Using LLMs for Research
I have zero interest in using AI to generate text. But with every sentence in my WIP requiring research, I need all the help I can get. I consider AI for research just a souped-up internet search. So, I've tried using a few of the free versions.
Results: a lot better than a year ago, hallucinations reduced.
But: user beware.
Here's an example:
Grok says in late antiquity the citadel of Emesa was located on a hill outside of and overlooking the wall. And the Orontes River ran through the city. It even referenced a book that I own.
So, I pulled the book and found a map. Citadel enclosed in the wall. River located 2-5km away, down in a flood plain.
Another:
All my years of research say the Battle of Yarmuk took place to the north of the Yarmuk River. I asked Gemini to clarify something for me and it started talking about this battle taking place to the south. I questioned it and it says, oh, yes, of course, to the north. As if I were the silly one. Sheesh.
You might think, what reader would know? or care? Oh, yes, they would. If they're reading my book, they'd know and care.
I find Perplexity the best for actually looking up things and finding answers. It‘s a search engine with an attached LLM, summarising what the search engine found. As LLMs don’t actually know facts (it’s just a giant word completion machine guessing which letter most likely comes next) using them for knowledge is a dangerous game.
Despite the predictable mewling from you know who, I actually think using ChatGPT et al. for research is easily the least objectionable thing about them. It's a more efficient version of using Google. I actually found them very helpful when it comes to writing papers for my (Indonesian) law classes. So far, they've been very helpful with wading through the behemoths that are the Criminal and Civil Codes of the country. Fun fact: we don't actually have an official Indonesian version of our criminal and civil codes because they're originally written in Dutch, it's why probably the government recently passed a new Criminal Code which is due to take effect next year (I think).