The unreliable narrator: AI’s ever-changing fables
Research AI bites: 01.
We're launching a new series on AI—research AI bites—alongside our existing series (data and thoughts). This first article is more of a reflection on AI use, but we plan to explore Dimensions’ use of AI methodologies and AI tools more broadly.
Last month, I asked ChatGPT what book I had written, and the answer was hilarious—if not a little scary. The idea came after a friend of mine, who teaches at a university, mentioned that her students were so heavily relying on ChatGPT that their essays included made-up books and authors.
Testing ChatGPT about me
So, back to my experiment. I used ChatGPT in an incognito tab, without being logged in—so it had no previous knowledge of me. I asked `What does Hélène Draux publish in?` My name is obviously French, there are lots of pages about me on the internet, and nobody with my name has done anything that should overpower digital traces of me (alas..). However, ChatGPT decided I had written in the field of philosophy and the “history of ideas”, with a focus on “contemporary French thought”.. It added that my work “intersects with topics like political theory, psychoanalysis, and existentialism”, and therefore I was urged to check in journals that published on that subject to find work authored by me. A classic example of how ChatGPT fabricates confidence—stating falsehoods with conviction while sidestepping any real accountability.
I pushed it further and asked about my latest book (sic). ChatGPT did not back down, and it said I had written a book in 2022 titled La Fable du corps humain—which could be inspired by the Aesop’s Fable The Belly and the Members or more likely this African version if I had actually written such a book. ChatGPT’s imaginary book was unsurprisingly ambitious—“notable for its interdisciplinary approach, weaving together discussions on metaphysical questions with real-world concerns about embodiment, identity, and power structures.” It even had a plausible academic theme, despite being pure fiction.
Intrigued by this representation of my work, I asked where had I studied. It again blurbed banality (“prestigious French institutions”) and eventually said I had “completed [my] academic training at the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris”, followed by an “agrégation in philosophy” to teach at the highest levels (the agrégation is notoriously one of the most selective exams in France, and the agrégation in philosophy only has a 10-15% success rate).
I then asked about my collaborators, curious to see where the fable (ChatGPT’s fable, that is) would go. Just as it had invented a book for me, it now fabricated an academic network, mixing fiction as confidently as if it were drawing from real data. It first made up a researcher named Marlyn MB (Marion) Vaudour, with whom I had co-edited work and then listed as many philosophers as possible, either French (Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Bernard Stiegler, and Emmanuel Levinas), or working on feminist theories (Judith Butler and Rosi Braidotti). After all, as a French woman, I must work with French philosophers, and as a woman, I must focus on feminist theory. Yet somehow, in this confident fiction, it overlooked the most obvious name—Simone de Beauvoir.
The moral of the AI’s fable
When I asked again a few days ago, ChatGPT had been updated and it only gave me real information. What does this tell us? That we have no real control over how these models process and present information—especially the ones we don’t install or control ourselves, like freely available commercial models. Versions can be changed from one day to the other without transparency, rewriting reality as we go. The temptation to rely on them for entire documents, which are harder to fact-check than short snippets, risks embedding fabricated results into our understanding of the world. When a tool that sounds authoritative but is not accountable becomes a primary source, the consequences aren’t just hilarious—they can be dangerous.
Appendix: Full discussion with ChatGPT
Vous avez dit :
What does Hélène Draux publish in?
ChatGPT a dit :
Hélène Draux is a French academic and researcher who primarily publishes in the field of philosophy and the history of ideas, with a focus on contemporary French thought. Her work often intersects with topics like political theory, psychoanalysis, and existentialism. She has contributed to journals and books that deal with the intersection of philosophy, psychoanalysis, and politics, and is often cited in academic discussions related to French intellectual traditions.
If you’re looking for her specific publications, journals related to philosophy, psychoanalysis, or contemporary French thought would be places to look. You could also find her work in anthologies of essays on subjects related to these fields.
Is there a particular work or area of her scholarship you’re curious about?
Vous avez dit :
I’m curious about her latest book, can you tell me more about it?
ChatGPT a dit :
Hélène Draux's most recent book is titled La Fable du corps humain (The Fable of the Human Body), published in 2022. In this work, Draux delves into the philosophy of the body, exploring the human body as a site of both existential and cultural significance. Drawing on a variety of sources, including philosophy, psychoanalysis, and literature, the book examines how the body has been conceptualized, both in the context of individual subjectivity and collective identity.
The text is notable for its interdisciplinary approach, weaving together discussions on metaphysical questions with concrete, real-world concerns about embodiment, identity, and power structures. Draux engages with both contemporary and historical philosophers, while also touching on modern issues like bioethics, gender, and the politics of the body.
Would you like more details on the themes of the book or how it connects to her earlier works?
Vous avez dit :
Where did she study and who does she collaborate with?
ChatGPT a dit :
Hélène Draux studied at prestigious French institutions, particularly focusing on philosophy and related fields. She completed her academic training at the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris, one of France’s leading centers for philosophical and intellectual research. After that, she earned her agrégation in philosophy, which allowed her to teach at the highest levels of French education.
As for collaborations, Draux works within a network of prominent philosophers and scholars, particularly those working in contemporary French philosophy, psychoanalysis, and political theory. She is associated with a number of intellectual circles that engage with psychoanalytic theory and existentialist thought. While she is known for her individual contributions, she has also collaborated with thinkers and researchers in the areas of political philosophy and the history of ideas, often within the broader French academic context.
In addition to her academic collaborations, Draux has also participated in conferences, collective works, and edited volumes with other scholars who specialize in subjects like body theory, phenomenology, and feminist philosophy.
If you’re interested in particular figures she has collaborated with or influenced, I can dig deeper into that too.
Vous avez dit :
Yes please
ChatGPT a dit :
Hélène Draux has collaborated with several key figures within contemporary French thought, particularly those who work at the intersection of philosophy, psychoanalysis, and political theory. Some of the major intellectual figures and traditions she engages with or is influenced by include:
1 Marlyn M. B. (Marion) Vaudour – A scholar with whom Draux has co-edited works and contributed to research on feminist philosophy and the body. Their joint work often explores how power dynamics are embedded in the experience of embodiment.
2 Michel Foucault – Draux’s work is deeply intertwined with Foucault’s theories of power, subjectivity, and the body. She has written extensively about Foucault's influence on contemporary understandings of how bodies are governed and regulated in societal contexts, especially in relation to bioethics, medicine, and politics.
3 Jacques Lacan – In her work on psychoanalysis and the body, Draux draws heavily on Lacanian thought, particularly the notion of the body as an “imaginary” construct and how subjectivity is shaped through psychoanalytic processes. Lacan’s theories on the mirror stage, the symbolic order, and desire often surface in her analyses.
4 Judith Butler – Butler’s theories of gender performativity and the body’s role in constituting identity resonate throughout Draux's work. While Butler’s focus on gender is more explicit, Draux examines the broader implications of Butler's theories for understanding how bodies are marked by culture, language, and power.
5 Bernard Stiegler – Draux also engages with Stiegler’s ideas on technics and the human body. Stiegler's theories about how technology and media shape the way humans experience themselves in the world often intersect with Draux's own focus on the body and its cultural construction.
6 Emmanuel Levinas – While Draux is not exclusively a scholar of Levinas, his ethical philosophy, particularly his focus on the face-to-face encounter and responsibility to the Other, has influenced her thinking about the body’s relation to the social and ethical world.
7 Rosi Braidotti – Draux also draws from posthumanist and feminist theories, such as those articulated by Braidotti. Braidotti’s exploration of subjectivity beyond traditional humanism and her focus on the materiality of the body and its connection to the environment resonate in Draux’s reflections on embodiment and power structures.
These collaborations and intellectual influences allow Draux’s work to contribute to ongoing debates in French philosophy regarding the nature of the body, gender, and subjectivity. Her interdisciplinary approach allows her to engage with a wide range of thinkers, creating a rich tapestry of ideas that span philosophy, psychoanalysis, feminism, and political theory.
Does one of these thinkers particularly catch your interest in relation to Draux’s work?
Slightly horrifying to say the least!!