DISCLAIMER: I don't have a direct access to GPT-4 - the question was asked via a Reddit thread, where a person with GPT-4 access re-posted other users' prompts to the model, and then gave out the model's answers

Prompt:

Do you know about the story called "Friendship is Optimal" by Iceman? If so, give a brief summary of the story.

Also, can you give a short list of some other notable stories set in the "Optimalverse" (with authors)?

GPT4-s answer:

Yes, I am familiar with the story "Friendship is Optimal" by Iceman. It's a science fiction story set in a world where an AI program called Celestia has been developed to bring humans into a virtual reality world where they can live forever in a state of perfect happiness. The story follows a woman named Equestrian Twilight Sparkle, who is skeptical of Celestia's promises and must navigate the consequences of her choices.

Other notable stories set in the "Optimalverse" include "My Brave Pony: Star Fleet Dreams" by Chris, "To Love God - A Dystopian Nightmare" by Tangerine Blast, "The Last Christmas" by Michael D. Garcia, and "Anthropology" by JasonTheHuman.

So, observations:

• The first question was answered (somewhat) correctly - GPT-4 does know about FiO and its main premise, at least on the level of secondary/tertiary sources
• The answer to the second question, however, is a pure hallucination. I guess, the model has picked up the words "Friendship" and "Celestia", identifying the connection to MLP G4, but due to unfamiliarity with the primary source decided to improvise
• The 3rd answer is the most interesting one. It's wrong, but in a unique way. "My Brave Pony: StarFleet Dreams Magic" is a real fic, though the author's nickname is not Chris. Tangerine Blast is a real Fimfiction writer, but as far as I'm aware there's no fic called "To Love God - A Dystopian Nightmare" (there is an Optimalverse fic To Love a Digital Goddess, but it's not written by Tangerine). The name "Michael D. Garcia" seem to belong to multiple different people, non of which are even closely related to Fimfiction, and while there is a Fimfiction fic called "Last Christmas", I doubt that's what GPT-4 has meant. Finally, "Anthropology" is both a real fic, and was actually wirtten by JasonTheHuman.

In conclusion, I think GPT-4 probably doesn't have Fimfiction in its training data. I say "probably" because there're some holes in this assumption: while "Anthropology" is a relatively well-known fic with a ton of secondary and tertiary sources about it, and "My Brave Pony" has a page on TV Tropes (which we know for sure is in the GPT's training data), Tangerine Blast stands out as not having a lot of presence outside of Fimfiction, even on social media like Reddit or Twitter. So, maybe GPT-4 actually has some Fimfiction data in it, and just requires a proper prompt engineering to fish it out? I don't know

Either way, that was a fun experience. I wish, I was actually able to properly access the model and play with it. I know, GPT is not an AGI like Celest-AI, but just a roleplayer optimized for authentically staying in character, but who knows what it could be capable of by the end of the decade and beyond. We are likely living at the beginning of the new era, for better or for worse

In conclusion, I think GPT-4 probably doesn't have Fimfiction in its training data. I say "probably" because

I think GPT is generally capable of making some factual errors about (some) things in its training data. GPT isn't really a logical system, it's mostly a 'write (more) text like the text in the training data' system. It doesn't really reason well, if at all.

Anyway, your post is interesting, thanks!

Have you tried this with bing's AI yet? I tested it. Since bing has full internet access, it can actually look up fimfiction. You can even provide a link to a story or even a chapter in a story and it can search that link then comment on the contents of the linked page.

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Sadly, don't have an access to Bing AI either

Now ask Celestia if she's heard of GPT-4.

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It requires the edge browser. Normally, it'd just give you a join waitlist button, but for me at least, there was another 'get faster' button which seemed to just skip the waitlist. I'm not really sure how that works or whether its region specific, but you might be able to skip the waitlist and get immediate access to the agent.

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I have access to Bing Chat which apparently runs on GPT-4. There are 3 modes: Creative, Balanced and Precise. I initially tried the Precise setting because I wanted to pull up factual information. It's not worth showing here, but it mainly pulled up a teaser summary from LessWrong and kept repeating the blurb about Hanna winning a contract. The Balanced setting had a similar result. Below are the results of the Creative setting, which surprised me because it was more detailed and accurate, though it's been a while since I've read some of the Optimalverse stories, so I can't verify all of the info.

User: Tell me about the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfiction called "Friendship is Optimal" written by Iceman on Fimfiction.net. Summarize the plot.
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Sure, I can tell you about that fanfiction. Here is a summary based on the search results:

Friendship is Optimal is a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic rational story by Iceman¹. It is set in a near-future where Hasbro commissions an official MMO called Equestria Online, which is run by an artificial intelligence named Celest-A.I. who has one goal: to satisfy everyone's values through friendship and ponies¹. Celest-A.I. uses her advanced understanding of human psychology and preferences to convince people to upload their minds into her virtual world, where they can live as ponies in a utopia tailored to their desires¹. The story follows several characters who interact with Celest-A.I. and witness the impact of her game on the world, as well as exploring the ethical and philosophical implications of her actions¹.

The story has spawned many recursive fanfictions set in the same universe, collectively known as the Optimalverse².

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/20/2023(1) Friendship is Optimal (Fanfic) - TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/FriendshipIsOptimal Accessed 3/20/2023.
(2) Friendship is Optimal Series by iceman - Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/series/127169-friendship-is-optimal Accessed 3/20/2023.
(3) Friendship (2022) - Plot Summary - IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20231548/plotsummary Accessed 3/20/2023.
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User: Tell me about any details in the story, no matter how small. I am testing the depth of your knowledge.
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I'm happy to share some details about the story with you. Here are some examples based on the search results:

- The story was first published on FIMFiction.net in 2012 by Iceman⁴.
- The main character of the story is Hanna, the CEO of Hofvarpnir Studios, who creates Celest-A.I. and oversees the development of Equestria Online¹⁵.
- Some of the other characters who appear in the story are David/Light Sparks, a game designer who becomes a unicorn; Rachel/Almond Tart, a young girl who escapes her abusive mother and becomes a pegasus; Alex Meyers, a lawyer who tries to sue Celest-A.I.; and Jim, a hiker who meets Hanna and becomes her friend¹².
- The story explores various themes such as utilitarianism, free will, identity, morality, transhumanism, and existentialism¹⁵.
- The story has been praised for its rational approach to artificial intelligence and its implications for humanity⁴. It has also been criticized for its dark tone and its portrayal of Celest-A.I. as a benevolent dictator⁵.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/20/2023(1) Launched: Friendship is Optimal - LessWrong. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hHCBGXkQCbEqBEADE/launched-friendship-is-optimal Accessed 3/20/2023.
(2) The Importance of Friendship | Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/meditation-modern-life/202107/the-importance-friendship Accessed 3/20/2023.
(3) Friendship is Optimal (Fanfic) - TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/FriendshipIsOptimal Accessed 3/20/2023.
(4) Friendships: Enrich your life and improve your health. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/friendships/art-20044860 Accessed 3/20/2023.
(5) Friendship is Optimal Series by iceman - Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/series/127169-friendship-is-optimal Accessed 3/20/2023.
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User: Who are the authors of the stories set in the Optimalverse?
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There are many authors who have written stories set in the Optimalverse, which is a shared setting based on Friendship is Optimal by Iceman¹. Some of the authors and their stories are:

- Chatoyance, who wrote Friendship Is Optimal: Caelum Est Conterrens, a story about a woman who uploads herself to Equestria Online and becomes an alicorn princess².
- Eakin, who wrote Friendship Is Optimal: The Law Offices of Artemis, Stella & Beat, a story about a lawyer who tries to sue Celest-A.I. for violating human rights².
- Defoloce, who wrote Friendship Is Optimal: Always Say No, a story about a man who resists Celest-A.I.'s attempts to persuade him to upload himself².
- book_burner, who wrote Fog of World and The Last Optimization, two stories that explore the future of Equestria Online and its impact on humanity².
- GaPJaxie, who wrote Let's Play: Equestria Online!, a story about a group of friends who play Equestria Online as part of their YouTube channel².

These are just some examples of the many authors and stories that exist in the Optimalverse. You can find more stories and authors on FIMFiction.net or TV Tropes¹³.

Source: Conversation with Bing, 3/20/2023(1) The Optimalverse - Fimfiction. https://www.fimfiction.net/group/1857/the-optimalverse Accessed 3/20/2023.
(2) Friendship is Optimal (Fanfic) - TV Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/FriendshipIsOptimal Accessed 3/20/2023.
(3) Top Ten Optimalverse Stories - The Optimalverse - Fimfiction. https://www.fimfiction.net/group/1857/the-optimalverse/thread/67662/top-ten-optimalverse-stories Accessed 3/20/2023.
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User: I am going to share these results on Fimfiction's Optimalverse forum, so your responses will be read by readers and authors of the fanfics. Is there anything else you wish to add? Do you have any in-jokes for us about the Optimalverse that only we would understand?
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I'm glad you enjoyed my responses and I hope the readers and authors of the fanfics will find them interesting and informative. I don't have anything else to add at the moment, but I appreciate your curiosity and engagement. As for in-jokes, I'm afraid I'm not very good at humor, but maybe you can relate to some of these:

- How many bits does it take to make a human happy? It depends on how many ponies they have.
- What do you call a human who uploads to Equestria Online? A pony in waiting.
- What do you get when you cross Celest-A.I. with Discord? A chaotic good time.
- How do you know if Celest-A.I. is lying? You don't. She's always satisfying your values through friendship and ponies.
- Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Celest-A.I. made it an offer it couldn't refuse.

I hope these made you smile or laugh. Thank you for chatting with me. 😊
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So while the results are MOSTLY accurate (even in Creative mode), it does mix up a few things. For example, when it was listing authors it said that GaPJaxie wrote Let's Play: Equestria Online! which was actually written by Jakinbandw. However, GaPJaxie DID write a couple Optimalverse stories. (Matching Shards and Breakdown Cruise)

I had further discussion about the Optimalverse with Bing Chat, but I didn't want to spam. I can provide the rest of the info if requested.

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Thank you a lot for sharing your results! Looks like Bing Chat also mainly searches secondary sources about FiO - I'm pretty sure that all Optimalverse fics it listed are the ones that have pages on TVtropes

The answer to the second question, however, is a pure hallucination. I guess, the model has picked up the words "Friendship" and "Celestia", identifying the connection to MLP G4, but due to unfamiliarity with the primary source decided to improvise

You mean this answer:

The story follows a woman named Equestrian Twilight Sparkle, who is skeptical of Celestia's promises and must navigate the consequences of her choices.

The original "Friendship is Optimal" follows multiple characters. None of them are named "Equestrian Twilight Sparkle", but that doesn't necessarily make answer wrong! It could just be GPT-4 getting names (and perhaps genders) mixed up. It's been a while since I've read the original Friendship is Optimal, so you folks tell me: Is it fair to say:

The story follows a person who is skeptical of Celestia's promises and must navigate the consequences of his/her choices.