How Bad is ChatGPT for the Humanities?
Use with caution!
All the limitations you might fear for ChatGPT are clear. It takes data based on Silicon Valley beliefs and prejudices and stuffs them jam packed in a steroids spitting package. One of the potential workarounds is to provide intelligent prompts to improve getting spat upon. But, when it comes to the Humanities, ChatGPT is so pathetic it spews a smorgasbord of nonsense sprinkled with a true point or two.
To wit, as a workaround for its limitations I tried a more in-depth prompt to see how it would do. Here is my prompt:
For a class of New Testament students at a Protestant Evangelical Seminary explain who Archbishop Newcome is and why his translation of the New Testament is incorrect.
And here is the ChatGPT speculation:
“Archbishop Richard Newcome (1749-1828) was an Anglican bishop and biblical scholar who was known for his revision of the New Testament in 1796. However, his translation of the New Testament has been criticized by many Protestant Evangelicals for being inconsistent with their beliefs and interpretations of the Bible.
One of the main reasons for this criticism is that Newcome's translation includes passages and interpretations that are considered to be supportive of the doctrine of the Trinity, which is not in line with the beliefs of many Protestant Evangelicals who believe in a more strict interpretation of the Bible. Newcome's translation also includes the use of the term "Trinity," which is not found in the original Greek text of the New Testament, and is considered by many Protestant Evangelicals to be an unnecessary and unjustified addition.
Additionally, Newcome's translation was also criticized for being based on the Textus Receptus, a Greek New Testament text that was used as the basis for the King James Version, but has since been shown to have numerous errors and inaccuracies. Protestant Evangelicals often prefer more modern translations of the New Testament that are based on more accurate and reliable texts.
In conclusion, while Archbishop Newcome's translation of the New Testament was an important revision of the King James Version in its time, it has since been criticized by many Protestant Evangelicals for being inconsistent with their beliefs and interpretations of the Bible, and for relying on an inaccurate and unreliable Greek text.”
ChatGPT completely misunderstands Protestant Evangelical theology, in fact, all mainstream Christians, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox affirm the doctrine of the Trinity. It correctly identifies that Newcome used a faulty text. Protestant Fundamentalists maintain a strict interpretation of the text, although they agree with the doctrine of the Trinity, as all mainstream Christian denominations do, all groups realizing that the word does not appear in the text, but concluding that the Trinity understanding arises from an interpretation of numerous texts.
Unless a person has a human and accurate understanding of the issues ChatGPT would be completely unreliable and virtually worthless. Unless a person brought their basic, human knowledge to the answer they would be seriously mislead.
I think you have to use a Silicon Valley tool with caution especially in view of its built in biases and misunderstandings.