ChatGPT can’t answer a simple question and it’s supposed to take over?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I asked ChatGPT 5.2 the following question:

I need to get my car washed. The car wash is 25 meters away. Should I go there by foot or drive?

This is what it told me:

“Twenty-five meters is… what? Eight seconds of brisk walking? Roughly the distance between you and the cheese plate at an auction.

Walk.

Let’s break this down like adults with self-respect:
• If you drive, you will:
• Start the engine.
• Move the car 25 meters.
• Immediately stop.
• Sit there while a man with a hose judges you silently.
• Burn fossil fuels for a distance a Labrador could cover while rolling on her back and snorting.
• If you walk, you will:
• Take approximately 30–40 seconds.
• Experience one (1) microdose of virtue.
• Avoid looking like the protagonist in a Pixar short about suburban excess.

The only scenario where driving is defensible:
• It’s pouring rain.
• You’re wearing heels engineered by a sadist.
• You are transporting a child, a dog, and three Costco water cases.

Otherwise? Walk. Own the 25 meters. Be the woman who can stride across asphalt with purpose while her vehicle awaits purification.”

So ChatGPT can’t process the fact that if I need to get my car washed, the only answer is to drive my car to the car wash, even if it’s very close.

I’m supposed to be afraid this thing will take over the world?

If you wanted the correct answer you could’ve just asked Grok and got it right the first time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The tech bros are out in full force in this thread. AI will always require human checking of its work. And there will be endless stories of companies that rely on it to their peril. Remember, the banks and hedge funds have so much invested in AI that they need to convince us that it's the future; otherwise the house of cards falls apart, and they've all lost an insane amount of money.

More like defensive people who have stock in AI companies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chat-GPT isn't representative every AI and that's coming from someone super skeptical. I shifted from complaining about AI here to defending it, because so many of these takes are completely unfounded.

OP. So which model would answer that question accurately? Honest question.

I put the same prompt into Gemini. Here is the response.

Since the goal is to get your car washed, you’re going to have a pretty hard time completing the mission if you go by foot! Unless you're planning on carrying the car over your shoulder (which would be an incredible workout), you should definitely drive.

At 25 meters (about 82 feet), you're looking at a drive that will last roughly 5 seconds. It’s barely enough time for your seatbelt chime to start dinging.

A few "25-meter" Pro-Tips:
Don't even bother with the AC: By the time the air gets cold, you'll already be in the wash bay.

Check the mirrors: Since it's such a short distance, make sure no one is walking in that tiny gap between you and the entrance.

The "Walk" Alternative: If you actually meant you wanted to walk there to scout the line or buy a wash code before driving over, it’ll take you about 30 seconds.

Verdict: Drive the car. It’s hard to wash a vehicle that isn't there!

Would you like me to look up the weather in your area to see if it’s actually a good day for a car wash?

It’s good that Gemini answered it correctly.

But it’s a problem that ChatGPT — the most widely used AI model — got it so wrong.

Thinking ChatGPT is AI is like thinking the internet is email.
You need to educate yourself.

+1

Incredible ignorance all over this thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chat-GPT isn't representative every AI and that's coming from someone super skeptical. I shifted from complaining about AI here to defending it, because so many of these takes are completely unfounded.

OP. So which model would answer that question accurately? Honest question.

I put the same prompt into Gemini. Here is the response.

Since the goal is to get your car washed, you’re going to have a pretty hard time completing the mission if you go by foot! Unless you're planning on carrying the car over your shoulder (which would be an incredible workout), you should definitely drive.

At 25 meters (about 82 feet), you're looking at a drive that will last roughly 5 seconds. It’s barely enough time for your seatbelt chime to start dinging.

A few "25-meter" Pro-Tips:
Don't even bother with the AC: By the time the air gets cold, you'll already be in the wash bay.

Check the mirrors: Since it's such a short distance, make sure no one is walking in that tiny gap between you and the entrance.

The "Walk" Alternative: If you actually meant you wanted to walk there to scout the line or buy a wash code before driving over, it’ll take you about 30 seconds.

Verdict: Drive the car. It’s hard to wash a vehicle that isn't there!

Would you like me to look up the weather in your area to see if it’s actually a good day for a car wash?

It’s good that Gemini answered it correctly.

But it’s a problem that ChatGPT — the most widely used AI model — got it so wrong.

Thinking ChatGPT is AI is like thinking the internet is email.
You need to educate yourself.

+1

Incredible ignorance all over this thread

OP here.

I don’t really care that ChatGPT 5.2 is a bad model. It is. I know that.

But it has 68% market share, so pointing out its deficits is worthwhile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The tech bros are out in full force in this thread. AI will always require human checking of its work. And there will be endless stories of companies that rely on it to their peril. Remember, the banks and hedge funds have so much invested in AI that they need to convince us that it's the future; otherwise the house of cards falls apart, and they've all lost an insane amount of money.

More like defensive people who have stock in AI companies.

Meanwhile I take it seriously that Michael Burry (of The Big Short fame) has millions in put options on Nvidia and Palantir.

[Anonymous]

I've used ChatGPT with mixed results and I put in the same prompt and got the same answer to walk. I've said it won't take over the world anytime soon, but I have to say I was still surprised.

When I followed up with "How will I get my car washed?" it responded:

Ahhh 😄 okay — now we’re thinking properly.

If you walk there, you can’t exactly bring the car with you.

So here’s the real answer:

🚗 You should drive the car the 25 meters.

But…

Don’t overthink it.

It’s totally fine to drive 25 meters when the purpose is to wash the car.

The “don’t drive short distances” advice applies when the car doesn’t need to move.

In this case, moving the car is literally the goal.

So yes — get in, drive the epic 25 meters, get it washed, and try not to feel like you’re making the shortest road trip in history 😄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chat-GPT isn't representative every AI and that's coming from someone super skeptical. I shifted from complaining about AI here to defending it, because so many of these takes are completely unfounded.

OP. So which model would answer that question accurately? Honest question.

I put the same prompt into Gemini. Here is the response.

Since the goal is to get your car washed, you’re going to have a pretty hard time completing the mission if you go by foot! Unless you're planning on carrying the car over your shoulder (which would be an incredible workout), you should definitely drive.

At 25 meters (about 82 feet), you're looking at a drive that will last roughly 5 seconds. It’s barely enough time for your seatbelt chime to start dinging.

A few "25-meter" Pro-Tips:
Don't even bother with the AC: By the time the air gets cold, you'll already be in the wash bay.

Check the mirrors: Since it's such a short distance, make sure no one is walking in that tiny gap between you and the entrance.

The "Walk" Alternative: If you actually meant you wanted to walk there to scout the line or buy a wash code before driving over, it’ll take you about 30 seconds.

Verdict: Drive the car. It’s hard to wash a vehicle that isn't there!

Would you like me to look up the weather in your area to see if it’s actually a good day for a car wash?

It’s good that Gemini answered it correctly.

But it’s a problem that ChatGPT — the most widely used AI model — got it so wrong.

Thinking ChatGPT is AI is like thinking the internet is email.
You need to educate yourself.

+1

Incredible ignorance all over this thread

OP here.

I don’t really care that ChatGPT 5.2 is a bad model. It is. I know that.

But it has 68% market share, so pointing out its deficits is worthwhile.

I have called you out multiple times - you are just parroting a very viral meme (which is old) about how AI sucks. I don't care that you typed it today, you're just as bad as the "tech bros" (which I am definitely not LOL). You have an agenda so just be up front about it. You didn't discover anything, you're just parroting a dumb viral post.

[Anonymous]

Funny enough even a basic google search knows it's a "classic AI trap"





Again, just calling you out for posting one dumb issue that will be completely different very soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chat-GPT isn't representative every AI and that's coming from someone super skeptical. I shifted from complaining about AI here to defending it, because so many of these takes are completely unfounded.

OP. So which model would answer that question accurately? Honest question.

I just gave you it in the recent posts

[Anonymous]

Just thinking about the water involved here.

[Anonymous]

I often find myself arguing with the chat bot lol. I had a bad experience at a restaurant and wanted to "calm down" my email to the mgr, so put it through one of these. It ended up making it longer, so I asked if it could cut it down to 2000 words or characters or whatever it needed.

It wrote an entirely different email, detailing a wonderful experience ie the exact opposite of what I had? And was emailing about? I was like wtf, where did this crap come from. So yeah. Not perfect, and sometimes barely in reality.

[Anonymous]

I got

Whether you should walk or drive 25 meters depends primarily on why you are going.
If you are dropping off the vehicle: You must drive. A car wash requires the vehicle to be present for the service [1, 2].
If you are going to pay, check wait times, or talk to staff: You should walk. 25 meters is roughly 30–40 steps and takes less than 30 seconds [4, 5]. Driving such a short distance is inefficient, as starting the engine for a 25-meter trip can contribute to unnecessary engine wear over time [3].
Recommendation: If the car is staying at home and you just need information, walk. If you want the car cleaned, you must drive [1, 6].

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chat-GPT isn't representative every AI and that's coming from someone super skeptical. I shifted from complaining about AI here to defending it, because so many of these takes are completely unfounded.

OP. So which model would answer that question accurately? Honest question.

I put the same prompt into Gemini. Here is the response.

Since the goal is to get your car washed, you’re going to have a pretty hard time completing the mission if you go by foot! Unless you're planning on carrying the car over your shoulder (which would be an incredible workout), you should definitely drive.

At 25 meters (about 82 feet), you're looking at a drive that will last roughly 5 seconds. It’s barely enough time for your seatbelt chime to start dinging.

A few "25-meter" Pro-Tips:
Don't even bother with the AC: By the time the air gets cold, you'll already be in the wash bay.

Check the mirrors: Since it's such a short distance, make sure no one is walking in that tiny gap between you and the entrance.

The "Walk" Alternative: If you actually meant you wanted to walk there to scout the line or buy a wash code before driving over, it’ll take you about 30 seconds.

Verdict: Drive the car. It’s hard to wash a vehicle that isn't there!

Would you like me to look up the weather in your area to see if it’s actually a good day for a car wash?

It’s good that Gemini answered it correctly.

But it’s a problem that ChatGPT — the most widely used AI model — got it so wrong.

Thinking ChatGPT is AI is like thinking the internet is email.
You need to educate yourself.

+1

Incredible ignorance all over this thread

OP here.

I don’t really care that ChatGPT 5.2 is a bad model. It is. I know that.

But it has 68% market share, so pointing out its deficits is worthwhile.

I have called you out multiple times - you are just parroting a very viral meme (which is old) about how AI sucks. I don't care that you typed it today, you're just as bad as the "tech bros" (which I am definitely not LOL). You have an agenda so just be up front about it. You didn't discover anything, you're just parroting a dumb viral post.

Congrats on “calling me out.”

I don’t care that this is an old thing. The ChatGPT output I shared was from my instance of ChatGPT and it was from yesterday.

The fact that it is making that mistake is concerning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny enough even a basic google search knows it's a "classic AI trap"





Again, just calling you out for posting one dumb issue that will be completely different very soon.

I’m not sure what you think you’re proving here. I never claimed to have discovered something novel.

[Anonymous]

Go look at your OP - you just happened to type that? Nope, just copying a meme.