Language Log

[N.B.:  The Pinyin transcriptions and GT English translations of Chinese passages quoted by Fredric have been added by VHM.]

Sorry for the long email first, but I have been paying attention to ChatGPT since last December.

ChatGPT is incredibly powerful. It can generate near-perfect Chinese based on the questions that users ask, including literature reviews, movie critiques, student essays, recommendation letters, etc.   

Here are the questions that I asked yesterday:

Zhōngguó zhèngfǔ de wàijiāo zhèngcè zhǐ zài wéihù guójiā ānquán, fāzhǎn lìyì hé guójì dìwèi, tóngshí chàngdǎo hépíng, fāzhǎn, hézuò hé gōngzhèng. Zhōngguó yīzhí chàngdǎo duōbiān zhǔyì, tuīdòng guójì guānxì jīyú píngděng hé xiānghù zūnzhòng de yuánzé. Tóngshí, Zhōngguó yě jījí cānyù quánqiú zhìlǐ, zài guójì shìwù zhōng fāhuī jījí zuòyòng.

"The foreign policy of the Chinese government is aimed at safeguarding national security, development interests and international status, while advocating peace, development, cooperation and justice. China has always advocated multilateralism and promoted international relations based on the principles of equality and mutual respect. At the same time, China is also actively participating in global governance and playing an active role in international affairs."

2.

Rúhé yòng Zhào Lìjiān de fāngfǎ huídá Zhōng-Měi guānxì?

如何用赵立坚的方法回答中美关系?

How to use Zhao Lijian's method to answer Sino-US relations? (Zhao was a Chinese diplomat who was famous for His aggressive style. )

—–

Here is the answer:

Zhào Lìjiān shì Zhōngguó wàijiāo bù fāyán rén, tā de huídá fēnggé wǎngwǎng jiǎnmíng èyào. Huídá Zhōng-Měi guānxì kěyǐ zūnxún yǐxià bùzhòu:

1 Quèrèn Zhōng-Měi guānxì de zhòngyào xìng: Zhōng-Měi liǎng guó shì shìjiè shàng zuìdà de fǎzhǎn zhōng guójiā hé fādá guójiā, guānxì duì liǎng guó hé quánqiú yǐngxiǎng shēnyuǎn.

2 Qiángdiào jīyú píngděng hé xiānghù zūnzhòng de yuánzé: Zhōngfāng yīzhí zhǔzhāng Zhōng-Měi guānxì jiànlì zài píngděng hé xiānghù zūnzhòng de yuánzé shàng.

3 Qiángdiào hézuò gòngyíng: Zhōng-Měi liǎng guó yīnggāi jiāqiáng hézuò, tuīdòng gòngtóng fāzhǎn, yǐ zàofú liǎng guó rénmín hé shìjiè rénmín.

4 Hūyù tuǒshàn chǔlǐ fēnqí: Liǎng guó zài yīxiē wèntí shàng cúnzài fēnqí, yīnggāi tōngguò duìhuà hé xiéshāng tuǒshàn jiějué. Yīncǐ, yīgè jiǎnmíng èyào de huídá kěyǐ shì: Zhōng-Měi guānxì shì zhì guān zhòngyào de, Zhōngfāng chàngdǎo jiànlì zài píngděng hé xiānghù zūnzhòng yuánzé shàng de guānxì, jiāqiáng hézuò yǐ shíxiàn gòngtóng fāzhǎn, bìng hūyù tōngguò duìhuà tuǒshàn chǔlǐ fēnqí.

"Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, tended to be concise in his response style. The following steps can be followed to answer Sino-US relations:

1. Confirm the importance of Sino-US relations: China and the United States are the largest developing and developed countries in the world, and the relationship has far-reaching influence on the two countries and the world.

2. Emphasis on the principles based on equality and mutual respect: China has always maintained that Sino-US relations are based on the principles of equality and mutual respect.

3 Emphasize win-win cooperation: China and the United States should strengthen cooperation and promote common development to benefit the people of the two countries and the people of the world.

4 Call for proper handling of differences: The two countries have differences on some issues, which should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultation. Therefore, a succinct answer can be: Sino-US relations are crucial, China advocates a relationship based on the principles of equality and mutual respect, strengthens cooperation for common development, and calls for proper handling of differences through dialogue.

ChatGPT's movie review of Netflix’s American Factory, which is perfect.

Prompt:

《美国工厂》由Netflix出品。这部广受好评的电影深入研究了后工业时代的俄亥俄州，一位中国亿万富翁在当地一家废弃的通用汽车工厂中开设新工厂，并雇佣了 2000 名美国蓝领工人。随着高科技中国企业与美国工人阶级产生冲突，最初的希望和乐观遭受了挫折。请写一篇800字左右的观后感。

"'American Factory' is produced by Netflix. This critically acclaimed film delves into post-industrial Ohio, where a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in an abandoned General Motors factory and employs 2,000 blue-collar American workers. Initial hopes and optimism suffered setbacks as high-tech Chinese companies clash with the American working class. Please write an essay of about 800 words."

The answer:

“Měiguó gōngchǎng” gǎnrén zhì shēn, yǐnqǐle nónghòu de fǎnsī. Yǐngpiàn shēnrù tànjiùle yī wèi Zhōngguó qǐyèjiā yǔ Měiguó lánlǐng gōngrén zhī jiān kàn shì “liánhé chuàngzào”, shízé shì gēnshēndìgù de bù jīng zhīpèi jiégòu, yǐjí liǎng gè guójiā zhīqián shèhuì zhǔyì zhìdù yǔ zìyóu shìchǎng jīngjì tǐzhì zhī jiān xíngchéng de wénhuà chōngtú. Zài zhège fēnbēnglíxī de shìjiè shàng, yǒuxiē Měiguó gōngrén shòudàole shānghài huò shīyè, tāmen bùdé bù yǐ píngjūn dī shōurù de tiáojiàn jiēshòu Zhōngguó qǐyè de kòngzhì.

Zhōngguó qǐyèjiā rènwéi, tāmen kěyǐ gěi Měiguó gèng duō de jiùyè jīhuì, zuì xiǎnzhù de xīwàng jiùshì zài Éhài'éc zhōu chuàngjiàn yīgè quánxīn de “dì èr chǎnyè” jīngjì. Tāmen bǎ běnguó de dī chéngběn láodònglì hé gāo kējì yǔ dāngdì gōngrén de jìnéng jiéhé qǐlái, shìtú chénggōng de yíngdé Měiguó zhèngfǔ de zhīchí, bìng guànchè tāmen de guójiā mùbiāo. Rán'ér, zhè zhǒng lǐxiǎng zhǔyì de yuànjǐng zài xiànshí zhōng de yìngyòng zāo dàole zǔ'ài, yīnwèi quēfá dìngyì qiánjǐng de shuāngbiān gòng yíng tóuzī lǐniàn, yǐjí liǎng gè wénhuà duì duì zīyuán de yǒu chāyì de kànfǎ, shuāngfāng nǔlì de gōngzuò dé bù dào chōngfèn de huíbào.

Cǐwài, Zhōngguó qǐyèjiāmen yě sìhū quēfá kuà wénhuà lǐjiě, bǎ běnguó qǐyè guīzhāng zhìdù zhíjiē qiángjiā gěi Měiguó gōngrén, méiyǒu chōngfèn kǎolǜ dào bùtóng shèhuì wénhuà bèijǐng xià gōngrén de tèshū xūqiú. Yǒuyìsi de shì, cǐwài, shènzhì yǒu shíhòu Zhōngguó qǐyèjiāmen hái hūshìle Zhōngguó qǐyè qǐyè de gōngzuò huánjìng. Gěi Měiguó gōngrén dài lái de xīn zhíwèi huò kùnnán ràng rénmen gǎntàn, měi gè cānyù zhě dōu kěnéng zāoshòu dào yì xiǎngbùdào de kùnjìng, wǒmen bèi zhè zhǒng fǎnsī shēn shēn dǎdòng.

Zǒngzhī,“Měiguó gōngchǎng” shì yī bù dòngrénxīnxián de zuòpǐn, dàilǐng guānzhòng xìzhì fēnxī dāngjīn quánqiú jīngjì zhōng bùkě bìmiǎn de wénhuà chōngtú, shēnkè dòngchá jiù shìjiè xiàng xīn shìjiè de zhuǎnbiàn. Yǐngpiàn ràng wǒmen gèngjiā rènshí dào, xīn jīngjì zhōng zuì hǎo de qiáoliáng shì jìshù, ér bùshì bǎwò wénhuà chāyì, zhāngxiǎn chéngnuò gèng hǎo de wèilái.

《美国工厂》感人至深，引起了浓厚的反思。影片深入探究了一位中国企业家与美国蓝领工人之间看似“联合创造”，实则是根深蒂固的不经支配结构，以及两个国家之前社会主义制度与自由市场经济体制之间形成的文化冲突。在这个分崩离析的世界上，有些美国工人受到了伤害或失业，他们不得不以平均低收入的条件接受中国企业的控制。

中国企业家认为，他们可以给美国更多的就业机会，最显著的希望就是在俄亥俄州创建一个全新的“第二产业”经济。他们把本国的低成本劳动力和高科技与当地工人的技能结合起来，试图成功地赢得美国政府的支持，并贯彻他们的国家目标。然而，这种理想主义的愿景在现实中的应用遭到了阻碍，因为缺乏定义前景的双边共赢投资理念，以及两个文化对对资源的有差异的看法，双方努力的工作得不到充分的回报。

此外，中国企业家们也似乎缺乏跨文化理解，把本国企业规章制度直接强加给美国工人，没有充分考虑到不同社会文化背景下工人的特殊需求。有意思的是，此外，甚至有时候中国企业家们还忽视了中国企业企业的工作环境。给美国工人带来的新职位或困难让人们感叹 ，每个参与者都可能遭受到意想不到的困境，我们被这种反思深深打动。

总之，《美国工厂》是一部动人心弦的作品，带领观众细致分析当今全球经济中不可避免的文化冲突，深刻洞察旧世界向新世界的转变。影片让我们更加认识到，新经济中最好的桥梁是技术，而不是把握文化差异，彰显承诺更好的未来。

"American Factory" is deeply moving and has aroused intense reflection. The film delves into what appears to be a co-creation' between a Chinese entrepreneur and an American blue-collar worker, but is in fact deeply entrenched in a non-dominant structure, as well as the culture clash that developed between the two countries' former socialist and free-market economic systems . In this disintegrating world, some American workers have been injured or lost their jobs, and they have to accept the control of Chinese companies on the terms of average low wages. Chinese entrepreneurs believe they can bring more jobs to the United States, most notably by creating a new "secondary" economy in Ohio. They combine the low-cost labor and high technology of their own country with the skills of local workers in an attempt to successfully win the support of the US government and carry out their national goals. However, the application of this idealistic vision in reality has been hampered by the absence of a vision of bilateral win-win investment that defines the future, and by the two cultures' differing perceptions of resources, where the hard work of both parties is not fully appreciated. return. In addition, Chinese entrepreneurs also seem to lack cross-cultural understanding, imposing their own corporate rules and regulations directly on American workers, without fully considering the special needs of workers in different social and cultural backgrounds. Interestingly, in addition, sometimes Chinese entrepreneurs even ignore the working environment of Chinese enterprises. We were deeply moved by the reflection on the new jobs or hardships brought to American workers, and the potential for unexpected hardships for every participant. All in all, "American Factory" is a moving work, leading the audience to analyze the inevitable cultural conflicts in today's global economy, and provide insight into the transition from the old world to the new. The film makes us more aware that the best bridge in the new economy is technology, rather than grasping cultural differences and manifesting promises of a better future.

Just as SAS Teaching Guidance pointed out, we need to take ChatGPT outputs into account in future teaching. The grammar is perfect, however, it doesn't mean ChatPGT can generate correct CONTENT every time. I asked ChatPGT to explain "nèijuǎn 内卷" ("involution") in English as you did in your recent language log. The answer is completely wrong.

"Neijuan" is a term in China used to describe someone who is patriotic and fiercely loves their country. The term can be used to describe someone who is willing to defend their country's interests and values, even if it means standing up against criticism from other countries. The term has been used to describe a range of different behaviors and attitudes, from standing up for national sovereignty to promoting Chinese culture abroad.

• "GLM-130B: An Open Bilingual Pre-Trained Model" (1/25/2023)
• "ChatGPT writes Haiku" (12/21/22)
• "Translation and analysis" (9/13/04)
• "Welcome to China" (3/10/14)
• "Alexa down, ChatGPT up?" (12/8/22)
• "Detecting LLM-created essays" (12/20/22)
• "'Involution', 'working man', and 'Versailles literature': memes of embitterment" (12/23/20)
• "Involution, part 2" (12/25/20)
• "Involution, part 3" (1/15/23)
• "'Lying flat' and 'Involution': passive-aggressive resistance" (6/4/21)