One of the main pitfalls/criticisms of ChatGPT has been that it confidently plows forward and gives an answer regardless of whether it's right or wrong.
Here, it seems like it's being more circumspect, which could be a step in the right direction. At least that's one possible explanation for not answering.
On Wikipedia, if I type "Scott Alexander" and hit enter, it takes me directly to the page for a baseball player. So it's not clear that the blogger is the right answer.
I do think there's a better response than either of these, though. It could list the most famous Scott Alexanders and briefly say what each is known for, then ask if you mean one of those.
One of the main pitfalls/criticisms of ChatGPT has been that it confidently plows forward and gives an answer regardless of whether it's right or wrong.
Here, it seems like it's being more circumspect, which could be a step in the right direction. At least that's one possible explanation for not answering.
On Wikipedia, if I type "Scott Alexander" and hit enter, it takes me directly to the page for a baseball player. So it's not clear that the blogger is the right answer.
I do think there's a better response than either of these, though. It could list the most famous Scott Alexanders and briefly say what each is known for, then ask if you mean one of those.