If you’ve ever used ChatGPT, you probably know that it’s not the most fun “hang.” Part of the reason for that is that it’s not a person, nor should it be treated as one.

However, the other reason for why this is the case is that, at the end of the day, any Large Language Model is effectively a series of math equations using words instead of numbers. They’re not “thinking” as much as they’re “calculating the appropriate response” — which means their capacity for things like subtlety, humor, and nuance is pretty limited.

Wait a minute…hyper-literal, loves structure, can’t tell a joke — this is just a German!

Well, now the idea that ChatGPT = the people of Germany has been verified by science. A recent paper out of Harvard assessed ChatGPT on a variety of criteria and attempted to compare those criteria to averages of other countries. The country found to be most similar to ChatGPT’s manner of “thinking” and speech was Germany.

So, if you like talking to ChatGPT, might I suggest swapping out that experience with a living, breathing German? They desperately need friends!