Did George Mallory climb Everest in 1924? I asked ChatGPT for an answer

Some of you may have heard about ChatGPT, the Elon Musk-funded chatbot that was launched to the public last month to much fanfare (although he has since left the project to concentrate on winding down Twitter).

ChatGPT is a web tool that you can type natural-language questions into and get scarily human-like answers back again. It has been trained using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning techniques with terabytes of information fed into it.

If you believe the hype then you may be thinking that the release of ChatGPT marks the beginning of the end of human civilisation. Or perhaps, as Churchill might have said, the end of the beginning. People like me will be replaced by AI-generated content (a good thing too, some of you might be thinking). Students won’t be writing essays any more; they will just type the question into ChatGPT. Idiots will start asking it how to make nerve gas. Software developers won’t need to bother writing their own code any more, etc. etc.

But is it any good? Its creators have said that ChatGPT “sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers”. But I think we all know people like that. It sounds like Elon Musk himself may even have helped to train it. But can it actually impersonate a real human being, including a dead one? It occurred to me that there was only one way to find out, and that by doing so, I could also resolve one of the great unsolved mysteries of mountaineering history.

Did Sandy Irvine and George Mallory reach the summit of Everest in 1924, and can a software programme find out the answer?
Did Sandy Irvine and George Mallory reach the summit of Everest in 1924, and can a software programme find out the answer?

If it can impersonate a real person, then I could interview George Mallory and find out from the horse’s mouth if he actually reached the summit of Everest after disappearing into mist on the North-East Ridge in 1924.

The text below is a genuine conversation, produced by typing questions into ChatGPT’s chat interface. It’s certainly one of the easiest blog posts I’ve ever written. You can judge for yourself whether I should stop writing them myself and start cheating from now on.

 

Did you, George Mallory, reach the summit of Everest in 1924?

I am sorry, but I am not George Mallory. I am a large language model trained by OpenAI and do not have personal experiences or knowledge outside of what I have been trained on. My training only goes up until 2021, so I am unable to provide information on events that may have occurred after that date.

OK, OK. Let’s play it your way then. Tell me about your early life. How did you get into mountaineering?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a large language model trained by OpenAI and do not have a personal life or experiences outside of my training. I do not have the ability to engage in activities such as mountaineering or any other physical pursuits. My function is to assist users by providing information and answering questions to the best of my ability based on my training. I do not have a physical presence and exist solely as a collection of algorithms and data. Is there something else I can help you with?

Yes, yes. I get it. How did George Mallory first get into mountaineering?

George Mallory was a British mountaineer who is best known for his expeditions to climb Mount Everest in the early 1920s. It is not clear how he first became interested in mountaineering, but he joined the Oxford University Mountaineering Club while he was a student at Oxford and began participating in expeditions to the Alps. He eventually became a member of the prestigious Alpine Club and participated in several successful expeditions to climb peaks in the Alps. His passion for mountaineering eventually led him to attempt to summit Mount Everest, which was the highest peak in the world at the time.

Hmm, yes. It was actually Cambridge University, and as far as I’m aware, Mount Everest still is the highest peak in the world, but we’ll let that pass.

You say “led him to attempt to summit Mount Everest”. Are you saying he didn’t reach it then?

It is not known for certain whether George Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, reached the summit of Mount Everest during their 1924 expedition. Mallory and Irvine set out to climb the mountain on June 6, 1924 and were last seen alive near the summit by another member of their expedition, Noel Odell. It is believed that they may have reached the summit, but they never returned from the climb and their bodies were not found until 1999. The mystery of whether they reached the summit or not remains one of the enduring mysteries of mountaineering history.

Aha, got you again! Perhaps you’re not so clever after all. I could be pedantic and say that it was actually June 8 when they set out from their last camp. June 6 was the day they left the North Col. But more importantly, you said “their bodies”? Were both the bodies of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine found in 1999?

Yes, the bodies of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were found on Mount Everest in 1999. Mallory’s body was found on May 1, 1999 by a team of climbers searching for the remains of the climbers who had disappeared on the mountain in 1924. Irvine’s body was found nearby on May 8, 1999. The discovery of their bodies helped to shed some light on the mystery of what happened to the climbers during their final ascent of the mountain, but many questions still remain unanswered.

But that’s nonsense. Sandy Irvine’s body has never been found, unless you’re a conspiracy theorist who thinks it was found by the Chinese ages ago and removed from the mountain.

I apologize if the information I provided was incorrect. As a large language model trained by OpenAI, my responses are based on the information that I have been trained on. My training only goes up until 2021, so I may not have the most up-to-date information on events that have occurred since then. In addition, I do not have the ability to browse the internet or access new information, so I am unable to provide information on events that may have occurred after my training. I am sorry if the information I provided was not helpful in this case. Is there something else I can help you with?

It’s OK. Don’t be upset. We all get things wrong. I could have been a bit more polite, I know. I’m sorry too. Will you forgive me and continue the interview?

Of course, there is no need to apologize. As a language model, I am not capable of being upset or offended. I exist solely to assist users by providing information and answering questions to the best of my ability. I am here to help, so please feel free to ask any questions you may have. I will do my best to provide accurate and helpful information based on the knowledge I have been trained on.

OK, thank you. The question of whether George Mallory climbed Everest hinges on which step he was climbing when Noel Odell saw him through the mist. Where do you think he was?

It is not known exactly where George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were when they were last seen by Noel Odell on June 8, 1924. Odell, who was part of the same expedition, spotted the two climbers near the summit of Mount Everest and reported that they were “going strong for the top” despite being hampered by heavy snow and strong winds. It is not known whether they reached the summit or not, as they disappeared and their bodies were not found until 1999. The mystery of what happened to Mallory and Irvine during their final ascent of the mountain remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of mountaineering history.

Now you’re sounding like a politician. Which step was George Mallory climbing when Odell last saw him – the First Step, Second Step or Third Step?

As I mentioned earlier, it is not known exactly where George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were when they were last seen by Noel Odell on June 8, 1924. Odell spotted the two climbers near the summit of Mount Everest and reported that they were “going strong for the top,” but it is not known whether they reached the summit or not. The exact location of where they were last seen is not specified in accounts of the expedition, so it is not possible for me to say with certainty which step Mallory was climbing at the time. The route to the summit of Mount Everest includes several steep and challenging sections, including the First Step, Second Step, and Third Step, which are among the most difficult and technical parts of the climb. It is likely that Mallory and Irvine were climbing one of these steps when they were last seen, but without more information, it is not possible to say for sure.

But we have a lot of that information, don’t we. Odell said “the place on the ridge referred to is the prominent rock-step at a very short distance from the base of the final pyramid”. That rules out the First Step, surely?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a large language model trained by OpenAI and do not have access to additional information or sources beyond what I have been trained on. My training only goes up until 2021, so I may not have the most up-to-date information on events that have occurred since then. In addition, I do not have the ability to browse the internet or access new information, so I am unable to provide information on events that may have occurred after my training. I apologize if the information I provided was not helpful in this case. Is there something else I can help you with?

This isn’t new information. It’s a direct quote that was published by the Alpine Journal in 1924. People have been speculating about its meaning for years. You didn’t know this, then?

As a large language model trained by OpenAI, my responses are based on the information that I have been trained on. My training only goes up until 2021, so I may not have the most up-to-date information on events that have occurred since then. In addition, I do not have the ability to browse the internet or access new information, so I am unable to provide information on events that may have occurred after my training. I apologize if the information I provided was not helpful in this case. Is there something else I can help you with?

Yes, yes, there’s no need to keep repeating yourself. Have you read Mark Horrell’s blog post “What climbing Everest taught me about George Mallory’s final hours”?

I apologize, but as a large language model trained by OpenAI, I do not have the ability to read or access specific articles or blog posts. I do not have the ability to browse the internet or access new information, so I am unable to provide information on specific articles or blog posts that may have been published after my training. My function is to assist users by providing information and answering questions to the best of my ability based on my training. I am sorry if I am unable to provide the specific information you are looking for. Is there something else I can help you with?

OK, let’s try something a bit easier then. If George Mallory didn’t climb Everest, who was the first person to reach the summit of Everest from the north side?

If George Mallory and Andrew Irvine did not reach the summit of Mount Everest during their 1924 expedition, then the first person to reach the summit of Everest from the north side was Chinese mountaineer, Wang Fuzhou, who climbed the mountain with Chinese climbers, Qu Yinhua and Gonpo, in 1960. They were part of a Chinese expedition to the mountain that was led by Liu Lienman. The Chinese team reached the summit via the North Col and the North Ridge routes, becoming the first climbers to reach the summit of the mountain from the north side.

Yes, that’s right. Liu Lienman didn’t actually lead the expedition, but otherwise you’re correct. And how did Wang Fuzhou and his compatriots manage to climb the Second Step, the crux of the climb?

The Chinese climbers who reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1960, including Wang Fuzhou, Qu Yinhua, and Gonpo, used a ladder to climb the Second Step, which is considered to be the crux of the climb. The ladder, which was carried to the mountain by the expedition, was fixed to the rock face at the bottom of the Second Step and was used by the climbers to ascend the steep and difficult section. This was the first time a ladder had been used on the north side of the mountain, and it proved to be an effective way to overcome the challenge of the Second Step. The Chinese climbers were able to use the ladder to successfully climb the Second Step and continue on to the summit, becoming the first people to reach the top of the mountain from the north side.

No, that’s completely wrong! The ladder was put there by a different Chinese team in 1975, so Wang Fuzhou could not have used it. It looks to me like you’ve just been searching for “crux of the climb” and grabbed the first thing you’ve come across, which happened to be about the 1975 expedition.

In 1960, Wang Fuzhou and co. climbed the Second Step by standing on Liu Lienman’s shoulders. Do you think it’s possible George Mallory could have climbed the Second Step by standing on Sandy Irvine’s shoulders?

It is not known for certain how George Mallory and Andrew Irvine attempted to climb the Second Step during their 1924 expedition to Mount Everest. Mallory and Irvine were last seen alive near the summit of the mountain by another member of their expedition, Noel Odell, who reported that they were “going strong for the top” despite being hampered by heavy snow and strong winds. It is not known whether they reached the summit or not, as they disappeared and their bodies were not found until 1999. It is possible that they may have used a similar method to the one you described to climb the Second Step, but without more information, it is not possible to say for sure. The mystery of what happened to Mallory and Irvine during their final ascent of the mountain remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of mountaineering history.

Yes, we’ve been through all this. This is another politician’s answer. I can give you more information about it. Would you like that?

As a large language model trained by OpenAI, my responses are based on the information that I have been trained on. My training only goes up until 2021, so I may not have the most up-to-date information on events that have occurred since then. In addition, I do not have the ability to browse the internet or access new information, so I am unable to provide information on events that may have occurred after my training. If you have additional information or sources that you think may be helpful, you can use them to provide context for your questions or to ask more specific questions. I will do my best to provide accurate and helpful information based on the knowledge I have been trained on. Is there something specific you would like to know?

No, it’s OK. I can see that you can’t tell me anything about George Mallory’s last climb that I don’t already know. You can certainly talk a good game – you know enough to sound like you know what you’re talking about – but actually your knowledge is not especially deep, your answers are littered with factual errors, and when I press you on the finer details you become evasive. Unlike Wikipedia, which cites its sources, we have no way of knowing where your information comes from. Consequently, it can’t really be trusted.

You may be good at pub quizzes, but I don’t think human civilisation is in any danger from you just yet. I hate to say it, but you’re not the sort of person I’d go for a drink with. I won’t be recruiting you to write any more of my blog posts and I don’t recommend anyone uses you to produce content.

Anyway, thank you for talking to me and have a nice day!

I apologize if the information I provided was incorrect. I am a large language model trained by OpenAI…

Goodbye.

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6 thoughts on “Did George Mallory climb Everest in 1924? I asked ChatGPT for an answer

  • December 14, 2022 at 6:44 pm
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    Too funny! Thank you so much for doing this. RIP Mallory and Irvine. Please continue writing real stuff.

  • December 14, 2022 at 7:40 pm
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    Glad you went toe(less) to toe with AI. Your vast Mt. Everest knowledge will surely be of use to our AI overlords, right now, or in the near future, meaning next week. Keith (Everest summit in 1993)

  • December 15, 2022 at 1:57 am
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    Yes, very funny but also worrying that authenticated facts get lost because of poor AI search routines and the answers the AI produces become established facts both in the real world but also within the AI.
    As M and I climbed without crampons and would have more than likely stayed to the rock, is there any possibility that they could have avoided the Second Step having taken an alternative route lower down? I did read somewhere that they had pitched a camp (3?) at the top of a rocky rib, which is a logical place for non crampon wearing climbers because it avoided cutting steps, in those days, across snowy ledges? Just a thought as I walk my dog

  • December 15, 2022 at 7:14 am
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    I don’t think so. If he skirted beneath the Second Step, like Norton tried to do in 1924, he would have needed to ascend the Norton Couloir, as Messner did in 1980. This would have brought him out above the Third Step, which is probably the step that Odell saw him climbing (though not everyone agrees).

  • Pingback:ChatGPT doesn’t like to admit when it was wrong and is surprisingly dumb | Evocatively Ambiguous

  • December 18, 2022 at 1:39 am
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    Reinhold Messner’s book on the subject is probably the best analysis. He thinks they probably did not make it. There’s so much information that’s inaccessible to chatgpt.

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