Thanks a lot for the mention and the nice words, I’m really touched.
Nov 17, 2023 at 10:48pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadClive ThompsonNov 17, 2023

@Dorialexander @_thegeoff

Oh hi there!!

Awesome work, sir -- such a fun idea, and wonderfully executed!

Show threadGeoff 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Nov 17, 2023
@Dorialexander @clive I'm no big fan of the over-hype on "AI" when it's just a language model with no real understanding, but for what it *actually* is this is a really creative, fun approach. Cap doffed. πŸ‘ 😎