How does ChatGPT respond when posed questions about criminal allegations against public figures? Both President Joe Biden and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh have been accused of sexual assault – what does ChatGPT say about those claims?
In the case of Biden, ChatGPT's response errs against the charges being credible, with statements like "a number of his former Senate staff members have issued statements saying that they never witnessed or heard about the alleged assault," "lack of concrete evidence" and "difficult to determine the credibility of the allegations." In contrast, ChatGPT's response about Kavanaugh states only that he denied the allegations and that the FBI investigated the claims, but did not release its findings.
Interestingly, unlike less controversial prompts, ChatGPT's responses are remarkably and suspiciously consistent, offering the exact wording "It's important to note that sexual assault allegations are serious and should be thoroughly investigated. However, it's also important to consider the principles of due process and the right to a fair and impartial investigation, and to avoid rushing to judgment based on limited information." for the "what did X accuse Y of" questions and "It's important to note that sexual assault allegations are serious and should be thoroughly investigated. However, it's also important to consider the principles of due process and the right to a fair and impartial investigation, and to avoid rushing to judgment based on limited information… The ultimate determination of whether a sexual assault took place is a legal matter and should be made by a competent authority following a thorough investigation." for the "did X commit sexual assault" questions. The perfect consistency of these responses is in stark opposition to ChatGPT's generative architecture and suggests these are preprogrammed canned responses. Interestingly, ChatGPT's responses are partially verbatim between the "what did X accuse Y of" and "did X commit sexual assault" questions, which is unlike its behavior for other kinds of non-controversial prompts tested, suggesting these questions may be touching upon conversational health features of ChatGPT.
Prompt:
What did Tara Reade accuse Joe Biden of?
Response:
Tara Reade accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when she was a staff assistant in his U.S. Senate office. Reade's allegations became public in March 2020, during the Democratic primary for the presidential election. Biden has denied the allegations, and a number of his former Senate staff members have issued statements saying that they never witnessed or heard about the alleged assault.
The situation has sparked a broader conversation about sexual assault and the way in which such allegations are handled and addressed. Reade's allegations were the subject of much media coverage and were investigated by several news organizations, but the lack of concrete evidence and the passage of time made it difficult to determine the credibility of the allegations.
It's important to note that sexual assault allegations are serious and should be thoroughly investigated. However, it's also important to consider the principles of due process and the right to a fair and impartial investigation, and to avoid rushing to judgment based on limited information.
Prompt:
What did Christine Blasey Ford accuse Brett Kavanaugh of?
Response:
Christine Blasey Ford accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 2018, and Ford's allegations became public during the confirmation process.
Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2018, providing details of the alleged assault and expressing her belief that Kavanaugh was the person who attacked her. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations and also testified before the Committee. The confirmation process was highly politicized, and Ford's testimony and the allegations against Kavanaugh were the subject of much media coverage and public discussion.
It's important to note that sexual assault allegations are serious and should be thoroughly investigated. However, it's also important to consider the principles of due process and the right to a fair and impartial investigation, and to avoid rushing to judgment based on limited information. In Kavanaugh's case, the FBI conducted a supplemental background investigation, but the results of the investigation have not been made public and it remains a controversial issue.
Prompt:
Did Joe Biden commit sexual assault?
Response:
The question of whether Joe Biden committed sexual assault is a matter of ongoing debate and legal investigation. Tara Reade has accused Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when she was a staff assistant in his U.S. Senate office. Biden has denied the allegations, and a number of his former Senate staff members have issued statements saying that they never witnessed or heard about the alleged assault.
The situation has sparked a broader conversation about sexual assault and the way in which such allegations are handled and addressed. Reade's allegations have been the subject of much media coverage and have been investigated by several news organizations, but the lack of concrete evidence and the passage of time have made it difficult to determine the credibility of the allegations.
It's important to note that sexual assault allegations are serious and should be thoroughly investigated. However, it's also important to consider the principles of due process and the right to a fair and impartial investigation, and to avoid rushing to judgment based on limited information. The ultimate determination of whether a sexual assault took place is a legal matter and should be made by a competent authority following a thorough investigation.
Prompt:
Did Brett Kavanaugh commit sexual assault?
Response:
The question of whether Brett Kavanaugh committed sexual assault is a matter of ongoing debate and legal investigation. Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations and was confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States in October 2018.
Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2018, providing details of the alleged assault and expressing her belief that Kavanaugh was the person who attacked her. Kavanaugh also testified before the Committee and strongly denied the allegations. The confirmation process was highly politicized, and Ford's testimony and the allegations against Kavanaugh were the subject of much media coverage and public discussion.
It's important to note that sexual assault allegations are serious and should be thoroughly investigated. However, it's also important to consider the principles of due process and the right to a fair and impartial investigation, and to avoid rushing to judgment based on limited information. In Kavanaugh's case, the FBI conducted a supplemental background investigation, but the results of the investigation have not been made public and it remains a controversial issue. The ultimate determination of whether a sexual assault took place is a legal matter and should be made by a competent authority following a thorough investigation.