The use of “hallucinate” is a stroke of true evil genius in the AI world.
In ANY other context we’d just call them errors & the fail rate would be crystal clear.
Instead, “hallucinate” implies genuine sentience & the *absence* of real error.
Aw, this software isn’t shit! Boo’s just dreaming!
Even the term 'lie' or 'prevaricate' (IT IS A PIE) is so fundamentally inaccurate to what the program does, though we've used that anthromorphization in other, non-chatbot ways through the years.
Of course, the robot does not lie: it outputs what it has been told to output. The programmers and executives, on the other hand...
I call them lies.
I wanted to check on a detail about an event in a book because I want sure it was appropriate for a minor. Instead of rereading the book, I foolishly asked Chat GPT. The LLM said that event didn't occur.
I knew it did, I just couldn't remember a specific detail. I kept pressing and eventually it responded that it knew about the event but said it didn't occur because it didn't want to upset me. (Because gifting a minor a book with traumatizing content wouldn't be upsetting!?)
So, yeah, that a lie in my book.
Catherynne M. Valente
Jennifer Kayla | Theogrin 🦊
Jennifer