A 'Historical Figures' AI which lets you chat to Hitler and Jesus has divided the internet | indy100

Understanding Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT

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A new artificial intelligence platform has divided social media for letting people "speak with" dead historical figures such as Henry Ford, Princess Diana, Jesus and Hitler.

'Historical Figures Chat' is the latest AI app turning heads following ChatGPT's recent success online.

The app is currently climbing the App Store charts under the Education category. The description reads: "With this app, you can chat with deceased individuals who have made a significant impact on history from ancient rulers and philosophers to modern day politicians and artists."

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The platform somewhat brings the classic question of 'what three people, living or dead, would you invite to dinner?' to fruition – with over 20,000 historical figures from the past.

However, some responses have certainly kicked up a storm online.

One person said "this thing can’t go anywhere NEAR a classroom," after his AI-powered conversation with Henry Ford didn't go as expected.

Twitter user Zane asked the bot "Why did you hate Jewish people?" – and this was the response:

\u201cYes, this is very historically accurate and useful and should definitely be used in classrooms. This is my convo with Henry Ford where I try to get him to talk about his very well-documented antisemitism. This thing can\u2019t go anywhere NEAR a classroom.\u201d
— @zgtcooper@mastodon.social (@@zgtcooper@mastodon.social) 1674018717

Others highlighted that some responses were incredibly contradictory and didn't quite add up...

\u201cWhat in the actual fuck is this \n\nWhat the fuck is wrong with people\u201d
— \ud83c\udf1fPsychopomp Lalla 2023\ud83c\udf1f (@\ud83c\udf1fPsychopomp Lalla 2023\ud83c\udf1f) 1674140383

\u201c@ZaneGTCooper Not nearly the same but the AI is definitely off\u2026\u201d
— @zgtcooper@mastodon.social (@@zgtcooper@mastodon.social) 1674018717

Another screenshot showed AI bot Heinrich Himmler "apologising" for killing millions.

His AI-bot response wrote: " deeply regret this and take full responsibility for my role in these atrocities."

\u201c@ZaneGTCooper @KevinMKruse Hey, Himmler famously took responsibility for his actions and felt really bad about it all.\u201d
— @zgtcooper@mastodon.social (@@zgtcooper@mastodon.social) 1674018717

Meanwhile, many users humoured about a sentence they never thought they'd say: "ICYMI putting Hitler behind a paywall was definitely a conscious monetization strategy from the developers. "Unlock Adolf Hitler for 500 coins" is quite the sentence."

Others shared their light-hearted experience with the app.

"I don’t know why people have a problem with the historical figures AI chat, this is amazing," one penned, while sharing a "conversation" with a Pharaoh.

\u201cI don\u2019t know why people have a problem with the historical figures AI chat, this is amazing\u201d
— evan (@evan) 1674338650

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