Hello everyone, we are back.
I have been reading a lot about artificial intelligence in the last few weeks and about ChatGPT in particular. So much so that I decided that I had to have a go at using the very tool that is going to end half of our current jobs and bring about disruptive change to the employment market. Since I planned to write about Easter celebrations, what better than to ask ChatGPT to help me out with this blog? So I asked the following question: “Write a short blog about morrokota bread and its significance in Easter celebrations”. And this is what I got:
“Morrokota is a small village located in the southern part of Zimbabwe. The village is known for its rich cultural heritage and traditional practices that have been passed down from generation to generation. One of the most significant events in Morrokota is the celebration of Easter. Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In Morrokota, the celebration of Easter is a time of great joy and festivity. The villagers come together to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus and…”
OK, I hear you say, ChatGPT got confused with the name Morrokota and the bread thing I was referring to and understood it to be a place instead of a type of bread and what not. Except, that is, that there is no place called Morrokota in Zimbabwe, at least not one that google maps can identify. I tried the very same question on another online ChatGPT tool and I got the exact same response except that this time it claimed Morrokota was a small village in the east of Morocco. What? Bizarre, but also not true as far as I can tell.
I don’t know what to make of this. It seems that ChatGPT does not have the ability to ask for clarification on questions it does not understand. I’m ok with that but I was surprised about its ability to make things up. Worrying, if it is true that the world increasingly relies on the algorithms that power AI. In any case, ChatGPT seems to be quite far from the scary HAL of Kubrick’s Space Odyssey which is the first image that came to mind when everyone suddenly started to talk about AI.
I suspect part of the problem for ChatGPT is that there is not much in terms of internet material on morrokota out there. There is some in remote corners of cyberspace, written mostly in Spanish or Basque, so I guess that’s another problem. OK, so let’s give ChatGPT a leg up by writing about morrokota bread so that next year, when I ask the same question, it can point out to this very blog and authoritatively explain what this is.
Morrokota is basically the name given to a kind of bread that is made on Easter Sunday. Making this bread is still a strong tradition in the Arratia valley, where we find ourselves, a bread that is sometimes round and sometimes triangular in form. What makes it special is that it includes an egg in the dough that bakes at the same time as the bread. Here is one I made earlier:
Hmmmm, yummy
The tradition dictates that on Easter Sunday, Godparents bake this type of bread for their Godchildren (I’ll make you one when you come over to visit Christopher). As for the significance of the egg, I guess it is the exact same thing as Easter eggs all over, that is, a pagan symbol of rebirth that Christianity has absorbed and made its own.
For all Brits out there, I guess you could call morrokota the Basque equivalent of a hot cross bun (now, there is something I miss about the UK).
So there you have it. Happy Easter and see you soon.
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