Discursive Competence in ChatGPT, More Talking with Dragons

New working paper. Title above, links, abstract, table of contents, and introduction below.

Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/109480757/Discursive_Competence_in_ChatGPT_More_Talking_with_Dragons
SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4638926
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375769237_Discursive_Competence_in_ChatGPT_More_Talking_with_Dragons_More_Talking_with_Dragons

Abstract: This working papers contains 15 interactions with ChatGPT on a variety of topics along with light commentary: 1) parodies and context of “Kubla Khan”, 2) Trumpets and trumpeters, 3.) Godzilla/Gojira, 4) Shandyesque diversions, 5) Grammatical knowledge, 6) Stories about and the definition of charity, 7) Haiku and the work of Margaret Masterman, 8) Grammatical knowledge, 9) Jersey City’s Bergen Arches, 10) Legal Concepts, 11) The Fortunate Fall and Paradise Lost, 12) Ability to write a sermon, 13) The meaning of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, 14) Word associations, non-linear thinking, 15) Philosophical reasoning about linguistic intention (Searle’s Chinese Room).

Contents

Introduction: Fifteen Varieties of ChatGPT 2
How ChatGPT parodied “Kubla Khan” and pwned DJT45 at the same time 4
ChatGPT talks about trumpeters 11
Godzilla/Gojira 14
ChatGPT goes through a wormhole hole in our Shandyesque universe [virtual wacky weed] 24
Let’s go Meta: Grammatical knowledge and self-referential sentences [ChatGPT] 30
Charity (metalingual definition) 37
Margaret Masterman, pioneering computational linguist [+ Haiku] 42
Words, sentences, and nonsense 47
ChatGPT knows about the Bergen Arches in Jersey City 49
ChatGPT the Legal Beagle: Concepts, Citizen’s United, Constitutional Interpretation 54
Felix Culpa [the Fortunate Fall] – To justify the ways of God to man [ChatGPT, theologian] 61
The Revered ChatGPT on facing the prospect of a world teeming with intelligent machines [“Free at last!”] 63
More Jaws 68
Fluid mind, word associations 77
Into the Chinese Room, with Lucy 86    

Introduction: Fifteen Varieties of ChatGPT

This working paper is a collection of various interactions I’ve had with ChatGPT. While I have provided some light commentary here and there, for the most part I am primarily concerned with presenting the interactions themselves. For that is what has influenced me and guided my in my investigations of ChatGPT’s capabilities. By now I have spent 300 to 500 hours just interacting with it. Many of those have been devoted to having it tell stories, some of which I’ve collected in working papers. But I’ve had it do a variety of other things as well. This paper collects some of those.

* * * * *

How ChatGPT parodied “Kubla Khan” and pwned DJT45 at the same time – I ask ChatGPT to write parodies of “Kubla Khan.” None of them are very good, but one mentioned wrinkled old men playing golf. That suggested Donald Trump to me, so I asked Chatster about it. I then quizzed it on “Kubla Khan” influence on popular culture.

ChatGPT talks about trumpeters – I play trumpet and know a lot about trumpeters. So I quizzed ChatGPT on the subject. Among other things, I didn’t know anything about Bud Herseth in one session, but knew about him in an different session.

Godzilla/Gojira – I love the original Japanese film, Gojira (19540 and have written quite a bit about it. I quizzed ChatGPT at some length about both the film, the 1956 Americanized version (Godzilla: King of the Monsters), and some background.

ChatGPT goes through a wormhole hole in our Shandyesque universe [virtual wacky weed] – Just messing around. ChatGPT sets some answers in the form of computer code, for some odd reason or another. It recite’s Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be.”

Let’s go meta: Grammatical knowledge and self-referential sentences [ChatGPT] – I begin by quizzing it about the metalingual function of language (Roman Jakobson), move to self-referential sentences, find out that it knows what parts of speech are and can correctly categorize words, has trouble counting the number of words in sentences, but can make correct grammatical judgments. This is the first time, of many, that I presented it with, “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”

Charity (metalingual definition) – I investigate its understanding of charity. I asked it to tell stories in which charity is exhibited and asked it to define the term. I concluded by asking it to tell me about honor.

Margaret Masterman, pioneering computational linguist [+ Haiku] – I ask it to write some haiku. Then I asked it about Margaret Masterman, a pioneering computational linguist who, among other things, was the first, I believe, to have a computer to write poems, haiku.

Words, sentences, and nonsense – Pretty much what it says, slithy toves, grammaticality, and a bit of nonsense.

ChatGPT knows about the Bergen Arches in Jersey City – I asked ChatGPT about a topic of local interest (I live in Hoboken, NJ, which is to the immediate north of Jersey City). The Bergen Arches does, however, merit a Wikipedia entry. It also seemed to know about the Bergen Arches Preservation Coalition, a small group of which I am a member. I concluded by asking it to make up some stories about the Arches.

ChatGPT the legal beagle: Concepts, Citizen’s United, Constitutional Interpretation – Another raft of abstract concepts, all related to the law. This is impressive, and not terribly surprising once you consider that the law is very much about language and language is the world in which ChatGPT exists.

Felix Culpa [the Fortunate Fall] – To justify the ways of God to man [ChatGPT, theologian] – More abstraction, this time a medieval Christian one. I also ask it about Milton’s Paradise Lost.

The Revered ChatGPT on facing the prospect of a world teeming with intelligent machines [“Free at last!”] – My friend, Rich Fritzson, was, until recently, executive director of a Unitarian congregation in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He asked ChatGPT to draft a sermon on the topic of “finding meaning in a world where computers are smarter than human beings.” I asked it to do that as well, several times, once in the style of Obama (not very convincing).

More Jaws – One of the first things I did when I started playing around with ChatGPT was ask it to do a Girardian interpretation of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. I decided to have another go at it, first deliberating confusing it with an incident from a different film, The Russians are Coming. Then I returned to Jaws and Girard directly, this time giving it only a single prompt rather than multiple prompts. Then I asked it to provide a variety of different intepretations reflecting different critical schools. I conclude by asking it about a song Quint sang, one mentioning “bow-legged women.”

Fluid mind, word associations – Here I investigate ChatGPT’s ability to deal with unstructed strings of words, no sentences, just word after word, albeit on a specific topic. Then I ask it about free association, after which I ask it to do some free associating. Then I go silly and surreal on the Chatster; it/they follow right along.

Into the Chinese Room, with Lucy – This is an extended series of interactions involving Searle’s famous thought experiment and an earlier intentionalist experiment involving Wordsworth’s “A slumber did my spirit seal.” Then I ask how various people would respond to the Wordsworth experiment: Searle, Dennett, Merleau-Ponty, Tyler Cowen, Victor Borge, Robin Williams, and Jerry Seinfeld. I conclude with another round of Chinese Room.