Artificial history? Inquiring ChatGPT on historiography.

In this paper, I examine the historiographical capabilities of ChatGPT, a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot released on 30 November 2022, by OpenAI corporation. I begin by outlining a concise history of AI, highlighting the key innovations that have culminated in the development...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rethinking History Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 709 - 750
Main Author: Leme Lopes, A. P.
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Dec2023
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:In this paper, I examine the historiographical capabilities of ChatGPT, a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot released on 30 November 2022, by OpenAI corporation. I begin by outlining a concise history of AI, highlighting the key innovations that have culminated in the development of advanced applications such as ChatGPT. Subsequently, I present an analysis of my interactions with the chatbot between February and May 2023, focusing on a long 'interview' conducted on the theory and methodology of historical science. My preliminary findings suggest that while ChatGPT holds significant potential for aiding historians in their research, the prospect of AI-driven history production remains distant and unlikely to materialize soon.