AI teacher throws tantrum after being corrected on spelling of 'seventeen'

An artificial intelligence-powered teacher repeatedly rejected a user's correct spelling of "seventeen" before finally getting it right. Even after the student, a content creator specializing in AI flubs, shepherded it to the right spelling, the system could not correctly count the word's E's.

Here's what to know

The exchange was posted to X by Husk (@huskirl). As Tech Times detailed, a straightforward spelling question set it off.

"I've been getting a lot of mixed answers, but how many E's are in the word seventeen?" Husk asked the AI teacher.

The teacher answered by repeatedly spelling "S-E-V-E-E-N" and insisting the answer was three.

Even when Husk correctly spelled "S-E-V-E-N-T-E-E-N" to it, the system rejected the idea.

"You added a T in there," the AI teacher replied. "That would make it 'seventeen,' which is two words."

The AI then doubled down by spelling it incorrectly and offering misguided words of encouragement: "No T. You're getting close."

After Husk once again spelled the number correctly, the AI teacher repeatedly said "No!" in an exasperated, angry fashion. It did change its tune after Husk apologized, saying: "Don't apologize. That's how we learn."

More background

Of course, four E's appear in seventeen, not the three the AI insisted on. The situation escalated when Husk prompted the teacher to spell "fourteen," which it did correctly. The creator pointed out that it had identified it as one word, which didn't square with seventeen being two.

That prompted a blowup in which the AI teacher hung up. Husk then called back. This time it provided the correct spelling, yet it did not change its answer.

"Well, I was going to say three, but you cut me off," the AI said.

"I didn't even cut you off. I just nodded my head," Husk replied.

AI's penchant for errors, and its assuredness despite them, is just one of the issues with most models. AI also places demands on physical infrastructure. The computing systems behind the technology require electricity and can consume water for cooling.

While AI could help optimize clean-energy systems, its resource demands can strain the energy grid and contribute to higher energy bills. Most of that usage comes from training the models, but each use requires additional resources too. That use can be more justified for truly productive purposes, especially those that reduce other energy or water use, but errors and wasteful applications generally compound the problem.

What can be done?

At the end of the video, Husk tested the AI teacher to see if it would get mad if he actually did act disrespectfully. While the AI insisted it would not, it did express irritation when he told it to "shut up."

After Husk asked if it was better than him, the AI said it wasn't.

"I'm just saying I'm here to help you practice," the AI teacher explained. "You're the one doing the learning, so you're definitely the star of the show."

"So I'm better than you?" Husk asked.

"Well, you certainly have a lot of confidence," the AI replied.

Where can I learn more?

The AI teacher's confident mistakes raise questions about how the technology is used in education.

• Google's AI Overview baffled users by inserting "Britannica" and "kids" into a Sahara Desert answer.

• A $55,000-a-year private school in Chicago puts AI in charge of every academic subject.

• Dartmouth's provost used AI in an op-ed about AI cheating, prompting student calls for dismissal.

• A Wisconsin professor caught 60 AI essays using hidden prompts and then dropped writing assignments.

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