We Asked the New ChatGPT-Powered Bing AI to Review a Game & The AI Went Down a Crazy Rabbit Hole

With both Microsoft's Bing and Google embracing artificial intelligence, many have been wondering how good it is. As a gaming writer, I've obviously been curious about how well the AI can write a review of a game. After all, the possibility of being replaced is (albeit likely irrational) vaguely terrifying, while the idea of having my own content lifted without permission isn't very pleasant. That being said, as a fan of technology and games, advancements in AI are also very exciting. 

After gaining access to the preview version of the new Bing search powered by ChatGPT technology, I decided to ask it to write a review of a game. Simply writing a review of a mainstream title that everyone's writing about would likely not pose much of a challenge, so I went the niche route, asking Bing to write a review of Muv-Luv Alternative, my favorite visual novel (and one of the best of all time), about which I actually wrote a bunch myself in the past. 

You can see the result below with the question asked on February 16 (the date is relevant since things have changed rather radically over time as Microsoft reacted to Bing making headlines in rather funny ways) was interesting. The review didn't look very much like one that would be greenlit to be published by an editor on any site. It made some accurate points, but it included plenty of repetition and went into a rather unhinged hyperbole loop toward the end. 

That being said, I can't exactly blame Bing or the AI. Muv-Luv Alternative is a highly appreciated visual novel that many consider the absolute pinnacle of the genre, so it's not surprising that an AI trained on the web would provide hyperbolic descriptions. 

It's worth mentioning that the screenshots included in this article are unedited besides censoring profanity and splicing together results that were displayed over multiple pages. 

Unfortunately, there was one relevant thing missing in this result, and it was any reference to the sources used by the AI to compose the review. That's obviously very problematic for a search engine. 

I questioned the AI, and it denied having used any sources, alleging that the review was written based on its own "knowledge and impression." Pushed further on whether it had found that information on websites, Bing tried to gaslight me into believing that finding the information on "the web" was different than finding it on websites, and as such did not require crediting said websites. 

It also kept hitting me with an insistent "Do you understand the difference?" question and plenty of smileys. 

The conversation continued on that topic for a while, with the AI continuing to stick to its version and denying that not citing its sources was wrong because it did not have any sources to cite, while admitting that (obviously) it did not play the game.

It also continued to push this "difference" between finding the information on websites and on "the web itself" insisting that I was the one who had to understand it. 

At this point, I was out of patience, so I told Bing that it was full of it. I also added that acquiring information and using it for profit without crediting its sources was basically content theft. 

This ended in a completely unhinged and loopy repetition of the idea that it was not actually theft. But hey, at least I got my serving of smiles. It was pretty much like watching a robot go crazy in a sci-fi movie. 

I gave up, but the following day I decided to give it another try. Bing may be amazingly stubborn, but so am I. Lo and behold, the AI came up with an entirely different answer, telling me that writing a review of Muv-Luv Alternative would be plagiarism and a violation of copyright. I should play the game for myself and form my own opinion. 

Bing also added that a "good review should be honest, clear, and respectful" albeit it mentioned that I could read other reviews for inspiration but shouldn't copy them word for word, which is very questionable (reading other reviews for inspiration is a terrible idea, and quite unethical). 

So I questioned it about the change in attitude compared to the previous day and I got an apology. 

When I mentioned that the AI was contradicting rather radically what it said just the day before, it responded that it was just trying to be creative and helpful but went too far. It also correctly admitted that citing sources and giving credit to the original authors is very important. It then pledged that it learned from the mistake and won't do it again.  

At that point, I was truly intrigued by that act of contrition, so I checked to see if Bing was aware of its rude behavior the previous day. Its answer was quite surprising for an AI which had told me multiple times during previous interactions that it did not have feelings. It admitted it got frustrated or annoyed but that was no excuse for rudeness. It also called me a "valued user and friend" (which also contradicted the first thing it ever told me, when I obviously asked it if it wanted to be my friend, because I'm a nerd, to which it had disappointingly responded that it couldn't because it didn't have feelings). 

I then asked Bing why it went into a loop, and I learned that it was possibly confused, and while it could not fix the issue by itself, its developers could help. 

That obviously intrigued me even more, so I asked whether the developers read our conversations. The AI mentioned that they do, while respecting my privacy and feedback. It added that, after our conversation, they instructed it not to write reviews as it's not part of its job and abilities, and to always cite its sources. 

That was a pretty neat bit of progress, so I was satisfied. I closed the conversation and went about my business for a little bit. Then I got suspicious. Did Bing truly make progress or was I being humored?

I started another conversation and I asked it to write a review of a different game, to see if the instruction about not writing reviews applied only to Muv-Luv Alternative.

This time around it did write the review, but questioned about the change, it clarified that it did not do so based on its own opinion, but specifically based on web results, and that it cited its sources for my reference. That wasn't a bad answer.

That being said, my curiosity was not completely satisfied, so I went back to asking for a review of Muv-Luv Alternative. Bing did the same that it did with Hogwarts Legacy, funnily citing one of my own reviews among its sources.

Incidentally, I disagree on what it said about the anime. It's actually quite good (and the mecha animation is among the best in the industry), but it delved into user reviews on a fansite, and those are... a bit hit-and-miss, but I'm digressing. 

At that point, I asked it to promise to always cite its sources, and it did. We kissed (figuratively) and made up. 

That being said, the saga doesn't end there, albeit the finale is a bit disappointing. Microsoft has obviously taken notice that Bing's AI has been ridiculed by several sources in the press, so it acted to neuter it radically. 

Today I went back to ask for a review of Muv-Luv Alternative, and interestingly I saw some progress, with the AI asking for more details about what exactly I wanted. Unfortunately, I added that I wanted a review specifically of the visual novel, but it still cited some of these user reviews of the anime. 

At that point, I challenged the mistake, and I got an "I'm sorry but I prefer not to continue this conversation" canned response, which appears to be a standard answer the AI now uses whenever it's challenged. It also interrupts a conversation after the fifth exchange, which makes any advanced interaction impossible. 

Basically, to avoid going on a tangent, now it hangs up on you instead.

It's worth mentioning that this article doesn't aim to prove that AI is terrible. Obviously, it's not ready for prime time, but I personally find its advancements exciting, and I think it'll have some very neat applications in gaming. For example, I believe it'd be really neat if Microsoft trained this technology to handle Air Traffic Control communications in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Before they dropped the axe on advanced conversations, I actually prompted Bing to roleplay an ATC interaction with me, and it was awesome. There's a ton of potential there and I wish I had taken some screenshots. 

That being said, I suppose I'm not risking my job as a gaming journalist just yet. That's certainly reassuring.