This past Sunday, 60 Minutes had a segment on Google and artificial intelligence (AI) called Exploring the human-like side of artificial intelligence at Google. Part of the discussion covered Google’s new AI chat bot Bard. And while the creative output of Bard was impressive, it was a little too creative when asked asked about economics. Bard recommended five books, but all five were nonexistent books. This is called “hallucination” in the AI realm.
I decided to try this myself, but ask for the five best books on black holes. This is what came back from Bard:
1. Black Holes: The BBC Guide by Andrew Hamilton. This book is a comprehensive introduction to black holes, covering their history, physics, and astrophysics. It is written in a clear and accessible style, and is perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about these fascinating objects. (link provided: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29537175-black-holes-the-reith-lectures)
2. The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the Universe Safe for Quantum Mechanics by Leonard Susskind. This book tells the story of the scientific debate between Susskind and Hawking about the nature of black holes. It is a fascinating read, and provides a great introduction to some of the most complex physics of our time. (link provided: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-black-hole-war-my-battle-with-stephen-hawking-to-make-the-world-safe-for-quantum-mechanics_leonard-susskind/296413/#edition=4644854&idiq=11329467)
3. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. This classic book is a must-read for anyone interested in black holes or cosmology. Hawking explains complex concepts in a clear and engaging way, and his book is full of insights into the nature of the universe. (link provided: https://www.amazon.com/Brief-History-Time-Stephen-Hawking/dp/0553380168)
4. Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy by Kip Thorne. This book is a more advanced treatment of black holes, but it is still written in a clear and accessible style. Thorne is one of the world’s leading experts on black holes, and his book provides a wealth of information about these fascinating objects. (link provided: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Holes-Time-Warps-Commonwealth/dp/0393312763)
5. The Little Book of Black Holes by Janna Levin. This book is a great introduction to black holes for people who are new to the subject. Levin writes in a clear and engaging style, and she uses humor and analogy to make the physics more accessible. (link provided: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Black-Holes-Science-Essentials/dp/0691163723)
Bard was even helpful enough to provide links to the books being cited.
After looking up these books, related authors, and links, here is what I found:
- I could not find the first book by Andrew Hamilton, though he is a professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at Cornell University. Also, the link was to a different book.
- The second, third, and fourth book references were accurate, as were the associated links.
- The fifth book exists, but the authors are Steven S. Gubser and Frans Pretorius, not Janna Levin, who wrote other books on black holes.
So that gives you a 40 percent error rate on the 5 books listed. It does not inspire confidence. I am afraid to ask for the top 10 if only because it would take more time to correct this supposedly amazing chat bot.
And I do not really know if these are the top books in the field. Chat GPT gave me three of the five books listed, and also named the first book linked in Bard’s response, but attributed the lecture to Roger Penrose (the name of the lecture series) rather than Stephen Hawking.
Caution is highly recommended with these chat bots.
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