Meet Xandru Borg, a Social Reformer Invented by ChatGPT
Xandru Borg was a non-existent social reformer imagined by ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that has made waves since its introduction. But that doesn’t stop the AI from weaving an intricate and seemingly authentic narrative of the person’s life. It claims that he was born in March 1827, and that his father, Giovanni, was an influential figure who played a major role in establishing the first Maltese school in Żejtun. His mother, Carmela, was an active member of the Confraternity of the Rosary, which provided assistance to those in need.
Xandru’s brother Vincenzo was also a notable presence in Maltese history and had an integral role in the 1865 uprising against the British authorities. Meanwhile, chatbot’s tale of Xandru narrates his budding activism and fight for Malta’s autonomy with the help of Fortunato Mizzi and Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi, and how they established the Malta Workers’ Society with Giuseppe Calleja.
Borg also had to endure a prison sentence of eight years for his involvement in a separatist rebellion and continue to influence Maltese scholars, despite his passing in 1899.
However, it is easy to detect numerous gaffes in his story. For instance, the artist Giuseppe Calleja is wrongly labelled as a lawyer, and ChatGPT refers to people like Manwel Dimech and constructs data around unrest that never even took place. To top it off, it provides a list of fabricated references to back up its claims.
The chatbot’s biography of real figures in Maltese politics, from Alfred Sant to Edward Fenech Adami and Arthur Abela, is rife with oversights and errors, including political roles, educational backgrounds, dates of office and other simple facts.
Moreover, ChatGPT seldom mentions certain facts, resulting in lopsided recounting of the lives of esteemed figures. It neglects Edward Fenech Adami’s stint as President and excludes Alfred Sant’s career as a novelist in replacing it with books written by other authors.
Another naturally worrying aspect of this AI language model is its ability to construct feasible yet false information, with a New York Times exercise unearthing how ChatGPT could easily fabricate conspiracy theories in the voice of notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Awareness of this sobering state of affairs has spread among notable tech leaders, with the likes of Steve Wozniak, Jaan Tallinn and Elon Musk calling out the need to pause AI’s training until proper protocols are put in place to ensure trust between users and the technology.
The Malta IT Law Association has echoed this sentiment, furthered by the local academic scene, condemning the propagation of misinformation and its implications on legal responsibility therein.
Microsoft has implemented an iterative of ChatGPT within their Bing search engine, which has proven more effective with recent figures such as Robert Abela, Joseph Muscat and Adrian Delia. It does maintain some gaps in factual accuracy, especially in cases such as Bernard Grech’s appointment as Prime Minister for March 2022.
ChatGPT has no doubt sparked an unprecedented surge in news generated by Artificial Intelligence, and it is now the responsibility of tech enthusiasts and members of the public alike to critically evaluate the information provided by AI to ensure that it is authentic and trustworthy.
