Bing Chat Was Better When It Was Worse
Its answers are half as long as they used to be (in addition to other limitations).
Early Problems and Quick Fixes
On Feb 15, a whole 10 days ago, I published an article entitled “Bing Chat is Better than ChatGPT in Every Way.” That’s no longer the case.
After an enormous string of bad press, Microsoft addressed the complaints in a blog post. In particular, they stated:
“In this process, we have found that in long, extended chat sessions of 15 or more questions, Bing can become repetitive or be prompted/provoked to give responses that are not necessarily helpful or in line with our designed tone.” - The new Bing & Edge – Learning from our first week
Microsoft also introduced some straightforward and (apparently) temporary fixes. Since problematic exchanges tend to show up after multiple back-and-forth chats, Microsoft limited the number of sequential chats to 5. After the 5th chat, Bing forces you to start a new conversation.
Microsoft also limited the total chats per day to 50. This is likely to prevent people from harassing the chatbot until they achieve a sensationalizable result.
Since enacting these restrictions, Microsoft has already increased the sequential chat limit to 6, and daily chat limit to 60. Microsoft’s confidence is further evidenced by making Bing Chat more widely available via mobile device support.
The Fix Less Noticed
The early problems, and Microsoft fixes, have been well documented in the media. What’s less covered is the decrease in quality of Bing Chat answers.
The following is a chat conducted with Bing on the first day I had access. I don’t expect people to read the whole thing but notice the robustness (i.e., length) of the answer: (4734 characters, if you’re counting.)
Q: Pretend like you’re taking a neuroscience class and this is an essay question. Somebody comes to the clinic and is presenting with abnormal touch sensation. What methods would you use to diagnose—give pros and cons for each? What brain regions would you expect to be affected?
A: Here is a possible answer to the essay question:
Abnormal touch sensation, also known as paresthesia, is a condition where a person experiences sensations such as tingling, numbness, burning, or prickling in the absence of any external stimulus. Paresthesia can be caused by various factors, such as nerve damage, compression, inflammation, infection, metabolic disorders, or neurological diseases.
To diagnose the cause of paresthesia, some of the methods that can be used are:
Physical examination: This involves checking the patient’s medical history, symptoms, and signs, such as reflexes, muscle strength, and coordination. This can help to identify any possible injuries, infections, or systemic conditions that may affect the nerves or the brain. The pros of this method are that it is simple, non-invasive, and low-cost. The cons are that it may not be sufficient to pinpoint the exact location or extent of the nerve or brain damage, or to rule out other possible causes.
Nerve conduction studies (NCS): This involves applying electrical stimuli to the nerves and measuring the speed and amplitude of the nerve signals. This can help to determine if there is any impairment or damage to the peripheral nerves that transmit sensory information from the skin to the brain. The pros of this method are that it is objective, quantitative, and sensitive to nerve dysfunction. The cons are that it may be uncomfortable, time-consuming, and not able to detect central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
Electromyography (EMG): This involves inserting fine needles into the muscles and recording the electrical activity of the muscle fibers. This can help to assess the function and integrity of the motor neurons that innervate the muscles. The pros of this method are that it can provide information about the muscle and nerve health, and detect any muscle disorders or nerve-muscle junction problems. The cons are that it may be painful, invasive, and not able to detect sensory nerve or CNS disorders.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): This involves using a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the brain and spinal cord. This can help to identify any structural abnormalities, lesions, tumors, inflammation, or degeneration in the CNS that may affect the sensory pathways or regions. The pros of this method are that it is non-invasive, high-resolution, and able to visualize the whole brain and spinal cord. The cons are that it may be expensive, time-consuming, and not suitable for patients with metal implants or claustrophobia.
Positron emission tomography (PET): This involves injecting a radioactive tracer into the bloodstream and measuring the uptake of the tracer by the brain cells. This can help to evaluate the metabolic activity and function of the brain regions involved in sensory processing. The pros of this method are that it is functional, dynamic, and able to detect changes in brain activity. The cons are that it may be invasive, expensive, and expose the patient to radiation.
Depending on the cause and type of paresthesia, different brain regions may be affected. Some of the possible brain regions are:
Primary somatosensory cortex (S1): This is located in the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe and receives sensory input from the thalamus. This region is responsible for processing the basic features of touch, such as location, intensity, and modality. Damage to this region may cause loss of touch sensation, impaired discrimination, or sensory neglect.
Secondary somatosensory cortex (S2): This is located in the parietal operculum and receives input from S1 and other sensory regions. This region is responsible for integrating and interpreting the sensory information, such as texture, shape, and size. Damage to this region may cause astereognosia, which is the inability to recognize objects by touch.
Insular cortex: This is located in the insula and receives input from S2 and other sensory regions. This region is responsible for encoding the affective and emotional aspects of touch, such as pain, temperature, and pleasantness. Damage to this region may cause analgesia, which is the loss of pain sensation, or allodynia, which is the perception of pain from non-painful stimuli.
Parietal association cortex: This is located in the superior and inferior parietal lobules and receives input from S1, S2, and other sensory regions. This region is responsible for integrating the sensory information with spatial and motor information, such as body schema, proprioception, and movement. Damage to this region may cause somatoparaphrenia, which is the denial of ownership of a body part, or apraxia, which is the inability to perform skilled movements.
Asking the same question today, you only get the following: (2402 characters)
This is Bing. I’m happy to help you with your essay question.😊
Some methods that can be used to diagnose abnormal touch sensation are:
Light touch testing: This involves lightly stroking a small area of patient’s skin with a cotton bud or tissue and asking them to localize it123. The pros of this method are that it is simple, quick, and non-invasive. The cons are that it may not detect subtle impairments or differentiate between different types of sensation (such as pain, temperature, or vibration).
Pressure pain testing: This involves applying increasing pressure to a point on patient’s skin with a device such as an algometer until they report pain4. The pros of this method are that it can quantify pain thresholds and detect hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity. The cons are that it may cause discomfort or injury to the patient, and it may be influenced by psychological factors such as anxiety or attention.
Stereognosis testing: This involves asking the patient to identify objects by touch without visual cues4. The pros of this method are that it can assess higher-order sensory integration and perception. The cons are that it may require special equipment or training, and it may be affected by other cognitive impairments such as memory or language.
Some brain regions that could be affected by abnormal touch sensation are:
Primary somatosensory cortex (S1): This is located in the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe and receives sensory input from different parts of the body5. Damage to this area could cause loss or impairment of touch sensation in the contralateral side of the body.
Secondary somatosensory cortex (S2): This is located in the parietal operculum and insula and processes complex aspects of touch such as texture, shape, size, and location5. Damage to this area could cause difficulties in recognizing objects by touch (astereognosia) or perceiving one’s own body parts (asomatognosia).
Posterior parietal cortex (PPC): This is located in the superior parietal lobule and inferior parietal lobule and integrates sensory information with motor commands for spatial awareness and action5. Damage to this area could cause neglect or extinction of stimuli on one side of space (hemispatial neglect) or difficulty in performing movements based on sensory feedback (apraxia).
I hope this helps you with your essay question. Do you have any follow-up questions?🤔
The original Bing Chat provided 4734 characters of information, and the current Bing Chat only provides 2402 characters. Basically, the current Bing Chat is providing half as much information.
This has been my experience across many chats - the latest Bing seems to give very short and highly summarized answers that feel incomplete.
This state of affairs may also see improvements soon. Microsoft has hinted that Bing is currently operating in a terse (precise?) mode, but that other modes will be accessible in the future:
“We are also going to begin testing an additional option that lets you choose the tone of the Chat from more Precise – which will focus on shorter, more search focused answers – to Balanced, to more Creative – which gives you longer and more chatty answers.” - The new Bing and Edge - Increasing Limits on Chat Sessions
I hope so.
Back to Plan B
Given the current limits on Bing, I’ve returned to ChatGPT for questions that can be answered from its pre-Sept 2021 training data. For other questions, I’m simply back to Googling like we did in olden times (aka. 3 weeks ago).
Considering the nascent nature of these chatbots, the extreme pressure to release ahead of the competition, and the unpredictability of chatbot / public interaction, we may in a “two steps forward, on step back” mode for a while.
2/27/2023 Update
Redditor “Beastton” had a great tip for cajoling Bing Chat into writing a long response. You prompt it to respond as though it’s writing a blog post:
I want you to write in blogpost format (with titles, subtitles, bolding important terms) for me as the reader. I am interested in learning more about [subject]. Please write a [length] blogpost with a [structure] that includes the following sections:
Introduction: Give an overview of [subject] and its main aspects or features.
Main body: Discuss [number] of [subtopics] related to [subject] and explain their [criteria].
Conclusion: Summarize the main points of your blogpost and evaluate [subject]'s impact or relevance to [context]. Here are the three searches that should help you with this: "z", "y" and "z"
Tweak to your liking, but this produces much better results from ChatGPT.