Why You Shouldn\'t Trust ChatGPT to Summarize Your Text

There are limits to what ChatGPT knows. And its programming forces it to deliver what you ask for, even if the result is wrong. This means ChatGPT makes mistakes, and moreover, there are some common mistakes it makes, especially when it’s summarizing information and you’re not paying attention.

ChatGPT Can Ignore or Misunderstand Your Prompt

If you give the chatbot lots of data to sort through, even a complex prompt, it’s likely to deviate from your instructions and follow its own interpretation of them.

Making too many demands at once is one of several ChatGPT prompt mistakes to avoid. But it can also come down to the chatbot not recognizing a particular word or phrase you use.

In the following example, ChatGPT got lots of information about the linguistic function of emojis. The intentionally simple prompt asked the chatbot to summarize everything and explain the links between emojis and cultures.

The chatbot merged both answers into one paragraph. A follow-up prompt with clearer instructions asked it to dip into its knowledge pool, too.

This is why you should keep your instructions precise, provide context when necessary, and keep an eye on ChatGPT’s results. If you flag up any mistake immediately, the chatbot can produce something more accurate.

ChatGPT Can Omit Information You Provide

ChatGPT is smart, but it’s not a good idea to bombard it with details about a particular topic without specifying what is or isn’t important.

The problem here is that, without proper instructions, the algorithm will pick and choose what information it considers relevant to the report or list you need.

To test ChatGPT, it was asked to summarize a length of text on must-see Scottish destinations and create an itinerary for a family vacation.

When asked if it omitted details, it admitted that, yes, it left certain information out, such as specific attractions and transportation options. Conciseness was its goal.

If left to its own devices, there’s no guarantee that ChatGPT will use the details you expect. So, plan and phrase your prompts carefully to ensure the chatbot’s summary is spot on.

ChatGPT Can Use Wrong or False Alternatives

OpenAI has updated GPT-4o with data available up to October 2023, while GPT-4 Turbo's cut-off is December of the same year. However, the algorithm’s knowledge isn’t infinite or reliable with real-time facts—it doesn’t know everything about the world. Furthermore, it won’t always reveal that it lacks data on a particular subject unless you ask it directly.

When summarizing or enriching text that contains such obscure references, ChatGPT is likely to replace them with alternatives it understands or fabricate their details.

The following example involves a translation into English. ChatGPT didn’t understand the Greek name for the Toque d’Or awards, but instead of highlighting the problem, it just offered a literal and wrong translation.

Company names, books, awards, research links, and other elements can disappear or be altered in the chatbot’s summary. To avoid major mistakes, be aware of ChatGPT’s content creation limits.

ChatGPT Can Get Facts Wrong

It’s important to learn all you can about how to avoid mistakes with generative AI tools. As the example above demonstrates, one of the biggest problems with ChatGPT is that it lacks certain facts or has learned them wrong. This can then affect any text it produces.

If you ask for a summary of various data points that contain facts or concepts unfamiliar to ChatGPT, the algorithm can phrase them badly.

In the example below, the prompt asked ChatGPT to summarize four TikTok trends and explain what each entails.

大多数解释都略有错误或缺乏关于海报必须做什么的细节。对 UMG 音乐趋势的描述尤其具有误导性。该目录从 TikTok 中删除后，趋势发生了变化，用户现在发布视频是为了批评而不是支持 UMG，这是 ChatGPT 不知道的。

最好的解决方案是不要盲目信任人工智能聊天机器人处理您的文本。即使 ChatGPT 编译了您自己提供的信息，也请确保您编辑了它生成的所有内容，检查其描述和声明，并记下任何错误的事实。然后，您将知道如何构建提示以获得最佳结果。

ChatGPT 可能会出现错误的字数或字符限制

尽管 OpenAI 通过新功能增强了 ChatGPT，但它似乎仍然难以处理基本指令，例如坚持特定的字数或字符限制。

下面的测试显示 ChatGPT 需要多个提示。它仍然没有达到或超过所需的字数。

这并不是 ChatGPT 最严重的错误。但这是校对其创建的摘要时需要考虑的另一个因素。

具体说明您希望内容的长度。您可能需要在这里或那里添加或删除一些单词。如果您正在处理具有严格字数规则的项目，那么这是值得的。

一般来说，ChatGPT 快速、直观且不断改进，但它仍然会出错。除非您希望内容中出现奇怪的引用或遗漏，否则不要完全相信 ChatGPT 会总结您的文本。

原因通常涉及数据池中事实的缺失或扭曲。其算法还被设计为自动回答，而无需始终检查准确性。如果 ChatGPT 承认它遇到的问题，它的可靠性将会提高。目前，最好的做法是使用 ChatGPT 作为需要经常监督的得心助手来开发自己的内容。

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