An Expert in Theory of Mind

In the previous post, I cited some examples of questions that could still trip up ChatGPT 4:

• Self-referential questions - e.g. What is the fifth word of this sentence?

• Non-standard “theory of mind” questions - e.g. involving an animal that moves on its own, separate from human actions.

To get ChatGPT to answer these questions correctly, you just need to tell it to answer as if it’s an expert. While these cases wouldn’t seem like they need expert knowledge, you really need to emphasize how much of an expert it is.

While telling it to answer like an expert does help, it still doesn’t gain capabilities that it didn’t have before. E.g. it still can’t play chess in new positions or do math that’s beyond its capabilities. A little confidence helps but it can’t do miracles.