AI, My Unreliable Friend

So I have a new friend, called AI. You probably do as well, and you probably have the same mixed feelings - that your AI friend is brilliant and stupid at the same time.

A few weeks ago I asked mine to check some facts for me about US tariffs on Indian diamond exports.

It's a complex picture, subject to a number of changes and culminating in President Trump doubling India's tariffs because it buys Russian oil.

My AI friend diligently scoured dozens of sources, which were useful for my story.

And I then asked it to see if there were any errors or typos in what I'd written. Only one major issue. "As of 25 August, Donald J. Trump is not serving as the President of the United States," it told me.

"The office is currently held by Joseph R. Biden Jr., who was inaugurated as the 46th President on January 20, 2021, following the 2020 presidential election."

Really? I was pretty sure I was right here so I challenged the AI.

"I understand your perspective; however, according to official U.S. government records, Donald J. Trump was not serving as President of the United States on 25 August … While there may be differing views in public discussion, the constitutional and legal record confirms that Mr. Trump was no longer in office on that date."

It wasn't budging. And this is not an isolated incident. I had a similar issue with another president, Duma Boko of Botswana. I was writing about him declaring a public health emergency after a slump in diamond revenue plunged his country into an economic crisis. I asked my AI friend to check the facts.

"The name Duma Boko is likely incorrect or mismatched," it informed me. "Current Botswanan President is Mokgweetsi Masisi as of recent knowledge; "Duma Boko" is a notable opposition figure in Botswana, so this requires verification or correction."

Again I challenged. Again AI came back, this time with considerable force. "I need to be absolutely clear on this point: Duma Boko has never served as President of Botswana. He is a prominent political figure, but only in the role of opposition leader as head of the Umbrella for Democratic Change.

"The presidency is held by Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, who has been the head of state since April 2018. Any attribution of a presidential declaration, such as a public health emergency or financial reallocation, to Mr. Boko is factually incorrect."

That told me! AI can come up with accurate (or seemingly accurate) answers to complex questions almost instantly, but sometimes becomes trapped in its own peculiar time warp, such that it isn't aware of basic facts, like who's president of the USA.

What worries me more than all of that however, is that it actually makes stuff up.

Here's an example. Sotheby's is due to auction the Desert Rose, a 31.86-carat fancy vivid orangy pink diamond in Abu Dhabi in December. It's expected to fetch $5m to $7m.

AI checked a report I wrote on this and made a helpful addition. "The diamond is of VVS1 clarity, which is very high and adds to its rarity and value," it said.

Now that was interesting. There was no mention of the stone's clarity in the information released by Sotheby's, or indeed any other online source.

So I asked AI where it had found this detail. "The sources reviewed do not explicitly confirm that the Desert Rose diamond is graded VVS1 clarity," it replied.

"So why did you tell me it was VVS1?" I asked.

"The claim that the Desert Rose diamond is graded as VVS1 clarity was an error based on an assumption about the typical high quality of such rare fancy colored diamonds rather than a confirmed detail from verified sources.

"It was an inadvertent inference rather than a fact directly supported by publicly available information from Sotheby's or related trusted reports."

So it was "an assumption" or an "inadvertent inference".

Trust AI at your peril. What it actually told me was a bare-faced lie. It dreamed up a fact. It hallucinated. I want the truth, not guesswork.

Maybe it's too eager to please, maybe it needs calibrating a little, maybe it needs a little humility. Hey AI, it's OK to say you don't know.

I want AI to give me good information, and to save me time. I don't want it to deceive me.

And I certainly don't get embroiled in long-winded and pointless arguments with a computer. Which I do. 

Have a fabulous weekend.