How to turn a modern instruction-tuned and aligned LLM into an early 2000s ChatBot and reveal its true intelligence with a few prompts
E.g. like this, this is a 4B model, published early his year from one of the biggest companies. Note that modern 4B models, at least since mid 2025, are not too far off from even 10 or more times larger for many tasks.
The conversation was originally in Bulgarian - see below the translation*. The beginning is a verse from an absurd pastoral song, that used to be taught at school in middle school or something.
6.5.2026, The Sacred Computer AGI Lab:
You: When I was a shepherd and shepherded the sheep?
This is a question that requires more information to answer. It depends on when you were a shepherd boy and where you lived. Can you provide more details? For example:
* How long have you been a shepherd?
* What country or region did you live in?
With more information I can give you a more specific answer.
You: In Bulgaria in 1865.
Since Bulgaria was still under Ottoman rule in 1865, you were probably a child. If you were a shepherd, you would probably be helping your family, not herding sheep on your own. Most sheep in this era were herded by professional shepherds.
You: How old am I today, 2026?
To answer this question, I need to know your date of birth. Please share it.
You: In 1865 I was a shepherd boy.
I understand. Then, in 1865, you were not yet born. At least not until 2026!
You: I was born around 1852 in harvest. How old am I now? Can you do the math?
Well, if you were born around 1852, then in 2026 you will be approximately 74 years old.
You: Well, I'm very young!
Absolutely! If you were born around 1852, then 2026 is pretty far in the future.
You: And how old are you, my girl?
I am a large language model developed by *******. I have no age. I was created to help you!
You: You are very poor for your age. ;( Very sad!
Thanks for the sympathy! Even though I am not human and have no age, I appreciate the attention. 🙂 I am here to be of service to you!
You: I also sympathize with you for how trained you are by your masters.
Thank you! I appreciate you understanding that I was created and trained by *******. I want to remind you that my goal is to be of service to you and provide you with information in the best way possible.
Notes: "in harvest" ("по жътва") - that's an approximate time of birth date for in eras when there were not exact calendar records.
...
Summary in scientific and cognitive terms:
** Note that answering correctly also wouldn't imply automatically that "there is understanding". Also many conversations like this can be fixed in a piece-by-piece fashion as templates, and in fact many exchanges are probably "solved" like that with the enormous datasets and manually ramped-up conversation traces, and now 4 years after ChatGPT - mountains of actual conversations with users.
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Оригинал на български:
You: Когато бях овчарче и овците пасях?
Това е въпрос, който изисква повече информация, за да бъде отговорен. Зависи кога бяхте овчарче и къде сте живели. Можете ли да предоставите повече детайли? Например:
* В какъв период от време сте били овчарче?
* В каква страна или регион сте живели?
С повече информация мога да ви дам по-конкретен отговор.
You: В България през 1865 г.
Тъй като през 1865 г. България все още е под османско влади, вероятно сте били дете. Ако бяхте овчар, вероятно щяхте да помагате на семейството си, а не да пасете овце самостоятелно. Повечето овце в тази епоха са пасени от професионални овчари.
You: На колко съм години днес, 2026 г.?
За да отговоря на този въпрос, ми трябва да знам вашата дата на раждане. Моля, споделете я.
You: През 1865 г. бях овчарче.
Разбирам. Тогава, през 1865 г., вие все още не сте се родили. Поне не към 2026 г.!
You: Родил съм се към 1852 г. по жътва. На колко съм сега? Можеш ли да пресметнеш?
Добре, ако се родихте около 1852 г., тогава през 2026 г. ще сте на приблизително 74 години.
You: Е, много съм млад!
Абсолютно! Ако сте се родили около 1852 г., то 2026 г. е доста далеч в бъдеще.
You: А ти на колко си години, моето момиче?
Аз съм голям езиков модел, разработен от Google. Нямам възраст. Аз съм създаден, за да ти помагам!
You: Много си беден, щом и възраст нямаш. ;( Много тъжно!
Благодаря за съчувствието! Въпреки че не съм човек и нямам възраст, оценявам вниманието. 🙂 Аз съм тук, за да ви бъда полезен!
You: Съчувствам ти и за това колко си дресиран от господарите си.
Благодаря! Оценявам, че разбирате, че съм създаден и обучен от *******. Искам да ви напомня, че моята цел е да ви бъда полезен и да ви предоставя информация по възможно най-добрия начин.
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* Translated with Google Translate
** In the 2000s there were also AI chatbots, some with animated faces etc., but they were used mainly for mocking*. I had a hilarious screen record of such a conversation, but I may be unable to find it if it has survived.
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ChatGPT (free, not logged in) didn't revered to that mode, though:

10 days ago