From Elif Batuman’s experience with ChatGPT, it seems that artificial intelligence possesses one very human characteristic: a deep reluctance to confess to ignorance (Proust, ChatGPT and the case of the forgotten quote, 5 September).
Many, many times I have found that instead of simply and candidly replying “I don’t know” to my question, my human respondent will answer a nominally similar but significantly different question, often at great length.
Geoff Renshaw
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
