You asked: "if a =1, b=2 what is c ..." and then noted that #ChatGPT refused to answer this as an ill-defined question. And then you said "Our jobs are safe".
Hm.
My good students can answer questions. My excellent students find two answers. Then they come back and give me three more. And if they are wrong, they know how to fix things. My outstanding students can critique the question itself.
Here is #GPT4. See for yourself.
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PROMPT:
Here is a puzzle: if a = 1, b = 2 then what are c and d equal to? Please give me 5 correct answers with distinctly different reasoning and each giving a different but reasonable result for c and d. Then tell me whether this is a good question.
GPT4:
Answer 1:
Reasoning: Alphabetical sequence
If we are following the alphabetical sequence where each letter corresponds to its position in the alphabet, then:
c = 3, d = 4
Answer 2:
Reasoning: Doubling the previous number
If we are doubling the value of the previous letter, then:
c = 2 * 2 = 4, d = 4 * 2 = 8
Answer 3:
Reasoning: Fibonacci sequence
If we are following the Fibonacci sequence, where the next number is the sum of the two preceding ones, then:
c = a + b = 1 + 2 = 3, d = b + c = 2 + 3 = 5
Answer 4:
Reasoning: Arithmetic progression
If we are following an arithmetic progression, where each term is a constant difference from the preceding one, other than the difference of 1 in the given sequence (a = 1, b = 2), let's consider a difference of 3:
c = 2 + 3 = 5, d = 5 + 3 = 8
Answer 5:
Reasoning: Squares of natural numbers
If we are considering that the given values correspond to the squares of consecutive natural numbers, then:
c = 2^2 = 4, d = 3^2 = 9
Regarding the quality of the question, it is an open-ended puzzle that allows for multiple interpretations and solutions. This kind of question can be good for stimulating creative thinking and problem-solving skills. However, if you are looking for a single, definitive answer, then this question might not be the best choice, as it can be ambiguous without specific context or additional information.
PROMPT:
But how do you get a = 1 and b = 2 in your answer 4?
GPT4:
Apologies for the confusion. I made an error in my explanation for Answer 4. Here is a corrected version:
Answer 4:
Reasoning: Arithmetic progression with a constant difference
If we are following an arithmetic progression, where each term is a constant difference from the preceding one, other than the difference of 1 in the given sequence (a = 1, b = 2), let's consider a common difference of 1 between two consecutive terms, but with alternating signs (1, -1, 1, ...):
c = 2 - 1 = 1, d = 1 + 1 = 2
In this case, the sequence would be: 1, 2, 1, 2, ...
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I don't know abut your job. I gather it is organized around essay writing and reports. Which generative AI does very well. What I do know is that in my job, there is more than a little that needs to change, and quickly, to keep not only the job "safe", but the entire framework in which this job makes sense at all.
🙂
https://sentientsyllabus.substack.com/p/becoming-fibrous-gpt-4
@boris_steipe Some fair points. My question was deliberately ambiguous to highlight how humans are more likely to instinctively parse the many possible answers and start with the most common explanation, whilst acknowledging the ambiguity... Would your 'good students' do this or offer the garbled responses shown in my screengrab I wonder? Don't get me wrong, I think LLMs are very impressive. My 'jobs are safe' comment was intended as a humorous aside (not to be taken too literally)