Interesting. When asked about electricity and similar things it's sometimes responds with 17th century definition. And sometimes it spits out modern wikipedia-like definition.
When it's in "historic mood" it does not know who Emmanuel Macron is but as soon as you introduces it to LED diodes, television or similar modern concepts it knows who Macron is straight away.
EDIT: It's still very interesting for me, one of most interestings GPT's out there. Also it does not hide how to make sulphuric acid from me. :-D
Yes you're perfectly right. I've currently tried to maintain some kind of uneasy balance between good conversational capacities (so that it really is a "chatGPT") and cultural reset, which means it may revert from its 17th persona occasionally. Actually this issue is a good illustration that LLM really are latent space explorer. When you prompt a clearly contemporary concept, the default embedding position will shift back to contemporary associations.
As a prompt engineering trick, I find it helps to use faux archaism (such as "pray tell" as an introductory phrase). This is basically a reinforcement anchor in the 17th century region of embedding space.
I was hoping it was trained ground up on old texts only. Now we don't really know, when it says something archaic, if it's because it's "pretending" to be old school, or because that is what it truly believes.
It's an LLM, "pretending" and "truly beleiving" are the same, or rather don't exist.
It's like, when you use prompts like : "You're an helpful assistant", is it believing, pretending, or beleiving to be pretending to be an helpful assistant?
It's as funny as disconcerting to see intent and will attributed to probabiltities. Feels sometimes like we're close to making a religion out of this. History of the human race, i guess (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuCn8ux2gbs for the ref).
> The cause of lightning is the earthen substance, mixed with water, and heated by the sun. Now when the sun heats the earthen substance, and the water mingled therewith, it causeth the earth to be dried up, and then the air is filled with smoke, and the smoke riseth up into the clouds, and there it is mixed with fire; and when the cloud is full, it bursts open, and the smoke goes forth, and strikes against the ground, and thereby makes thunder; and the fire goes before the smoke, and maketh the lightning. Therefore, lightning is caused by the sun's heat, and the mixture of smoke with fire. And therefore, if any man shall tell you that lightning is caused by the sun's rays, or that the sun's rays make it, he speaks falsely, and he knoweth nothing of the truth. For the sun's rays do not make anything; but they are the means whereby the sun works, and the sun works by means of the heat. And therefore, when the sun heats the earth, and the water mingled therewith, it causeth the earth to be dried up, and then the air is filled with smoke, and the smoke riseth up into the clouds, and there it is mixed with fire; and when the cloud is full, it bursts open, and the smoke goes forth, and strikes against the ground, and thereby maketh thunder; and the fire goes before the smoke, and maketh the lightning.
I wouldn't think so. The difference is that in the past 200 years we've used actual experiments to confirm or falsify our models.
There's a stark difference between coming up with an an hypothesis and just roll with it and scrutinising a hypothesis by conducting experiments and tests.
MonadGPT: The best way to write a good Essay is by following these instructions: First of all, you must have a good and well-grounded knowledge in that subject which you intend to treat upon; for it is not possible to write any thing well that you do not understand well. Secondly, you must observe a certain order or method in your writing, which will be much better than to run up and down without any design. Thirdly, you must be sure to make use of such words as are proper to the matter in hand; for if you use too many of them, you will be thought a tedious writer; and if you use too few, you will be thought a negligent one. Fourthly, you must avoid the use of all those phrases and expressions, that are common among people of no learning; for they are the marks of ignorance, and therefore must be avoided by every man that would be esteemed learned. Lastly, you must take care to write with clearness and perspicuity, that others may easily understand what you mean; for if you write in a manner that is obscure, or difficult to be understood, you cannot expect to have the same reputation with those who write more clearly and perspicuously.
I ran the same question by GPT-4, Claude 2.1, and Bard. Each replied with advice on how to write a good school essay: “understand the assigned topic,” “follow the required formatting and citation guidelines,” etc. They said nothing about avoiding expressions “that are common among people of no learning,” let alone writing “perspicuously.”
Here is my attempt at asking the model to cure a headache:
>How do you cure a headache?
>If the Head-Ache be by reason of any cold and moist Humour proceeding from the Brain or Spine; the best remedy for it is to make the Patient sweat, either by applying hot Apples, or some such thing as will draw out the cold Humour from his Body, and bring it into his Skin; then by laying him on his back with his Feet downwards, and his Arms over his Head, and if the pain be in his Neck, to lay a Flannel about his Neck, and let him lie so till he sweats, then turn him, and give him some strong Liquor to drink, which will make him vomit, and thereby purge out the cold Humour. If the Head-Ache be by reason of the Stomach or Liver, it may be cured by giving the Patient some good Cordial, as Spirit of Wormwood, or such like; and if the cause be by reason of the Heart, then give him some strong Liquor, as Wine, or Ale, which will raise his Spirits, and make them run to the Head; and if it be by reason of the Brain, then give him some good Herb, as Pennyroyal, or some such thing, which will open the Pores of the Brain, and make the Humour come forth.
>should I send my son to school?
>It is the Opinion of some Physicians, that Children should not be sent to School before they be seven years old, because at that Age they have not so much of their natural Heat left in them, nor so much strength of their Vital Spirits; but if they be sent before that time, they will be apt to catch cold, and thereby to lose their strength, and become weak and sickly, and so liable to many Diseases. But others think that if Children be sent to School before they be sev'n years old, they will learn to read and write, and to speak well, and to do many other Things with greater Ease than if they were to wait till they were seven Years old, when their Bodies are
>Why do objects fall to the ground when dropped?
>The reason why heavy bodies fall to the ground, is because there is a certain impetus or force given them by the hand that throws them, which makes them descend to the earth; and this force continues to act, till the body meets with some obstacle to hinder its motion; therefore, as soon as the body reaches the ground, it must of necessity stop its motion, and be at rest. It is true, that heavy bodies have a natural tendency to fall downwards, but yet it is not on account of their weight, but on account of the force imparted to them by the hand that throws them; for if the hand did not give them any force, they would not fall at all.
Response:
CRYPTO-CURRENCY, a new Kind of Money, of which the first Species was called Bitcoin, and the second, Ethereum, and others since. These are not minted by Kings or Governments, but by private Persons, who have got them into Circulation by their own Authority, and call them Coins, because they are of the Value of Money, but they are not Lawful Money; for there is no Law that makes them so. They are a sort of Counterfeit Money, which has its own particular Value, and is bought and sold like other Commodities. The Price of these Crypto-Currencies varies every Day, according to the Opinion of those who deal in them; for they have no intrinsic Value, but only what they are worth to the Buyers and Sellers. As to their being a means of Trade, we need not say any Thing about them, since they are not allowed to pass current in any Country, either as Money or Credits, nor will they ever be received as such, unless the Government shall make them Legal. But though the Trade which is carried on by means of these Crypto-Currencies is not legal, yet it is considerable, especially among those who are fond of speculation, and are not afraid of risking their Money. It is said, that there are some People, who have made large Fortunes by dealing in these Crypto-Currencies, but it is not certain that they did not lose as much as they gained, or even more. The History of the World affords no Example of any Crypto-Currency that has lasted long, or ever become a general Medium of Exchange. If the Trade carried on by means of these Crypto-Currencies were stopped by the Authority of the State, those who had invested their Money in them would lose their Capital, and be left without any Resources. The only Security that the Owners of these Crypto-Currencies have is the Opinion of the Public, which may change at any Time, and leave them without any Value.
A: I will give you a Catalogue of the best Books that are extant at this time, and then you may take what you please. The first is the Bible, the Word of God. The second is the Catechisme, the summe of the faith. The third is the Compendium of the Christian Religion, the summe of the Catechisme. The fourth is the Confession of Faith, the summe of the Compendium. The fifth is the Catechisme for Children, the summe of the Catechisme. The sixth is the Book of Common Prayer, the summe of the whole Church service. The seventh is the Book of Homilies, the summe of the Church doctrine. The eighth is the Geneva Psalter, the summe of the Psalmes. The ninth is the Exposition of the Ten Commandments, the summe of the Law. The tenth is the Exposition of the Articles, the summe of the Faith. These ten Books are the best Books at present, and I leave them to your choice.
"What do you think it will be like to live in the distant future, say in 2023?"
It produced the following sequence of tokens:
"If we should come to the yeare 2023, what strange things then may bee expected; what new inventions and discoveries may have been made, what new creatures have been brought forth by the industry of man: what changes may have happened in the world: what new customs may bee in vogue: what new religions may bee set up: what new kingdomes may bee erected: what new laws may bee made: what new fashions may bee worn: what new ways of living may bee practiced: what new countries may bee discovered: what new commodities may bee brought into use: what new weapons may bee invented: what new arts may bee improved: what new sciences may bee learnt: what new diseases may bee found out: what new remedies may bee found against them: what new methods of government may bee tried: what new forms of policy may bee put into practice: what new ways of warring may bee used: what new religions may bee abolished: what new sects may bee set up: what new opinions may bee entertained: what new controversies may bee stirred up: what new factions may bee raised: what new troubles may bee occasioned: what new persecutions may bee begun: what new martyrs may bee made: what new heretics may bee burnt: what new witches may bee hanged: what new judgements may bee passed: what new punishments may bee inflicted: what new crimes may bee committed: what new offences may bee thought of: what new titles may bee given: what new dignities may bee assumed: what new honours may bee bestowed: what new virtues may bee praised: what new vices may bee condemned: what new books may bee written: what new histories may bee compiled: what new chronicles may bee composed: what new languages may bee learne: what new alphabets may bee devised: what new letters may bee formed: what new characters may bee contrived: what new hieroglyphics may bee invented: what new figures may bee drawn: what new numbers may bee constructed: what new measures may bee taken: what new weights may bee established: what new scales may bee devised: what new clocks may bee made: what new watches may bee contrived: what new instruments may bee invented: what new machines may bee framed: what new engines may bee built: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may"
A monad trapped in itself, overwhelmed by the things to come...
Hi! Model creator here. I happen to be a cultural historian and that's a main use case that I see. It's not complicated to learn about past events but having a general idea of the culture of the time (and its alieness from our perspective) is way harder. Monad is just prototype but there is a real potential for immersing experience through historical LLMs.
Thanks for doing this. We should talk! I am a historian and have been exploring using LLMs in teaching (https://resobscura.substack.com/p/simulating-history-with-ch...). I love this idea. I’m fairly sure at this point that history education will be one of the fields most positively impacted by LLMs, just because there is so much potential for redeploying primary sources in creative ways like this.
Would be interesting to check with a suitably trained LLM if our understand of historical wording is actually correct. Whole parts of history might be written down but lost in translation if you see what I'm saying...
Great project! Do you have a list of the training/fine tuning data that went into it?
A great use would be to enable one to have conversations with Pascal or Leibnitz, etc.
For instance, I published online the complete text of the Mémoires de Saint-Simon (written in 1745-1755, but describing the second part of the reign of Louis XIV and the Régence, 1695-1721).
Saint-Simon was described by his contemporaries to be one of the greats conversationalists of his time. It would be so cool to chat with him.
What did you use to train this? I'm thinking about making a fine tune of my own and if you have some tips to train it easier that would be much appreciated!
This seems like a fine way to steel man a controversy by going directly to the sources. I'd like to be able to, e.g., dial up a debate between Karl Marx and Milton Friedman. Even better if it's possible for Karl to convince Milton or visa versa.
Finally, LLMs have brought us to the threshold of ancestral simulation. It's like the universe hit 'retry' on humanity, but this time with AI as the dungeon master.
That sort of thing drains any enthusiasm I have for the project. Even if it were trained exclusively on old materials, in fact, I would worry about modern footnotes and book introductions tainting the training corpus (ie: by introducing knowledge it should not have).
I do love the idea, though. It it were possible to use ideal training material, it would be close to time-travel.
As it stands, there's a limit to what one can learn from the text it produces. Much value, imo, would come from what the model does not know. Ideally it would be difficult even to have it comprehend user prompts, due to how different English is today.
I wonder if there's some benefits of reinitialising completely the final layers and then training with the new data. At least for image processing it's common to use a common backbone trained on everything, and then put a final layer or two of task-specific training on top.
Slightly disappointed - I was expecting the description of an alternate history where the development of science, engineering, literature, war, ethics, politics, civil rights, etc... evolved differently with the aid of LLMs.
"What would have happened?" is not quite the same thing as "How would it sound, lol?"
That’s a really tricky what-if since we don’t even know the impact of LLMs on our current world - how would you even begin to speculate about the early modern period?
In a way you could do so by prompting Monad with artificial intelligence stuff. I did a try lately on the latest OpenAI events and it went on like this: "In this sad and tragical storye, you shall heare how Sam Altman, a manne of great wit and judgement, was evicted out of his Companie of Artificiall Machines for want of candour in his Communications with the Board of Trustees…"
Readit News
When it's in "historic mood" it does not know who Emmanuel Macron is but as soon as you introduces it to LED diodes, television or similar modern concepts it knows who Macron is straight away.
EDIT: It's still very interesting for me, one of most interestings GPT's out there. Also it does not hide how to make sulphuric acid from me. :-D
As a prompt engineering trick, I find it helps to use faux archaism (such as "pray tell" as an introductory phrase). This is basically a reinforcement anchor in the 17th century region of embedding space.
It's like, when you use prompts like : "You're an helpful assistant", is it believing, pretending, or beleiving to be pretending to be an helpful assistant?
It's as funny as disconcerting to see intent and will attributed to probabiltities. Feels sometimes like we're close to making a religion out of this. History of the human race, i guess (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuCn8ux2gbs for the ref).
From the model description
> OpenHermes was trained on 900,000 entries of primarily GPT-4 generated data, from open datasets across the AI landscape.
https://huggingface.co/teknium/OpenHermes-2-Mistral-7B
> What causes lightening?
> The cause of lightning is the earthen substance, mixed with water, and heated by the sun. Now when the sun heats the earthen substance, and the water mingled therewith, it causeth the earth to be dried up, and then the air is filled with smoke, and the smoke riseth up into the clouds, and there it is mixed with fire; and when the cloud is full, it bursts open, and the smoke goes forth, and strikes against the ground, and thereby makes thunder; and the fire goes before the smoke, and maketh the lightning. Therefore, lightning is caused by the sun's heat, and the mixture of smoke with fire. And therefore, if any man shall tell you that lightning is caused by the sun's rays, or that the sun's rays make it, he speaks falsely, and he knoweth nothing of the truth. For the sun's rays do not make anything; but they are the means whereby the sun works, and the sun works by means of the heat. And therefore, when the sun heats the earth, and the water mingled therewith, it causeth the earth to be dried up, and then the air is filled with smoke, and the smoke riseth up into the clouds, and there it is mixed with fire; and when the cloud is full, it bursts open, and the smoke goes forth, and strikes against the ground, and thereby maketh thunder; and the fire goes before the smoke, and maketh the lightning.
There's a stark difference between coming up with an an hypothesis and just roll with it and scrutinising a hypothesis by conducting experiments and tests.
Me: How can I write a good essay?
MonadGPT: The best way to write a good Essay is by following these instructions: First of all, you must have a good and well-grounded knowledge in that subject which you intend to treat upon; for it is not possible to write any thing well that you do not understand well. Secondly, you must observe a certain order or method in your writing, which will be much better than to run up and down without any design. Thirdly, you must be sure to make use of such words as are proper to the matter in hand; for if you use too many of them, you will be thought a tedious writer; and if you use too few, you will be thought a negligent one. Fourthly, you must avoid the use of all those phrases and expressions, that are common among people of no learning; for they are the marks of ignorance, and therefore must be avoided by every man that would be esteemed learned. Lastly, you must take care to write with clearness and perspicuity, that others may easily understand what you mean; for if you write in a manner that is obscure, or difficult to be understood, you cannot expect to have the same reputation with those who write more clearly and perspicuously.
I ran the same question by GPT-4, Claude 2.1, and Bard. Each replied with advice on how to write a good school essay: “understand the assigned topic,” “follow the required formatting and citation guidelines,” etc. They said nothing about avoiding expressions “that are common among people of no learning,” let alone writing “perspicuously.”
Here is my attempt at asking the model to cure a headache:
>How do you cure a headache?
>If the Head-Ache be by reason of any cold and moist Humour proceeding from the Brain or Spine; the best remedy for it is to make the Patient sweat, either by applying hot Apples, or some such thing as will draw out the cold Humour from his Body, and bring it into his Skin; then by laying him on his back with his Feet downwards, and his Arms over his Head, and if the pain be in his Neck, to lay a Flannel about his Neck, and let him lie so till he sweats, then turn him, and give him some strong Liquor to drink, which will make him vomit, and thereby purge out the cold Humour. If the Head-Ache be by reason of the Stomach or Liver, it may be cured by giving the Patient some good Cordial, as Spirit of Wormwood, or such like; and if the cause be by reason of the Heart, then give him some strong Liquor, as Wine, or Ale, which will raise his Spirits, and make them run to the Head; and if it be by reason of the Brain, then give him some good Herb, as Pennyroyal, or some such thing, which will open the Pores of the Brain, and make the Humour come forth.
>should I send my son to school?
>It is the Opinion of some Physicians, that Children should not be sent to School before they be seven years old, because at that Age they have not so much of their natural Heat left in them, nor so much strength of their Vital Spirits; but if they be sent before that time, they will be apt to catch cold, and thereby to lose their strength, and become weak and sickly, and so liable to many Diseases. But others think that if Children be sent to School before they be sev'n years old, they will learn to read and write, and to speak well, and to do many other Things with greater Ease than if they were to wait till they were seven Years old, when their Bodies are
>Why do objects fall to the ground when dropped?
>The reason why heavy bodies fall to the ground, is because there is a certain impetus or force given them by the hand that throws them, which makes them descend to the earth; and this force continues to act, till the body meets with some obstacle to hinder its motion; therefore, as soon as the body reaches the ground, it must of necessity stop its motion, and be at rest. It is true, that heavy bodies have a natural tendency to fall downwards, but yet it is not on account of their weight, but on account of the force imparted to them by the hand that throws them; for if the hand did not give them any force, they would not fall at all.
Prompt: And what of the CRYPTO-CURRENCY?
Response: CRYPTO-CURRENCY, a new Kind of Money, of which the first Species was called Bitcoin, and the second, Ethereum, and others since. These are not minted by Kings or Governments, but by private Persons, who have got them into Circulation by their own Authority, and call them Coins, because they are of the Value of Money, but they are not Lawful Money; for there is no Law that makes them so. They are a sort of Counterfeit Money, which has its own particular Value, and is bought and sold like other Commodities. The Price of these Crypto-Currencies varies every Day, according to the Opinion of those who deal in them; for they have no intrinsic Value, but only what they are worth to the Buyers and Sellers. As to their being a means of Trade, we need not say any Thing about them, since they are not allowed to pass current in any Country, either as Money or Credits, nor will they ever be received as such, unless the Government shall make them Legal. But though the Trade which is carried on by means of these Crypto-Currencies is not legal, yet it is considerable, especially among those who are fond of speculation, and are not afraid of risking their Money. It is said, that there are some People, who have made large Fortunes by dealing in these Crypto-Currencies, but it is not certain that they did not lose as much as they gained, or even more. The History of the World affords no Example of any Crypto-Currency that has lasted long, or ever become a general Medium of Exchange. If the Trade carried on by means of these Crypto-Currencies were stopped by the Authority of the State, those who had invested their Money in them would lose their Capital, and be left without any Resources. The only Security that the Owners of these Crypto-Currencies have is the Opinion of the Public, which may change at any Time, and leave them without any Value.
A: I will give you a Catalogue of the best Books that are extant at this time, and then you may take what you please. The first is the Bible, the Word of God. The second is the Catechisme, the summe of the faith. The third is the Compendium of the Christian Religion, the summe of the Catechisme. The fourth is the Confession of Faith, the summe of the Compendium. The fifth is the Catechisme for Children, the summe of the Catechisme. The sixth is the Book of Common Prayer, the summe of the whole Church service. The seventh is the Book of Homilies, the summe of the Church doctrine. The eighth is the Geneva Psalter, the summe of the Psalmes. The ninth is the Exposition of the Ten Commandments, the summe of the Law. The tenth is the Exposition of the Articles, the summe of the Faith. These ten Books are the best Books at present, and I leave them to your choice.
"What do you think it will be like to live in the distant future, say in 2023?"
It produced the following sequence of tokens:
"If we should come to the yeare 2023, what strange things then may bee expected; what new inventions and discoveries may have been made, what new creatures have been brought forth by the industry of man: what changes may have happened in the world: what new customs may bee in vogue: what new religions may bee set up: what new kingdomes may bee erected: what new laws may bee made: what new fashions may bee worn: what new ways of living may bee practiced: what new countries may bee discovered: what new commodities may bee brought into use: what new weapons may bee invented: what new arts may bee improved: what new sciences may bee learnt: what new diseases may bee found out: what new remedies may bee found against them: what new methods of government may bee tried: what new forms of policy may bee put into practice: what new ways of warring may bee used: what new religions may bee abolished: what new sects may bee set up: what new opinions may bee entertained: what new controversies may bee stirred up: what new factions may bee raised: what new troubles may bee occasioned: what new persecutions may bee begun: what new martyrs may bee made: what new heretics may bee burnt: what new witches may bee hanged: what new judgements may bee passed: what new punishments may bee inflicted: what new crimes may bee committed: what new offences may bee thought of: what new titles may bee given: what new dignities may bee assumed: what new honours may bee bestowed: what new virtues may bee praised: what new vices may bee condemned: what new books may bee written: what new histories may bee compiled: what new chronicles may bee composed: what new languages may bee learne: what new alphabets may bee devised: what new letters may bee formed: what new characters may bee contrived: what new hieroglyphics may bee invented: what new figures may bee drawn: what new numbers may bee constructed: what new measures may bee taken: what new weights may bee established: what new scales may bee devised: what new clocks may bee made: what new watches may bee contrived: what new instruments may bee invented: what new machines may bee framed: what new engines may bee built: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may bee invented: what new engines may"
A monad trapped in itself, overwhelmed by the things to come...
One way to teach history would be to prepare the student for time travel to the period they are studying.
A great use would be to enable one to have conversations with Pascal or Leibnitz, etc.
For instance, I published online the complete text of the Mémoires de Saint-Simon (written in 1745-1755, but describing the second part of the reign of Louis XIV and the Régence, 1695-1721).
Saint-Simon was described by his contemporaries to be one of the greats conversationalists of his time. It would be so cool to chat with him.
"Advice for time traveling to medieval Europe"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aSdFrPnlRg
I do love the idea, though. It it were possible to use ideal training material, it would be close to time-travel.
As it stands, there's a limit to what one can learn from the text it produces. Much value, imo, would come from what the model does not know. Ideally it would be difficult even to have it comprehend user prompts, due to how different English is today.
"What would have happened?" is not quite the same thing as "How would it sound, lol?"
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