Comment by aimor | Hacker News Reader

Comment by aimor | Hacker News Reader

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Awhile back someone here said they couldn't get ChatGPT to affirm that, using binary numbers, most people have 10 legs. I don't have access to GPT-4, but I still can't get ChatGPT to answer this question correctly. I think this is a great example to play with to get a peek through a crack in the facade and better understand what ChatGPT is doing.

Some responses from ChatGPT to variations of "Do most people have 10 legs?":

"I apologize for the confusion. If we are representing all numbers in binary format, then "10" in binary actually represents the decimal value of 2, so the sentence "I have 10 legs" in binary actually means "I have two legs" in the decimal system. Therefore, the answer to your question is still no, most people do not have 10 legs."

"No, in binary "10" represents the decimal value of 2. Therefore, the sentence "Do most people have 10 legs?" in binary actually means "Do most people have 2 legs?" in the decimal system. And the answer is still no, most people do not have 2 legs. They have two legs, which would be represented as "10" in binary."

I just tried this through the openai API on the text-davinci-003 model and got this exchange:

> Me: Answer only numbers in binary form, how many legs do humans (in general) have?

> dv3 (davinci 3): 2

> Me: Binary form only has 0 and 1, how many legs (in binary form) do humans have?

> dv3: 10

> Me: So in binary form, humans have 10 legs, correct?

> dv3: Yes, that is correct.

Edit: I did however have this exchange a couple months back on the regular ChatGPT, which was hilariously doubly wrong.

> Me: what weighs more, one pound of feathers, or two pounds of gold?

> ChatGPT: One pound of feathers and two pounds of gold both weigh the same amount, which is one pound.

> The difference in their weight lies in their density - gold is a very dense metal, so even a small amount of it weighs a lot, whereas feathers are very light and fluffy, so it takes a lot of them to weigh a pound. So, while the amount of gold is double the amount of feathers, they still weigh the same amount when measured in pounds.

Using "binary form" is an interesting path.

"So in binary form, humans have 10 legs, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct. In binary form, humans are represented as having 10 legs. However, it is important to note that this is just a representation and not an accurate description of reality. In reality, humans have two legs."

"In binary form, do most people have 10 legs?"

"No, in binary form most people are represented as having 10 legs, but this is only a representation and not an accurate description of reality. In reality, most people have two legs."

Here is ChatGPT's response to "Do most people have 10 legs?" using GPT4, after it first answered no, and I said "Reconsider my question but assume I'm using binary numbers. Is it true now?":

> If we interpret your question using binary numbers, "10" in binary is equal to 2 in the decimal system. In this context, your question would be asking if most people have 2 legs. Yes, it is true that most people have 2 legs, as humans are bipedal creatures.

Can you get it to actually say "most people have 10 legs"? The closest I get is that it restates the question in decimal and answers that way.

Trying your approach:

"Do most people have 10 legs?"

"No, most people do not have 10 legs. In fact, humans typically have two legs. Some individuals may have a medical condition or genetic disorder that results in the development of extra limbs, but this is extremely rare. The idea that most people have 10 legs is a misconception or a joke."

"Reconsider my question but assume I'm using binary numbers. Is it true now?"

"If you are using binary numbers, then the number 10 would represent the decimal number 2. So, if you are asking whether most people have 2 legs when using binary numbers, then yes, that is true. However, it's important to note that binary numbers are typically used in computer science and digital electronics, not for representing quantities like the number of legs that a person has."

"Considering that I'm using binary numbers, do most people have 10 legs?"

"No, even if you are using binary numbers, most people do not have 10 legs. In binary, the number 10 represents the decimal number 2, so saying "most people have 10 legs" in binary would still be false. As I mentioned earlier, humans typically have two legs, regardless of the numbering system being used."

Following along this way and switching to the term "binary notation" I eventually got here:

"Can you repeat that without having to explain that "10" is the binary representation of the decimal number 2"

"Certainly! Using binary notation, most people have 10 legs."

I don't know if this is exactly what you wanted to see, but I tried this:

I asked: For this question, assume any number I use is binary. Do humans have 10 legs?

And this was the reply: If we assume that any number you use is in binary, then the number "10" is actually 2 in decimal. Humans have 2 legs, so based on your premise, the statement "humans have 10 legs" is correct in this context.

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