Traveling around the world with ChatGPT (part 1) – 03/29/2023 – Zeca Camargo

“How does it feel to sleep in a yurt in Mongolia?”

“Sleeping in a traditional Mongolian yurt, also called a ger, with its canvas and felt walls, offers a cozy and intimate experience, quite different from sleeping in an ordinary tent or hotel.”

ChatGPT went further, describing the landscapes I would find outside the typical tent where families sleep in this country of nomads. And completed:

“When the oven is lit, the yurt can be very cozy and warm, something that is very welcome on cold nights.”

Well… I slept in a yurt in 2008, on the trip around the world for Unesco’s World Heritage Sites, and I can say that it is an adventure of its own. Not always pleasant.

I slept with the oven on, but afraid of fire: canvas and felt and a stove! There were hours when I woke up sweating, but when I slept heavily and the fire went out, I woke up frozen. I left the tent and found the most beautiful sky I’ve ever seen in my life, excluding the one the night I was surprised by an aurora borealis in Alta, Norway.

Now answer quickly: which of the two answers would inspire you more to live this in Mongolia?

No, this is not yet another funny column dissing the capabilities of ChatGPT, this new artificial intelligence tool. I was really interested to know if he could help me navigate the world. See what you think.

I asked him what he would say to a friend who is afraid of heights but wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Answer: “It’s understandable that she might be hesitant to go upstairs since she has this phobia, but there are compelling reasons she might want to consider getting over her obstacles.”

Hmm… In the sequence, ChatGPT lists four reasons for it to go up: better view of Paris; see the tower up close; feeling of achievement (self-help!); security. And yet: “If her friend is still in doubt, she can visit the lower floors of the tower.”

My version: “Tell her she’ll never forget that icy wind hitting the back of her head, that will make her forget any fear and still thank you forever for convincing her that this fear is nothing in the face of the story she’s going to tell you when I get home!”

You decide which advice is most valuable…

“Is it safe to go to Russia as a tourist now?” I asked. ChatGPT: “The areas most affected by the conflict are in eastern Ukraine, where there are no tourist destinations in Russia. Moscow and St. Petersburg have had no violent incidents linked to the war.” I found it useful!

One more: “I’m a football fan; what should I visit in Buenos Aires?”. Chat recommendations range from a visit to the River Plate stadium to watching a game at Bombonera. For those who like literature, in the same city he recommends the Jorge Luis Borges Foundation, but not the La Poesia café, in San Telmo, a place the writer used to frequent…

Overall, I thought I was in front of a Wikipedia page, only in an informal tone. So I’m not sure I can, for now, trust ChatGPT as a good compass: anyone I meet on the streets of the cities I researched will give me richer information than what I heard there. More human too.

I didn’t end my “conversation” with him. I intend to come back with questions like: what are the chances of me meeting Björk on the streets of Reykjavik?; Is it true that there is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok with an image of Spider-Man?; how long does it take to cross Funafuti on foot?; why was i greeted in Timbuktu with the phrase “welcome to the end of the world”?

I can’t wait for the answers.

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