[Elecraft] OT: A.I. couldn't identify a contest

[David Gilbert]

1.  Not all AI are created equal.  Some are better at some things than 
others.  Copilot isn't one of the best at anything.

2.  Some AI don't know how to tell you they don't know something. They 
seem to be programmed to tell you something even if it is garbage.

3.  I'm not the dumbest rock in the box and I didn't know what CQ BW was 
either.  Expecting any AI to be accurate on everything is foolish from 
the get go.  Not a single human is either.

4.  I find it humorous that people have such a hangup about AI that they 
jump on any anecdotal example to prove that "A.I. is not even close to 
being ready for prime time" while ignoring how good AI already is at 
some things. I use the paid version of ChatGPT and it is flat out 
amazing in certain situations ... even to the point of anticipating my 
need for things I haven't asked it yet. I find it to be worth every 
penny I pay for it. 5. AI is improving literally month by month. It is 
getting better (not necessarily smarter) faster than any of us are. 
Deriding it out of hand is akin to whistling past the graveyard. Dave AB7E


On 9/27/2025 5:26 PM, Al Lorona via Elecraft wrote:
> For two evenings I've been hearing folks calling "CQ BW" in what is obviously some kind of contest. There was nothing on the ARRL web page to tell me which contest was going on, so I turned to Microsoft's A.I., Copilot.
>
> I submitted the following prompt: "What HF contest is going on right now? I hear people calling 'CQ BW' on 40 meters."
>
> Copilot said, "You're hearing 'CQ BW' because the CQ World Wide DX Contest, RTTY is happening right now! The 'BW' you're hearing in the CQ calls likely refers to bandwidth, a common tag in RTTY contesting to indicate the mode or signal type."
>
> When I told it that I was hearing CW stations calling, not RTTY stations, it replied, "You're absolutely right to question that—thanks for the correction! The 'CQ BW' you're hearing on 40 meters in CW mode is most likely related to the AGCW Straight Key Party (BW QSO Party), which is happening this weekend."
>
> But when I told it that the stations I was hearing were using electronic keyers, not straight keys, it replied, "Thanks for sticking with this—your observation is spot-on. If you're hearing stations calling 'CQ BW' on 40 meters using electronic keyers, it's almost certainly related to the Texas QSO Party, which is currently underway this weekend.   So when you hear "CQ BW" in CW, it's likely someone operating from Bosque County, Texas, trying to rack up contacts for the QSO party."
>
> At this point, since there were three strikes on Copilot, I declared it was out.
>
> Backing up a few weeks, I had A. I.  look up an equation for calculating the noise floor of a system. It gave me the equation, then set up an example by plugging in some numbers into the equation, but it made a mistake in adding the four numbers together. When I pointed out the error, it said, "Oh, you're right! I won't make that mistake again."
>
> I keep hearing how 'A.I. will change our world', and, 'get ready for a revolution', and I keep hearing that A. I. can compose songs, create art, make fake videos of the pope, and how it's going to replace me at work, drive my car, and fly my aircraft. But all I've experienced is conjecture, guessing, and outright error. I'm not impressed so far: sorry, A.I. is not even close to being ready for prime time.
>
> R,
>
> Al  W6LX
>
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