Is AI Very Confused And Wrong About The Opera In Amarillo?

Playing with AI is fun. Don't believe me? Give it a try. I spend a lot of my free time messing around with artificial intelligence. It's fascinating, sometimes, what answers you will be given according to the information that the AI has access to. For instance, ask it for some lesser known facts about Amarillo. It gives you a bunch of facts everyone knows, except when it comes to the Opera.

Is the AI very confused and wrong, or am I, about the Opera in Amarillo.

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First Of All, Amarillo Does Have An Opera Company

If you've never heard of the Amarillo Opera, let me be the first to introduce you. Amarillo and the Opera have a long history going all the way back to the year of our Lord, 1988. They even have tickets for sale for an upcoming performance in April.

If you find yourself loitering about the Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, there's a solid chance that you will find yourself at some point confronted with the Amarillo Opera. This is where the performances are held.

But that's not what made me pause and scratch my head. We're all aware of the Opera. It was the fun little fact that the AI threw in that made me question everything.

Go Home Artificial Intelligence Thingy...You're Drunk

Here's the thing with using AI. It isn't some all knowing, all encompassing, omni-whatever being. It has its limitations just like anything else. That's why you're constantly reminded to fact check whatever "facts" some AI tool spits out at you. Also, keep in mind that it's only doing what it has been instructed to do. How you lay out your instructions are a lot of the problem sometimes.

For instance, if you ask ChatGPT to give you some unusual facts about Amarillo, Texas you'll get a lot of facts that you probably already know. There's stuff about the 72 oz steak, Cadillac Ranch, Floating Mesa, and then something about the Amarillo Opera. Of course, the answers will vary slightly from time to time. On one occasion, I got this little nugget.

According to ChatGPT, the Amarillo Opera is one of only four professional Opera companies in the state of Texas. I did a little research via Google search, and I found a lot more than four Opera companies.

The Truth May Lie, Simply, In Semantics

I went to Wikipedia since it was the first place that looked like it had a solid list of Opera companies in Texas (it doesn't seem like there's much of a rush these days for info on opera). Maybe some of these organizations have closed down. Perhaps some have merged. Some, perhaps, aren't professional. Or, maybe, the AI got confused.

The AI has also, in the past, referenced gorilla statues all over Amarillo. Obviously it's confusing the horse statues all over town with the Amarillo Gorillas sports team that is no longer with us.

I would be interested in finding out more regarding Amarillo Opera's unique place in Texas history, if it is in fact one of only four professional companies in the state.