Adding a feature because ChatGPT incorrectly thinks it exists

I think folks have taken the wrong lesson from this.

It’s not that they added a new feature because there was demand.

They added a new feature because technology hallucinated a feature that didn’t exist.

The savior of tech, generative AI, was telling folks a feature existed that didn’t exist.

That’s what the headline is, and in a sane world the folks that run ChatGPT would be falling over themselves to be sure it didn’t happen again, because next time it might not be so benign as it was this time.

You sound like all the naysayers when Wikipedia was new. Did you know anybody can go onto Wikipedia and edit a page to add a lie‽ How can you possibly trust what you read on there‽ Do you think Wikipedia should issue groveling apologies every time it happens?

Meanwhile, sensible people have concluded that, even though it isn’t perfect, Wikipedia is still very, very useful – despite the possibility of being misled occasionally.

> despite the possibility of being misled occasionally.

There is a chasm of difference between being misled occasionally (Wikipedia) and frequently (LLMs). I don’t think you understand how much effort goes on behind the scenes at Wikipedia. No, not everyone can edit every Wikipedia page willy-nilly. Pages for major political figures often can only be edited with an account. IPs like those of iCloud Private Relay are banned and can’t anonymously edit the most basic of pages.

Furthermore, Wikipedia was always honest about what it is from the start. They managed expectations, underpromised and overdelivered. The bozos releasing LLMs talk about them as if they created the embryo of god, and giving money to their religion will solve all your problems.