To celebrate National Library Week 2022, we collaborated with Jack Cushman of HLS’s Library Innovation Lab to use GPT-3 (Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 3), a language prediction model created by OpenAI.
We asked GPT-3 several versions of this prompt: “To celebrate National Library Week, here is what I love about the Harvard Law School Library.” We’ll be sharing GPT-3’s answers on social media throughout the week.
But first, a bit about GPT-3: According to Jack, GPT-3 doesn’t try to understand what it is saying. Instead, it offers a “conversation with humanity” by guessing what a human would be most likely to type next, based on the prompt we provide and all of the text already on the internet. Like humanity, it can be hilariously clunky or scarily accurate. We exchanged several prompts with GPT-3, and the answers made more sense as we went along. Jack noted that we’re really coauthors when we converse with AI models like GPT-3.
So, what does GPT-3 love about HLSL?
“First and foremost, I love that the library provides a safe and inviting space for students to study, research, and collaborate. It is a highly organized and efficient facility with a wealth of resources at my fingertips. The library team is always there to assist me with whatever I need from print or electronic resources to assistance with the research process. And the views from the law library’s rooftop deck are just as breathtaking as they were when I was a student!”
Thanks for the love, GPT-3! (Not sure about that rooftop deck, though.) Check out our Instagram and Twitter feeds during NLW for more love from HLS Library fan GPT-3!