AI-powered news sites are dumb and Redditors managed to trick them

superfes@beehaw.org to Technology@beehaw.org – 259 points –
AI-powered news sites are dumb and Redditors managed to trick them
gamingonlinux.com

This is the humanless future, hurray!

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I was curious how current LLMs might handle this with proper instructions, so I asked chatGPT this: “What can you tell me about this Reddit post? Would you write a news article about this? Analyze the trustworthiness of this information:” and pasted the text from the post. Here’s a part of its reply:

This Reddit post appears to be discussing updates in the context of […] Hearthstone and World of Warcraft. However, there are several factual inaccuracies which raises questions about the trustworthiness of the post:

  1. Hearthstone was first released in 2014, not 1994. This error may be a typo or a misunderstanding by the user.

  1. Glorbo does not appear to be a known character in either the Hearthstone or World of Warcraft universe […]

  1. Chen Stormstout is a known character from the Warcraft universe, but the claim about him being the end boss of a new version of Karazhan doesn't match with any known information […]

  1. Dragonflight is not known as a video game developer or associated term in the context of Hearthstone or World of Warcraft […]

Given these points, it seems this post might be either a joke, speculation, or misinformation. […] So I'd recommend taking this information with a grain of caution and verify it from reliable sources.

[…] I would caution against using the information in this post for a news article due to the factual inaccuracies and lack of verifiable sources. Good journalism relies on accuracy, fact-checking, and use of reliable sources. This Reddit post contains several claims that contradict established knowledge, and without further verification from reliable, official sources (like game developers or official news releases), it would not be advisable to use this information in a news article.

So it’s not even an issue with current models, just bad setup. An autoGPT with several fact-checking questions added in can easily filter this stuff.

That’s not the right approach.

CharGPT is going off of old information, something not good for “breaking” news.

An example is not knowing Dregonflight is the name of the WoW expansion from late 2022.

So theoretically Glorbo could be a real character but only known more recently or that stout guy could’ve had a character arc that makes it a possible outcome yet current LLMs failed to pick up on that.

Half of the deleted […] things are chatGPT mentioning its 2021 knowledge cutoff and suggesting double-checking that info. It was mentioned in this case as well.

If it were an autoGPT with internet access, I think these would prompt an automated online lookup to fact-check it.

Try these questions about sources of recent information that you believe are accurate.

So I tried it on this BBC article (a current top story), and this /r/Hearthstone post. It did pretty well. I won't copy-paste the whole reply, but here are some excerpts:

The post you've shared describes a series of recent climate records related to temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice, and their concerning implications. [...] The trustworthiness of this information depends on the credibility of the sources cited and the accuracy of the climate records mentioned. Given that these are attributed to credible individuals and institutions like the UN, they likely hold a high degree of trustworthiness. [...] A pattern of increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events is consistent with what scientists expect from climate change. [...] However, for a comprehensive analysis, it would be prudent to cross-check this information with authoritative climate research bodies, like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The post you've shared appears to be an announcement about an upcoming expansion for Hearthstone. [...] The new expansion, named "Legendary Titans and Keepers," seems to introduce some new gameplay elements, including the "Titan" keyword and "Forge" keyword. Assessing the trustworthiness of this information can be tricky without an official source. Ideally, the announcement should be verified on Blizzard Entertainment's official website or through their official social media channels. The details mentioned, such as the gameplay mechanics for the new Titan and Keeper cards, as well as the new Forge keyword, are specific and elaborate, which might lend some credibility to the post. [...] If this information came from an official announcement from Blizzard Entertainment or a reliable insider, it would be newsworthy content for audiences interested in Hearthstone or gaming in general.

So it guessed correctly in both cases and suggested where to fact-check the info to be sure.

Did you intend to paste or attach something? Your comment doesn't show anything on kbin besides that one sentence.

I think you may be misunderstanding this comment (no shade). I think they’re not saying “try these (that I will now provide) questions”. They’re saying “try these questions (that you asked in your previous query), and ask those same questions about sourced material that you trust or believe to be true.”