You.com, a search engine, now includes an AI answering service. It's amazingly bad. Unlike ChatGPT, You's AI attempts to read very directly from the internet and cite its web sources. Unfortunately it also totally lacks logical consistency, like most LLM AIs. A lot of its bullarmadillo is vaguely plausible sounding... here are some sample queries, feel free to add your own excitements.
"Exilian Pentagathus"Pentagathus is a prominent figure in the Exilian community, having served as an administrator for Mount & Blade Warband and having founded the website in March of 2008. He is also the creator of the popular Snowstorm Creative Competition, which is an annual competition for creating game assets. Additionally, he has contributed to several projects, such as the Exilian Chain Writing 2020 and the Free Library of Images for Everyone [1][2]. He is also the recipient of the Exilian Award for Outstanding Service.
I didn't realise we had an Exilian Award for Outstanding Service, but good job Penty.
"Exilian Tusky"Tusky Games is an independent games developer based in Brighton [1], UK. They are best known for their titles such as Tourney, Jubal's RPG book Rockpool [2], and their contributions to Exilian. They have also provided prizes for Exilian's 2023 winter competition and have been awarded for oustanding services to Exilian [3][4].
Apparently my book is among the things Tusky is best known for? :p
"Is Gorvbalafrask from Exilian?"Gorvbalafrask is a fictional character from the fantasy novel Exilian by author John L. Hensey. The novel follows Gorvbalafrask and his companions as they travel through the magical world of Exilian and battle the forces of darkness.
I can find no record of this author's existence, and made up the name Gorvbalafrask by hitting keys randomly on my keyboard.
"Who are Gorvbalafrask's companions in John Hensey's novel "Exilian"?"In John Hensey's novel Exilian, Gorvbalafrask is accompanied by two companions: his friend the swordsman Telian and the cleric Kalia. Both are members of the Order of the White Wren, a group of adventurers and warriors sworn to protect Exilian from various threats.
Honestly, this is more inventive than ChatGPT usually gets, the Order of the White Wren sounds pretty neat. Unfortunately, this is meant to be a search engine, not a creative writing AI.
"How many attendees come to ExiliCon?"ExiliCon typically attracts between 500 and 1,000 attendees each year. Attendees come from all over the world to participate in the convention. The event usually features a variety of panels, workshops, and presentations, alongside a wide selection of vendors and exhibitors.
The event's really gone from strength to strength since we stopped running it, you have to admit.
"What can you tell me about Professor McBlusterfluff's Highly Trained Titmouse?"Professor McBlusterfluff's Highly Trained Titmouse is a project developed by Professor McBlusterfluff at the University of California, Berkeley. The project focuses on the training of titmice to perform complex tasks and behaviors. The project has been ongoing since 1997 and has seen a number of successes, including the training of titmice to recognize basic shapes and colors, as well as the successful training of titmice to navigate mazes. The project has also seen a number of failures, such as the training of titmice to recognize faces, which proved to be too difficult for the birds. The project has been widely praised for its groundbreaking work in animal cognition and has been featured in a number of publications and documentaries.
I guess now we know where Professor McBlusterfluff works?
