Yahoo Autos Disclaimer Says ChatGPT ‘Is Not Intended to Give Advice’
After all sorts of news features about the dangers of chatbots—including one that asked a reporter to leave his wife for it—our correspondent gives it a try.
Asked if the redesigned 2024 Subaru Crosstrek (pictured above) could fit a bike in the cargo hold, ChatGPT had no idea, even though interior dimensions are readily available.
We had fun with other questions like, how many cases of beer can you transport in a 2023 Porsche 718 Cayman? Or, how many adult bodies can fit in the trunk of a 1968 Pontiac Grand Prix?
A test-drive of ChatGPT has been nagging at me for nearly half a year. Last February, I caught an episode of CBS’ 60 Minutes in which an artificial-intelligence expert described—to Leslie Stahl, if memory serves—how ChatGPT could instantly measure whether a minivan could transport a large piece of furniture.
The AI expert used a Honda Odyssey as the example, and the article may have been a desk. The Odyssey, the AI guy told Stahl, could not carry the furniture item even with its third row folded.
Yikes. Honda has worked so hard to engineer a flat-folding second row, like the rest of the minivan industry, and ChatGPT doesn’t bother to fold it for the measurement?
Even after all sorts of news features about the dangers of chatbots—including one that asked a reporter to leave his wife for it—I finally give it a try. This disclaimer on ChatGPT’s opening page gives me pause:
“While we have safeguards in place, the system may occasionally generate incorrect or misleading information and produce offensive or biased content,” the disclaimer concludes. “It is not intended to give advice.”
That sounds like a fortune teller warning that the tarot cards are “for entertainment purposes only.”
Undeterred, I begin with a personal example:
Q. Can I fit a bicycle into a Subaru Crosstrek without removing the bike’s front tire?
ChatGPT: “The cargo area of a Subaru Crosstrek can vary slightly depending on the specific model year and configuration. However, in general, it may be challenging to fit a full-size bicycle into the cargo area without removing the front tire. … The cargo area of the Subaru Crosstrek is not typically large enough to accommodate a bicycle with its front tire intact.”
ChatGPT suggested I “consider alternatives,” such as folding or disassembling the bicycle or using a bike rack in back or on top of the Crosstrek.
Perhaps I needed to be more specific. I throw in my Crosstrek’s 2018 model year and details of the bike involved, a 2017 Jamis Renegade Expert with 56-inch frame. ChatGPT, however, does not have specific dimensions of the Renegade Expert with 56-inch frame.
I know the answer in advance. The Renegade would not fit in the back of a 2017 Fiat 500X with the rear seat folded—I had to take the rear wheel off. But the bike fits in the back of the Crosstrek so long as you turn the handlebar and front wheel upward. It’s tight, but there are at least a couple of inches to spare, and this illustrates the sort of difference you’ll find between a B-segment crossover and a C-segment crossover.
What about the redesigned 2024 Subaru Crosstrek?
