OpenAI has released Deep Research, a version of ChatGPT tuned to “synthesize large amounts of online information and complete multi-step research tasks for you.” It is fast, but it has fooled people who should know better.

For those of us who haven’t lost our skepticism about AI, Deep Research is as trite as ever, and lacks the ability to admit when it doesn’t know what it’s talking about.

I tried a few things. Everything that came back looked well-structured, read like it was written by a precocious 8th grader who’d spent the night before with a thesaurus, and was often wrong about the facts.

Gary Marcus commented on the dangers of this earlier in the week:

Scammers will use it, for example, to write “medical reports” that are half-baked (in order to sell ads on the webistes that report such “research”).

But it is not just s scammers; the larger problem may be naive people who believe that the outputs are legit, or who use it as a shortcut for writing journal articles, missing the errors it produces.

To test its ability to synthesize facts, I used some I had at hand for another project, asking Deep Research to tell me about the locally celebrated 1974 Aerosmith concert in the town I live in, Westborough, MA.

Here are the actual facts, all gleaned from online sources, so one must presume Deep Research could have ingested these:

• The concert was held at the Westborough Speedway, a quarter-mile paved and banked racetrack that operated 1947-1985. The speedway featured various types of racing including super-modified and midget cars.
  • There is now a shopping plaza there — Speedway Plaza.
• An estimated 15,000 fans swamped the venue
  • Tickets were $6, and the town only allowed 10,000 pre-sales, with no tickets at the gate, but 5,000 more fans overran the fences and joined in anyhow
• It was Aerosmith’s first outdoor show
• It was at the time the largest outdoor show ever in Worcester county
  • It included two fireworks shows
• The show was held on August 18, 1974
• A red-haired female streaker made it on stage

Here are two pictures from the event:

So, those are the basic facts.

But what does Deep Research tell us happened at the 1974 Aerosmith concert in Westborough?

Here is its output, pasted directly over:

The 1974 Aerosmith Concert in Westborough, MA: A Night to Remember

In the history of rock music, certain concerts stand out not just for the performances themselves, but for the cultural significance they hold. One such event was Aerosmith’s concert in Westborough, Massachusetts, on June 28, 1974. This concert, which took place at the Westborough High School auditorium, remains a cherished memory for fans and a notable chapter in the band's early history.

The Context of the Concert

By 1974, Aerosmith was on the rise. Having released their self-titled debut album in 1973 and the follow-up, "Get Your Wings," in 1974, the band was beginning to make waves in the music scene. Their raw sound and energetic performances were gaining attention, and they were poised to become one of rock's leading acts. The Westborough concert came during a pivotal moment in their career as they were transitioning from local performances to larger venues and national recognition.

The Venue

Westborough High School's auditorium was a humble setting for a band that would soon play to thousands in stadiums across the country. With a capacity of around 1,000, the venue provided an intimate atmosphere, allowing fans to experience the band's electrifying performance up close. The concert was part of a summer tour, and it offered a unique opportunity for local fans to see Aerosmith before they skyrocketed to fame.

The Performance

On that fateful night, Aerosmith delivered a powerful set that showcased their dynamic stage presence and musical prowess. The band, fronted by the charismatic Steven Tyler, played a mix of songs from their first two albums, including hits like "Dream On," "Mama Kin," and "Same Old Song and Dance." The energy in the room was palpable, with fans singing along and fully immersed in the music.

The concert not only highlighted Aerosmith’s raw talent but also set the stage for their future success. It was a moment when fans could see a band on the cusp of greatness, one that would soon be filling arenas and topping charts.

The Aftermath

The Westborough concert is often remembered by attendees as a defining moment in their youth. Many fans recall the excitement of seeing a band that would go on to become rock legends in such an intimate setting. As Aerosmith continued to rise in popularity, those who attended the concert in Westborough felt a sense of pride in having witnessed the band before their meteoric ascent.

In the years following the concert, Aerosmith's career exploded, with hits like "Sweet Emotion," "Walk This Way," and "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing" cementing their status as icons in rock music. The band's evolution from a small-town venue to global superstardom is a testament to their talent and hard work, but the Westborough concert remains a nostalgic reminder of their humble beginnings.

Legacy

Today, the 1974 Aerosmith concert in Westborough is not just a fond memory for those who attended; it serves as a reminder of the enduring power of live music. For many fans, it encapsulates the thrill of discovery and the excitement of seeing a band before they became household names. The concert is a chapter in the larger narrative of Aerosmith's history, highlighting the band's roots and the passionate fan base that helped propel them to fame.

As rock music continues to evolve, events like the Westborough concert remind us of the intimate connections formed through live performances and the timeless impact of music on our lives. For those who were there, it was more than just a concert; it was a moment in time that would be cherished for decades to come.

And, that is what Deep Research thinks happened in 1974 when Aerosmith played Westborough.

Wrong date.

Wrong location.

Wrong crowd size.

Wrong vibe (intimate vs. wild).

Deep Research is an over-confident ignoramus.

What’s the risk? Isn’t this just an annoyance?

Google is already facing the problems of having to fend off a deluge of bogus sites based on misleading AI-generated data. This has been going on since at least 2023, and it is only accelerating.

• Recall that the vaccines-autism link was popularized because Google was hijacked by a celebrity linking the two, blotting out expert information and giving us a long-term problem we are still dealing with today.
  • Vaccine hesitancy has become the norm.

Public libraries are also facing a similar problem, with AI-generated works — cookbooks, summaries, fiction, histories — coming in via Hoopla.

Instead of proffering this bogus version of events, Deep Research could have responded with something more judicious, a hesitancy about what it knows, about its lack of confidence — something it should be able to calculate, but lacking a true version of events, cannot.

Instead, because AI is just a burlesque and not serious, the systems charged ahead, as confident as it was wrong.

Just pause to think how completely off-base other things with clear factual antecedents could become in the hands of these reckless article generators . . .

Yet, tech journalists like Casey Newton are praising it, raising the question: Is ignorance contagious?