AI Slop

GenAI can be impressive, but what it ain't is Artificial Intelligence.

I have been toying with some local LLMA GenAI toys. I have a 3 year old MacBook Air that is loaded with the best M1 chip and memory that was available in 2021, so I wasn't expecting a miracle. Still, following the instructions from the Meta released Llama 3.2 model, with the 4B training set, it runs comfortably (albeit a wee bit sluggish on this 4+ year old laptop).

I used the instructions at this link: Running Meta Llama on a Mac

Anyhow, it went and downloaded the base model data and I can query it in the terminal.

The trial question it recommended was to ask it who wrote the book “The Godfather”, and it spit out a few paragraphs that mostly explained the author (Mario Puzo) and the general info. Since this is one of the greatest films ever made, I wasn’t surprised.

But, since I was preparing for dinner (Christmas day, stuff pork chops and plenty of sides), I just had Galaxy Quest running¹.

After I completed my prep, I got back to dinking around with the Llama model, and I asked it to describe the plot of Galaxy Quest. This is what it spit out:

>>> what is the plot of the movie Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science fiction comedy film directed by Dean 
Parisot and written by David N. Rich and Michael Sussman.

The movie takes place in a parallel universe where a group of actors who 
played characters in a popular but now-cancelled television show called 
"Galaxy Quest" have become famous for their work on the series. The show 
follows the adventures of a team of space explorers known as the "Galaxy 
Quest," which are similar to a Star Trek-like franchise.

The plot of the movie centers around the re-emergence of an alien 
civilization, the Thermians, who had previously interacted with the Galaxy 
Quest crew on their television show. The Thermians have created a device 
that can bring their actors back to life, and they want to use the actors 
to help them defeat an evil alien warlord named Vran.

The main characters in the movie are:

1. Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen): The leader of the Galaxy Quest crew and a 
charismatic actor who plays the character of Lieutenant Tawny Madison.
2. Alexander Dane (Sigourney Weaver): A former co-star of Nesmith's on the 
show, who also appears as Dr. Phoebe Nash.
3. Guy Fleegman (Sam Rockwell): The producer of the Galaxy Quest 
television show, who becomes embroiled in the adventure with the 
Thermians.
4. Gwen DeMarco (Jane Curtin): A crew member and friend of 
Nesmith's, who joins him on his journey.

As the story unfolds, the actors find themselves transported to the planet 
Proxima II, where they must help the Thermians defeat Vran and save their 
civilization from destruction. Along the way, they encounter various 
challenges and obstacles, including hostile aliens, treacherous 
landscapes, and their own personal demons.

The movie is a humorous send-up of science fiction conventions and pays 
homage to classic sci-fi franchises like Star Trek and Battlestar 
Galactica. It features many Easter eggs and references to popular culture, 
making it a fun and entertaining watch for fans of the genre.

This is a lovely description. Alas, but it was totally wrong. There is no planet Proxima II, Sigourney Weaver didn’t play Alexander Dane (that is a male part, played by the incomparable Alan Rickman), and Gwen DeMarco was not played by Jane Curtin. And Guy Fleegman is not the original producer of the series (in the film), but one of the “Red-shirt” equivalents (a nod to Star Trek)

And this is a simple example of why I am hesitant to go all in on the GPT GenAI hoopla.

Perhaps that description would make for a fine B-movie SciFi schlock, but Galaxy Quest it ain’t.

1. One of my favorite all-time movies

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