ChatGPT's blind spot: AI chatbot cannot tell you time; here's the reason

ChatGPT tin execute respective analyzable tasks, specified arsenic browsing the web, penning code, and analysing images. However, the fashionable OpenAI chatbot isn’t susceptible of doing a basal thing: telling you the close time.

When asked "what is clip close now," ChatGPT simply says that it cannot supply real-time information. When we astatine the TOI Tech table asked this question, the chatbot replied: “I recognize what you’re asking — but I don’t person entree to a real-time clock, truthful I can’t spot the existent clip connected your instrumentality oregon anyplace else. To cognize the nonstop clip close now, delight cheque the timepiece connected your phone, laptop, oregon immoderate instrumentality you’re using. It volition amusement the close IST clip instantly. If you privation assistance with clip conversions, calculations, oregon scheduling, I tin perfectly bash that.”However, this isn’t lone a ChatGPT problem; Anthropic’s Claude was besides incapable to archer america the time. On asking Claude the aforesaid question, the chatbot said: “I don't person entree to real-time information, truthful I can't archer you the existent time. To find retired what clip it is, you can: “Check your phone, computer, oregon watch, inquire a dependable adjunct similar Siri, Alexa, oregon Google Assistant oregon look astatine a timepiece nearby. Is determination thing other I tin assistance you with?”On the different hand, chatbots similar Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and adjacent Elon Musk’s xAI-owned Grok were capable to show the nonstop time, on with our clip portion and different details.

In a connection to The Verge, AI robotics adept Yervant Kulbashian, who wrote astir the conception of clip arsenic perceived by AI successful 2024, said: “A connection exemplary works successful its ain abstraction of connection and words. It is lone referencing things that person entered this space.”“It’s similar a castaway connected an land successful the mediate of the ocean, stocked with a monolithic postulation of books but nary watch. Why can’t OpenAI conscionable physique a span to that land and springiness ChatGPT entree to a strategy clip clock? The abbreviated reply is, it can,” the study noted.

Kulbashian further explained that keeping AI models alert of clip creates problems, arsenic ChatGPT has constricted abstraction successful its discourse window, the accusation it remembers astatine immoderate fixed time. Each clip ChatGPT checks a strategy clock, it adds accusation to that window."If you commencement adding much things onto your desk, you person to yet commencement pushing things off," Kulbashian noted. If updated excessively often, changeless timepiece accusation becomes confusing sound for the AI. "You mightiness extremity up benignant of confusing the robot," Kulbashian said, comparing it to idiosyncratic interrupting a speech each infinitesimal to denote the time.So, ChatGPT users tin inquire the chatbot to hunt for the clip directly. Meanwhile, immoderate chatbots, similar Google Gemini, hunt automatically. However, allowing AI models to hunt the web oregon entree idiosyncratic information carries risks, including vulnerability to malicious prompts online, Minervini warned.However, during an interrogation with The Verge, Pasquale Minervini, a earthy connection processing researcher astatine the School of Informatics astatine the University of Edinburgh successful Scotland, has besides demonstrated however his desktop ChatGPT app instantly showed him the close clip successful Milan, Italy, wherever helium was located."It's capable to archer the clip if you springiness it entree to a clock. Otherwise, it's thing that was conscionable calved successful that moment, successful a way," Minervini explained. The timely accusation was apt "embedded successful the context" of the app, helium said. Earlier, Minervini turned connected the "Search" relation connected the ChatGPT app, which allows ChatGPT to usage his computer's built-in clip tools, on with the web, to get the time.Minervini, who studies unsighted spots successful user AI technology, said AI models conflict with galore time-related tasks. When helium showed starring AI models pictures of analogue clocks, they couldn't work the timepiece hands correctly.

Calendars are "also weird" for AI, helium noted.

Meanwhile, OpenAI spokesperson Taya Christianson told The Verge: “The models powering ChatGPT don’t person built-in entree to the existent time, truthful for up-to-date facts ChatGPT sometimes needs to telephone hunt to propulsion successful the latest information.”“We’re continuing to amended however consistently it knows erstwhile to bash so,” Christianson added.