What planet are you on, ChatGPT?
An artificial intelligence app claims that the tower of St Mary’s church is known locally as the “Reepham Rocket” – and another AI app proves it with a picture.
By our technology correspondent
Reepham, we have a problem: DALL·E 2’s cubist painting of an English parish church whose tower is a Saturn V rocket. Image: OpenAI/DALL·E 2
If you’ve been on planet Earth for the past couple of months you’ve probably heard of the computer program known as ChatGPT.
Widely hailed as the first artificial intelligence (AI) app to generate realistic text on any topic that’s thrown at it, ChatGPT is easily mistaken for a human at the keyboard.
But the “chatbot” launched by US company OpenAI is also well known for sometimes saying things that aren’t true.
The problem is that it’s hard to spot these lapses unless you know the topic well, because ChatGPT is so convincing.
So at Reepham Life we thought we’d check how well the bot knows our town.
ChatGPT, can you tell me a few facts about Reepham in Norfolk?
Yes, of course! Here are a few facts about Reepham in Norfolk:
- Reepham is a small market town located in the county of Norfolk in the east of England. It has a population of around 2,500 people.
- The town dates back to the 11th century, and was an important market town during the Middle Ages.
- Reepham is home to a number of historic buildings and landmarks, including the 14th-century St Mary’s church, which has a distinctive tower known as the “Reepham Rocket”.
- Another notable building in Reepham is the former railway station, which has been converted into a community hub known as The Station.
- The town is surrounded by beautiful countryside, including the Norfolk Broads and the North Norfolk coast, both of which are popular destinations for visitors.
- Reepham is also known for its annual summer festival, which features a range of events and activities for all ages.
- In recent years, the town has become a hub for cycling and outdoor activities, with a number of cycling routes passing through the area.
- Reepham has been used as a filming location for a number of TV shows and films, including the BBC drama “Love on a Branch Line” and the 2008 movie “The Duchess”.
Not bad! ChatGPT might be confusing Reepham’s two stations, and it doesn’t seem to know what the summer festival is for exactly, but most of the text is correct, if a bit dull.
Until we get to point number 3: “St Mary’s church… has a distinctive tower known as the ‘Reepham Rocket’.”
ChatGPT, what planet are you on? No-one we asked had ever heard of this name for the church tower.
“It hasn’t even got a pointy bit!”, said local historian Janet Archer of Reepham Archive. “This is a wind-up,” agreed fellow archivist Ann Middlemas.
Still, you have to admit it’s a clever idea. So we turned to ChatGPT’s sister AI app DALL·E 2, which generates artwork from simple written descriptions.
“DALL·E 2, give me a cubist painting of an English parish church whose tower is a Saturn V rocket.” The result is shown above, and we think it’s rather cool.
So do we have any installation artists willing to create a real Reepham Rocket?