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I'm not an expert, but I think the key aspect of intelligence here is the ability to model the world. I am a little hung over and off my game this morning and I did not immediately recognize this as a trick question. Rather, in a split second I imagined myself walking to the car wash; realized that I didn't have my car; and realized that this was a problem. Only then did I see it was a trick question.
My sense is that LLMs don't really model the universe. I would be very impressed to see an LLM correctly answer a question which was novel and for which the correct answer requires modeling the world.
A year or two ago I would test LLMs with the following question: A helicopter takes off from the Empire State Building, flies 300 miles North; 300 miles West; 300 miles South; 300 miles East; and lands. In what US state does the helicopter land?
The LLM never got the correct answer (New Jersey) presumably because they are unable to model the situation. I would think that by now, this question is now in the training data, but still, these sorts of quick fixes don't solve the general problem.
Assuming I'm understanding this correctly, doesn't this depend pretty heavily on your choice of definitions and assumptions? If you trace it out on a cylindrical projection map (most options) and follow that on the ground, you'll end up where you started. If you follow a magnetic bearing (and if the compass is actively followed, or a "straight line" great circle from the starting bearing), you'll get a different set of answers than using a GPS and travelling true lines of latitude and longitude. For more subtle details, your choice of reference datums and even the flight altitude will matter slightly.
Well, if I state that a helicopter takes off and travels "north" for "300 miles" what does that mean to you? Same question for "west," "south" and "east"?
That's a different question than the one upthread. If you're running laps around the pole, then you're going west for 300 miles, but you did not fly 300 miles west, you flew in a circle.
Do you really want chatbot outputs to be that sensitive to your exact phrasing, or would you prefer reasonable interpretations?
I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that "going" west means something significantly different than "flying" west?
Anyway, I think it would be helpful if you would answer my question explicitly:
Well, if I state that a helicopter takes off and travels "north" for "300 miles" what does that mean to you? Same question for "west," "south" and "east"?
see below. distance-direction vs. direction-distance.
If you believe my questions are answered in a specific post, would you mind linking to that post? TIA.
here.
I don't see any "yes" or "no" in there; and I don't think your interpretation makes much sense, but even so it does not appear to affect the outcome of the puzzle. If you are going to be a smart-ass, you should at least find a creative interpretation which results in a different answer. JMHO
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