Holy smokes! Look what we can do!

Kirk Ericson | Jan 26, 20230

Some of you former school kids might remember when the most reliable place to find the information required to write a book report was the World Book Encyclopedia.

Those volumes, whose spines in the 1970s were tinted hunter green and linen white, and whose page edges were gilded in gold, were popular back in the days when you could go months without hearing someone use the word “virtual” or “artificial intelligence,” or ask “Where’s my phone?”

The collection had several volumes, from A to Z, and some of the letters were condensed into one volume, like W-X-Y-Z. You’d have a topic, you’d open the volume corresponding to the first letter of the topic, and then you’d rewrite the encyclopedia entry so your teacher couldn’t tell you cribbed it from the World Book Encyclopedia. Teachers in those days knew the headwaters for most of the plagiarism they’d have to wade through came from that encyclopedia.

Say you had to write about the history of Chicago, and the World Book entry for the subject of Chicago read like this: “Chicago’s critical location on the water route linking the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River shaped much of its early history. It was populated by a series of native tribes who maintained villages in the forested areas near rivers.”

You could turn that into something like this: “The Great Lakes were among the bodies of water that influenced Chicago in its beginnings. Indians lived in the forests near the rivers.”

But with the recent debut of ChatGPT, a “chatbot” that can spit out flawless paragraphs when prompted by a statement or question, those days of hunter green and linen white can now be considered plagiarism’s quaint days.

The splash that ChatGPT has created feels much like the period when Google’s search engine started blowing away other search engines. Except now, instead of Google dispatching Ask Jeeves, AltaVista and Lycos, ChatGPT is poised to blow away Google. There’s no better illustration of the sensation ChatGPT has created than having its website shut down Tuesday because it had all the traffic it could handle.

Imagine those panicked students who had papers due by midnight that night.

Pity me, too. I, along with Mrs. Ericson and friend Joe Garcia, had come up with questions that we could feed into the chatbot, like “Is there really a thin line between love and hate?” and “Make me laugh,” and “What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs at night?” But I was shut out.

Fortunately, I had fed a half dozen questions (mostly column ideas) into ChatGPT on Sunday, and received about 150 words of fine writing in less than a minute. Check out the following answers, and realize that the plagiarism checker I use — Grammerly — returned “Looks like your text is 100% original” on five of the six questions I submitted. A few tweaks on the suspect answer allowed it to pass the plagiarism check. Also, I didn’t copy edit any of the answers.

Question: Have most people in Western Washington stepped on a slug while barefoot?

ChatGPT Answer: “It’s difficult to say with certainty whether most people who have lived in Western Washington for more than 15 years have stepped on a slug at least once while barefoot, as this would likely depend on a variety of factors such as their specific living conditions and habits. However, it’s possible that many people in this area have had this experience, as Western Washington is known for its moist climate which is favorable for slug populations. Additionally, if someone is barefoot and walks outside, it’s a possibility that they may step on a slug, but there is no way to know for certain, as it would depend on where and when the person is walking.”

Question: Can my friend Ron really tell whether an AA battery is drained of charge just by picking it up and feeling its weight?

Answer: “It is unlikely that someone can tell whether an AA battery is drained just by picking it up and feeling its weight, as the weight of a battery is not directly related to its charge level. The weight of a battery primarily depends on the type of metal used in the anode and cathode and the amount of electrolyte used inside the battery. Batteries, especially those with low charge, may have a slight difference in weight due to some leakage or corrosion, but it’s not significant enough to be felt and it would be hard to tell the difference between a low charge battery and a fresh one. Additionally, even if a battery has juice, it may not be enough to power a device. A device may require a certain minimum voltage to operate, and a battery that has a low charge may not be able to provide it.”

Question: Lots of people in Mason County think their house was a former bordello.

Answer: “It’s possible that many people in Mason County believe that their houses were former bordellos due to the area’s history. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many towns in the western United States, including those in Mason County, had a significant presence of brothels, also known as bordellos. These establishments were often located in the bustling areas of towns, such as near mines, railroads and other sources of employment.

“Over time, as these establishments closed or were shut down, the buildings that housed them may have been repurposed for other uses, such as residential homes. It’s possible that some of these buildings still exist and have been converted into homes, leading some residents to believe that their houses were former bordellos. It’s also possible that the belief is perpetuated by local lore or stories passed down through generations. However, it’s hard to confirm if a house was a former bordello based on its current appearance or the stories passed down through generations, as records of such establishments were often not well kept, and it could be hard to find concrete historical evidence.”

Question: Do most cohabiting couples tear open packages containing food or food products the same way?

Answer: “It is unlikely that most cohabiting couples tear open packages containing food or food products in the same way, as people have different habits and preferences when it comes to opening packages. Some people may prefer to use scissors, while others may prefer to use their hands or a knife. Some people may prefer to carefully open a package, while others may just rip it open. Additionally, the package and its contents play a role, some packages are easier to open than others. It’s also important to note that the way a package is opened may not be a significant issue for most cohabiting couples, as it is a small aspect of their relationship. It’s more likely that couples would have disagreements or different preferences in other areas of their life together.”