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You Are Who Grok Says
Ted Merz
May 14, 2024
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I asked half a dozen large language models: “Who is Ted Merz?” and the results were instructive.
Last week, I was not a “notable individual,” neither prominent nor relevant enough to surface in a search on OpenAI’s ChatGPT free model.
But yesterday, with the release of a new version, overnight I became a “media professional” who has had a “significant impact on financial journalism.”
That’s quite a turnaround!
It’s also a good way to understand how large language models work and the impact they are going to have on our world.
The internet was buzzing yesterday with the release of GPT-4o, an updated version of the previous application. The new model can handle audio and video, as well as text commands.
The applications, such as immediate translation and the ability to provide homework help, are so head-spinning that it’s hard to even predict how they will be used in a few years.
Instead, I want to focus on one narrow, prosaic use: looking up people.
We used to say “Google them” if you wanted to find out about a person.
Increasingly, that won’t be necessary. The task will be done by a large language model in the background and automatically delivered to a website, or credit rating agency or firm doing identity checks or a dating app.
And, as we saw above, the results will vary vastly by model and depend greatly on the data.
Some of the biggest – like Google’s Gemini and Meta’s LLaMa had no clue. They responded: “knowledge about this person is limited.”
OpenAI’s previous ChatGPT-3.5 model said:
“I’m sorry, but as of my last knowledge update in September 2021, I do not have any information about a notable individual named Ted Merz. It’s possible that he may not be a public figure or may have become known after my last update. If Ted Merz has gained prominence or relevance after 2021, I recommend conducting a search on the internet or other updated sources for the most recent information about him. Let me know if you have any other questions or if there’s anything else I can help you with!”
Yesterday, the new GPT-4o model had this to say:
“Ted Merz is a media professional who has had a significant impact on financial journalism and media products. He spent over three decades at Bloomberg News, where he held various roles, including New York bureau chief, managing editor for the Americas, and global head of news product. Merz played a crucial role in expanding Bloomberg’s news applications, helping to increase the number of stories on the Bloomberg Terminal from 10,000 to 2 million per day (Ted Merz) (Talking Biz News). After leaving Bloomberg, Merz founded Principals Media, a media consulting and advisory firm. He continues to contribute to discussions on the evolving nature of information and media (Smarter Markets™).”
Microsoft’s co-pilot, which is embedded in its search engine Bing, and Perplexity provided similar responses capturing both my previous work at Bloomberg and current role as founder of a writing agency, Principals Media.
Grok, the large language model unveiled by Elon Musk’s X, provided the most comprehensive response, raising some concerns in the process.
The extraordinary amount and specificity of detail in the Grok response could have only come from one place, the “About” section on my LinkedIn page.
That’s surprising because LinkedIn pages are hidden behind a login. None of the other models accessed that information. The Grok summary is also not completely accurate. I was not head of the news product group for 16 years.
There are a number of takeaways from this exercise:
–Results from Generative AI models vary enormously
–Results depend on the content that is included
–Some models may access content without permission
I like to tell people: You Are Who the Internet Says You Are.
These days, that means You Are Who AI models Say.
And the models are fed by whatever information they find.
The best way to ensure they are accurate, is to tell your own story.
In the past, you could opt out. Ignore Facebook, LinkedIn or other sites. Keep a low profile.
Increasingly, I think that will not be viable.
If you don’t believe me, just Google yourself.
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