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Adventures with ChatGPT and generative LLMs

Julian Darley , , , , ,

i hope the following may be instructive. it moves my knowledge of how to use ChatGPT forwards, so i thought i would share it.

i wanted to get a thumbnail sketch of the US gas research institute, but it was shut down in 1997, which is before the massive use of the web. there were no usable hits from the top ten results from google (though GRI was mentioned and would have been useful if one were doing in-depth research on it). as it is rarely worth searching past the top ten, i switched to ChatGPT:

Q. what is or was the US Gas Research Institute (GRI)?
A. The Gas Research Institute (GRI) was a research organization in the United States that was established in 1976 by the natural gas industry. Its mission was to conduct research and development on technologies and techniques to improve the production, transportation, and use of natural gas. GRI was funded by a small percentage of the revenues of the natural gas industry. It was focused on advancing the knowledge of natural gas and its properties, as well as promoting the use of natural gas as a clean and efficient energy source.

The institute’s research covered a wide range of topics, including:

    • Exploration and production
    • Transmission and distribution
    • Storage
    • End-use technologies
    • Environmental impacts
    • Safety
    • Economics and markets

GRI was also involved in various collaborations and partnerships with government agencies, universities, and private companies to support research and development efforts.

GRI was dissolved in 1997 by the Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989, which eliminated the price controls on natural gas and removed the funding for GRI.

Q. that doesn’t quite make sense – why the long discrepancy between the Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 and GRI’s dissolution in 1997?
A. I apologize for the confusion, you are correct that the timing of the Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 and the dissolution of GRI in 1997 is not as straightforward as my previous response suggested. The Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 did remove price controls on natural gas, but it did not directly lead to the dissolution of GRI.
The Act removed price controls on newly discovered natural gas and it phased out price controls on existing natural gas over a period of several years. As a result of the Act, GRI’s funding from the natural gas industry decreased, which led to a decline in its budget and activities. The decline of funding and activities led to the GRI’s Board of Directors to vote to dissolve the organization in 1997.
amazing and so quick. but there is a catch in this case, and it was shown up in my original web search. i asked ChatGPT pointedly what had happened to GRI:
Q. is there anything left of the US GRI we talked about earlier?
A. As far as my knowledge goes, the Gas Research Institute (GRI) was dissolved in 1997, after the Natural Gas Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 removed the funding for GRI. There is no indication that any part of GRI continued to exist after that date. The organization was created to conduct research and development on technologies and techniques to improve the production, transportation, and use of natural gas and it was funded by a small percentage of the revenues of the natural gas industry. Its dissolution in 1997 meant the end of its activities, projects, and research. However, the research and knowledge developed by GRI over its 21-year existence may have been used in other organizations and agencies, and the impact of its work can still be seen in the natural gas industry today.

this appears to be incorrect. GRI merged with IGT and formed the Gas Technology Institute (https://www.electricnet.com/doc/gri-merger-with-igt-creates-gas-technology-in-0001 – undated, unfortunately), which i believe still exists. this came from my web search, not the AI chat bot. to me this reinforces the necessity of checking with other sources, probably the web as first port of call. i pushed the AI bot further:

Q. did GRI merge with IGT?
A. I apologize for any confusion, my previous response may have been unclear. The Gas Research Institute (GRI) did not merge with any organization. GRI was dissolved in 1997 and it did not continue to exist after that date.

However, the Institute of Gas Technology (IGT) is a research organization that was established in 1940, and it is still active today. It is a private, non-profit organization that conducts research and development on technologies and techniques related to the production, transportation, and use of natural gas and other hydrocarbons. IGT conducts research on a wide range of topics, including:

    • Exploration and production
    • Transmission and distribution
    • Storage
    • End-use technologies
    • Environmental impacts
    • Safety
    • Economics and markets

IGT works with industry, government, and academia to develop and commercialize new technologies and to provide technical support and training. It should not be confused with GRI, as they are different entities, even though they share a similar focus in natural gas research.

as best as i can tell, this is flat wrong – IGT no longer exists as a separate entity because it merged with GRI and changed its name. however, a bit later, i was forced to refresh the ChatGPT page (there seems to be either a time limit or a request or character limit), and on a new page i asked:
Q. who funded the US GRI?
A. I’m not familiar with a specific organization called “US GRI,” can you provide more context or clarify what you are asking?
Q. GRI = gas research institute
A. The Gas Research Institute (GRI) was a research organization that was funded by natural gas utilities in the United States. It was established in 1976 with the mission of promoting the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible use of natural gas. The organization was funded by a small assessment on the gas bills of customers of the natural gas utilities that participated in the organization. GRI was dissolved in 1997 and its research portfolio was transitioned to the Gas Technology Institute (GTI).

and now, it gives me a much more accurate answer. i had already heard that ChatGPT can get stuck in a rut and it definitely has a tendency to confirm, sometimes uncritically, the input prompt. i realise this getting stuck in an epistemological rut has happened to me a few times now. i am pretty sure that OpenAI will fix this soon.

all told, these new AI chatbots (in this case ChatGPT and Chatsonic) are doing a remarkable job. human vigilance is still very much required and i wouldn’t let them loose unaided on any decision that had real-world consequences. for doing research though, when everything must be checked and cited anyway, it speeds things along and often offers new ideas and certainly helps with clarifications and unearthing what can seem like otherwise byzantine explanations.

most of the above would be very difficult or even impossible via a web search unless you got really lucky and someone had asked and answered the exact questions, say in quora or reddit. quora answers tend to be a bit unreliable.

what is so profound about generative LLMs like ChatGPT and Chatsonic is the way they can explain things which are not clear or are superficially contradictory. i cannot be the only one that gets immense satisfaction and pleasure from understanding the world better. if i am right, this will be the single most amazing pedagogical and research tool ever invented. a small claim, i know.

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