No doubt, you’ve heard about some form of Artificial Intelligence whether in dystopian movies like Blade Runner from the 1980s or, more recently through the chatbot “chatGPT.”
chatGPT is considered a go-to app these days, evident in the 100 million weekly users who use it. This piqued Billy Penn’s interest to see what information it would pump out with one simple, localized question:
“What is Philadelphia known for?” The responses to our question are listed below:
“Philadelphia” and “Philly” is known for several things:
- Historical Significance: “Philadelphia played a crucial role in the founding of the United States. It was the meeting place for the Continental Congress, where both the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Constitution of the United States (1787) were drafted and signed. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, two iconic symbols of American freedom, are located in Philadelphia.”
- Cultural Heritage: “The city has a rich cultural heritage, evident in its diverse neighborhoods, art institutions, and museums. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rodin Museum, and Barnes Foundation house extensive collections of art from around the world. Additionally, Philadelphia’s vibrant music scene, particularly in jazz and hip-hop, has made significant contributions to American culture.”
- Cheesesteaks and Food Culture: “Philadelphia is famous for its cheesesteak sandwiches, which consist of thinly sliced steak, melted cheese (usually Cheez Whiz or provolone), and often onions and peppers, served on a hoagie roll. Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks are two renowned establishments known for their cheesesteaks. Additionally, Philadelphia is known for other local food specialties such as soft pretzels, hoagies, and water ice.”
- Sports: “Philadelphia is a sports-loving city, with passionate fans supporting teams in all major professional sports leagues. The city is home to the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), Philadelphia Phillies (MLB), Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), and Philadelphia Flyers (NHL). The city’s teams have a storied history, with successes and championships in various sports.”
- Education and Medicine: “Philadelphia boasts several prestigious universities and colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and Drexel University. Additionally, the city is renowned for its medical institutions, such as the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which are leaders in healthcare and medical research.”
- Revitalized Waterfront: “In recent years, Philadelphia has undergone significant redevelopment, particularly along the Delaware River waterfront. This area now features parks, recreational spaces, restaurants, and cultural attractions, making it a popular destination for locals and tourists alike.”
According to chatGPT’s results, Philadelphia is known for its rich history, cultural diversity, culinary delights, sports fandom, educational institutions, and ongoing redevelopment efforts. Experts explained it’s pulling and collecting this information from whatever new or old data is out in the world – and any information we give it.
Humans versus computers
Denise Agosto, director of the library and information sciences master’s degree program at Drexel University, considers chatGPT just one tool of many. Agosto is an information behavior expert, particularly focused on children and youth. She said information specialists can help people, youth or adults, use these new apps and platforms more efficiently.
Agosto suggests leaning on the expertise of librarians to find information or using new apps. And she says she would sooner recommend people read sources like the Frommer’s Guide to Philadelphia to learn what the city is really known for.
“That’s a lot more logical because someone has intentionally created and curated that data with the intent of representing Philadelphia as opposed to random data that just happens to be connected through word usage,” she said, noting that “the librarian in me is showing.”
Her colleague Michael Ekstrand, a human-centered computing and data science expert at Drexel, agreed up to a point.
Ekstrand’s expertise is in information retrieval and human-computer interaction. Rather than looking at language learning models (LLMs) like chatGPT as search tools, he sees them as responding to prompts.
“It’s predicting what the next words in a discussion about that prompt would be and responding based on those,” Ekstrand said. “We can really see it as an incredibly sophisticated realization of this concept from the 1940s and ‘50s of statistical mathematical modeling of communication.”
The practical uses of AI have been investigated for over 75 years. Their functions naturally evolved with the times and with current technology. At root, however, was a question of how artificial intelligence programs can help solve a problem.
In an episode of the Computer Chronicles from 1985, scientists, researchers and philosophers in the AI field played with the modern tools of the time and spoke of its capacity, limitations and future. In the same episode, Texas Instruments staff played with one of their programs to search, “Show the average number of days of sun in El Paso.”
It used a drop-down menu, with block lettering and the answer — 319 days – was overlaid on a screen with computer-generated art.
Fast forward to today, and chatGPT’s version is quicker, simpler and more efficient. The concept, Ekstrand said, is still the same.
“It’s not assembling a collection of facts … that we might want if we’re actually trying to obtain information in a reliable way,” he said. “The platform provider is no longer serving the intermediary role where they’re connecting people to people.”
Instead, he explained that “It’s concentrating far more power in the hands of the platform because it’s connecting people to itself and it’s regurgitation of the resources and of the information, which represents a profound reconfiguration of the economics of how information works both in online and library spaces.”
That is where Agosto comes in, jokingly adding her plug.
“The Free Library of Philadelphia has at its disposal many, many reliable and useful databases that actually do enable searching, as well as librarians who are skilled and can help you with the searching,” she said.
Both information science experts say to be wary of inputting original writing or confidential information. Ekstrand explained that everything we share is used for future versions or new programs. A simple query or task to summarize a 100-page document is OK. Just keep in mind that these tools repeat human biases.
“If you’re considering the question, what is Philadelphia known for, it’s a pretty low risk question. I think you’re gonna get a discussion of hoagies and the Liberty Bell,” Agosto said. “But if you ask, ‘What makes a good person?’ That’s when you’re going to get some very serious representation of socially constructed human biases. So always you want to consider information that’s retrieved within the context that you plan to use it.”
