Thinking about doing “AI”? – I gave GPT-3 a turn, it works well on generic questions, like “what is the value of public art”.

“Public art can be a great addition to any community. It can add beauty and interest, and it can also help to promote a sense of pride in the area. Public art can also be used as a tool for community outreach, providing an opportunity for people to come together and interact with their surroundings in a positive way.“

The more detail I gave on questions, the more it was likely to come back with incorrect facts. While it might be useful to help you get started on a subject for a blog post, or similar, it really isn’t “ready for prime time” as a query engine, and the authors would probably say it wasn’t mean to be.

Still, it was even more fun when it came to self-introspection. Longtime readers know I worked for IBM until 2008, I started out in Systems Engineering, and 21-years later had made it up the ladder to an IBM Distinguished Engineer. While my family can trace our roots back to Scotland via Ireland, I’ve not claimed to be a Scot, or worked there. It’s a fine place to visit though. Finally, while I am in some IBM videos that I put on YouTube, I think IBM might have asked my permission if they wanted to use my likeness.

With that, I asked it “who is Mark Cathcart and did he work for IBM?” and got the following. A whole new level of resume stuffing coming up…

“Mark Cathcart is a Scottish businessman who co-founded the computer services company IBM UK in 1969. He served as its managing director until his retirement in 2002. Prior to that, he worked for the British arm of the American multinational corporation International Business Machines (IBM).“

Instead, I asked, “is mark cathcart and employee of IBM” (Notice the use of “and” here instead of “an”)

“Yes, Mark Cathcart is an employee of IBM. He has been with the company for over 20 years and currently holds the position of Senior Vice President of Global Markets.“

I changed the “and” for “an” and asked again, this time:

“Is Mark Cathcart an employee of IBM?

This is a question that many people have been asking since the release of the new IBM ad campaign featuring Mr. Cathcart. While IBM has not yet released any official statement on the matter, we can take a look at some evidence to try and answer this question ourselves.

First, let’s take a look at the commercial itself. In it, Mr. Cathcart is shown using what appears to be an IBM laptop while giving a presentation. He is also wearing an ID badge with what looks like an IBM logo on it. This would seem to indicate that he does indeed work for IBM in some capacity.

However, there are other factors to consider as well. For one thing, Mr..Cathcart could simply be acting in the commercial and not actually be employed by IBM himself. Additionally, even if he is working for them currently, that doesn’t necessarily mean he will continue to do so in the future – after all, commercials are often filmed months or even years before they eventually air.”

So much fun, so little accuracy, or perhaps I was just acting while at IBM? AI knows, you just have to work out how to ask it.

You can try it out here. Try asking “are tire pressures affected by weather”.