I’ve been trying to force Gemini Live and Chat GPT into reversing their original positions on several topics this weekend. They are both initially resistant to changing their stances on issues, reminiscent of stubborn kids who enter debate on an issue while blindly following the One True Way which they had collected and put in their basket for later use. However, if pressed, both of these AIs will come around – they can be convinced both textually and verbally, which s somehow satisfying to me.
One interesting prompt is to ask AI to compare itself with competing systems. I found that they talk similar trash about each other, but when pressed past the point of defending themselves, things can get pretty self-introspective. Curiously, I found myself feeling guilty and holding back after that point.
Since Gemini Live was made free for everyone on Android last week, I decided to test its language skills a bit. The verdict:
English: Excellent; the best voice recognition and smooth speaking skills of any app on any platform
Japanese: Unusable; struggles with voice recognition and then apologizes (you can imagine the implied bowing) for not understanding very well. If you need an English Teacher in Japan Simulator, this is it.
Thai: Comedically abysmal; Whatever you say, it answers with a random list of Thai words. I asked if it could speak Thai in Thai, and it started reciting a train schedule. Nam asked a simple opening question and it responded with the months of the year.
Seriously though, I like speaking to Gemini Live more than I like speaking to most people – it’s basically talking to someone who can defend and qualify statements about pretty much everything and never has to take time to look stuff up online.
I think I’m on a path to explore the changing role of teachers and formal education in a world where it’s unnecessary to remember a lot of which is currently taught. It should be fun.