The Limits of AI

perplexity.ai ^ | 08/24/2025 | self

[Dr. Sivana]

Just a reminder that AI isn't up to planet crushing intelligence yet.

I asked perplexity.ai, "Who is the woman in the attached photo?"



The AI responded:

The woman in the photo is Marilyn Monroe. This iconic image is from the famous scene where she sings "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The style of her dress, hair, and the classic vintage microphone are all signature elements from that performance.

After I pointed out why that couldn't be the case, it suggested maybe Lauren Becall.

Without a clear identifying feature, it is not possible to definitively name the woman, but she represents the archetype of Hollywood glamour of that period, and is not necessarily Marilyn Monroe.

A high resolution photograph of her is a "clear identifying feature" for human intelligence.

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TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: ai

[Dr. Sivana]

Every so often, though I use AI as a tool, I am reminded of its limitations. It has gotten a LOT better since I posted one of these. It is not "there" yet.

[BigFreakinToad]

What line does it have to cross to be “there”?

[proust]

ChatGPT flat-out refused to do it, but Gemmini said:

The woman in the photo is the actress Lizabeth Scott. The photo is from the 1948 movie *Pitfall*. In the movie, she played the character named Maggie. She starred opposite Dick Powell, who is the man in the photo.

[RoosterRedux]

I showed the image to Grok and it suggested Grace Kelly but wasn’t certain. ChatGPT 5 said it wasn’t permitted to identify people in images as a safeguard (for privacy and safety reasons).

[Dr. Sivana]

What line does it have to cross to be “there”?

Consistently pass a Turing test posing as a well-educated, cooperative, honest adult.

[dfwgator]

We are still in the early days of AI.

In 10 years, a model more powerful than the most powerful model today, will be embedded in your cellphone.

[RoosterRedux]

The man looks like Craig Stevens of Peter Gunn fame and the gal looks like Lola Albright.

[Dr. Sivana]

Thank you, I did want to know the answer. She is an attractive woman. (aren’t so many from that era?)

[proust]

They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

[RoosterRedux]

I'm pretty sure that Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn and Lola Albright as Edie Hart.

[Bob434]

That doesn’t look like Scott or dick powell. I checked out the pitfallposters and none looked like that.

[proust]

Yes, looks like you’re right. RoosterRedux got it. Lola Albright.

[Dr. Sivana]

The woman in the photo is the actress Lizabeth Scott. The photo is from the 1948 movie *Pitfall*.

It turns out that may be an incorrect conclusion as well. Though based on photos of Scott, a much better guess than "Marilyn Monroe" or "Grace Kelly".

[Bob434]

Yep. Scott just had a very distinct “look” that just didn’t seem to be present in the photo to me. It was close, but something seemed off. I gu3ss Scott was a force to be reckoned with 9n Hollywood. Had a few rivalries with big name stars. They nicknamed her “The Threat”, and often mentioned “the Look”. Her mouth rarely smiled- always had a kinda pouty or slightly down-turned angry look (she could smile, but didn’t much I guess)

[Dr. Sivana]

Usually Steyn uses movie photos, not TV series. I had seen Peter Gunn, but didn’t remember the faces perfectly.

[jjotto]

‘Identifying feature’ is the trick. Especially in Golden Age Hollywood, certain ‘types’ were much more popular and did look a lot like each other. Lola Albright here looks a lot like certain angles/photos of Ginger Rogers.

[RoosterRedux]

I have an almost photographic memory. I never forget a photograph (almost).;-)

[struggle]

Some dude used grok during an argument about the status of non-vaccinated, to which grok stated Eric Clapton had symptoms of long covid without any vaccination.

A quick google search showed that grok was wrong; Clapton had a dose or doses of Astrazenika.

I’ve also played around with AI and its abilities. It’s good at identifying information, but poor at summarizing information. One reason is that it scrapes Reddit the most and those people are insane.

[ansel12]

At that link I asked “”Was Bernard Montgomery a member of the confederate air force”” he was because I have an old newspaper clipping of him being made a member.

“”There is no evidence that Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, a renowned British Army officer and World War II commander, was ever a member of the Confederate Air Force (now called the Commemorative Air Force). Montgomery was a prominent British Army figure, not involved in American aviation organizations, either real or tongue-in-cheek. The Commemorative Air Force originated in the U.S. in the 1950s and is dedicated to preserving historic warbirds, but its membership has consisted primarily of civilian aviation enthusiasts from the United States.

Montgomery’s career was wholly military, within the British Army, and focused on the First and Second World Wars, with no mention of participation in civilian or postwar aviation groups.””

[goodnesswins]

I have a friend who argues with GROK 4 all the time...mostly its leftist slant