Researchers in Cambridge may have uncovered how ChatGPT thinks after testing the artificial intelligence chatbot with a 2,400-year-old maths puzzle.

In a new study aimed at overcoming AI’s black box problem, a team from the University of Cambridge asked ChatGPT to solve the ‘doubling the square’ problem.

First described by the Greek philosopher Plato, the challenge involves teaching somebody how to double the area of a square. Without prior mathematical knowledge, the subject might mistakenly double the length of each side.

Plato noted that with the right guidance – or prompts – the correct solution of making the new square’s sides the same length as the diagonal of the original can be found.

The Cambridge researchers were surprised to see that ChatGPT did not simply regurgitate it

See Full Page