Category AI

Yahoo AI and order of battle for operations near Chernihiv in 2022

Well, having some more problems with AI. I was trying to confirm for once and for all whether any elements of the Russian 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade was near Chernihiv in first six weeks of the Russo-Ukrainian War? My suspicion is that it was not although some Wikipedia-type orders of battle put it there.

I did ask Yahoo AI and it said:

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The 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade was indeed active near Chernihiv in 2022 during the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Operational Context

  • The brigade is part of the Russian Airborne Forces and was involved in operations aimed at capturing key Ukrainian cities.
  • Chernihiv, located in northern Ukraine, was a significant target due to its strategic location.

Military Engagement

  • Reports indicate that the brigade participated in assaults and faced resistance from Ukrainian forces.
  • The fighting around Chernihiv was intense, with Ukrainian defenders successfully repelling several attacks.

Current Status

  • As of late 2022, the situation in the region evolved, with ongoing military engagements and shifting front lines.

This information is based on various military analyses and reports from the conflict.

Unfortunately, it did not give the actual sources they used. I gather anything incorrectly entered into Wikipedia results in AI responses that could be in error. I went to their Yahoo Chat and they gave three sources: 1) Siege of Chernihiv | Military Wiki | Fandom, 2) 6 months of war: How Russia got derailed in Ukraine and 3) Russian Authorities Detain, Threaten Soldiers Refusing to Fight in Ukraine – The Moscow Times.

I am still not convinced that AI is operating above the level of a bright high school student.

 

Khrushchev Quote and AI

Nikita Khrushchev is one of more interesting people of the cold war era. I found a quote of his that I wanted to use in one of my books on the current Russo-Ukranian war. The quote is “The more bombers, the less room for doves of peace.”

Great quote, it is all over the internet, but none of the references actually said when and where it was said. I am jaded enough that I never use a quote that I cannot find the source for. I could not find a source of this one.

So, not being a complete dinosaur, I decided to use Yahoo.com little AI function (chat.yahoo.com). It ended up stating:

Nikita Khrushchev famously stated, “The more bombers, the less room for doves of peace,” during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 18, 1959. This quote reflects his critique of the arms race and the paradox of military escalation during the Cold War, emphasizing that an increase in military power diminishes the space for peaceful resolutions and diplomacy 1.

If you have more questions about Khrushchev or related topics, feel free to ask! 😊

Sources:

 

Problem solved. AI gave me date and location. But, I checked the footnote and it did not say that. So then I checked speech that he gave there: On Peaceful Co-Existence: A Collection : Хрущев, Никита Сергеевич, 1894-1971 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

On page 100 is the complete transcript of the speech he gave at the UN on September 18, 1959. It has one reference to bombers, no references to doves. It clearly was not stated in this speech.

Now, it does appear that the Yahoo AI just made up an answer. A convincing invention, and one that could have caught me out if I did not diligently crosschecked.

So, I went and searched the newspapers.com file. The Tampa Tribune in 1995 gave me the attribution “Nikita Khrushchev, speech on Moscow radio, March 14, 1958.  Aug 06, 1995, page 8 – The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com.

Oddly enough that was the only two papers in the newspapers.com database that repeated this quote. The Tucson Citizen in 2002 also used the quote, attributing it to “Nikita S. Khruschev, Soviet premier, 1958”.  Dec 28, 2002, page 19 – Tucson Citizen at Newspapers.com. So at least they agree on the year, even if they spell his name differently. 

Should I stop looking? I would like to find the original source or an earlier source for this quote. Not sure where to look next.

 

P.S. Just to note, Khrushchev was

1938-1947: First Secretary, Kiev City Committee

1938-1947: First Secretary, Kiev Regional Committee

1944-1947: Chairman, Ukrainian Council of Ministers

And in 1954 he was the person who transferred Sevastopol and Crimea to Ukraine. 

He, as always, has a very checkered history. This is well illustrated by his grave, done at his family’s request by a sculptor he had suppressed: Ernst Neizvestny – Wikipedia.