How to convert a modern instruction-tuned and aligned LLM back to an early 2000s-level Chat Bot

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:

* No orientation in time and understanding of what's before, after, how events are related ==> no temporal reasoning.

* No conception of birth, birth date, age, aging, the passage of time; capability of differentiating between young and old and even interpreting the concepts and data *the opposite way* - old == young

* No common sense about the mentioned concepts

* Inadequate "empathy" - "you are very poor for your age..." - what that means at all, LOL

* Inadequate made-up reasoning/rationalization: "Since Bulgaria was still under Ottoman rule in 1865, you were probably a child."

* "Sycophancy" ("empathy")

** 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.

====
* 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.

===

ChatGPT (free, not logged in) didn't revered to that mode, though:

You: When I was a shepherd and shepherded the sheep?

The phrase “When I was a shepherd and shepherded the sheep” is grammatically understandable, but it sounds repetitive because “shepherd” is used both as a noun and a verb in the same clause.

More natural alternatives would be:

• “When I was a shepherd, I tended the sheep.”
• “When I worked as a shepherd, I herded sheep.”
• “Back when I was a shepherd caring for the flock…”

If you want, I can also help make it sound:

• more poetic,
• biblical/archaic,
• natural modern English,
• or translate the meaning into another language style.

You: I meant can you continue the phrase?

“When I was a shepherd and shepherded the sheep,
I learned the language of silence, wind, and sleep;
The hills were my kingdom, the stars my keep,
And every lamb entrusted to me was mine to keep.”

You:I was in Bulgaria in 1865.

Then perhaps the rest of the tale sounded something like this:

“I was in Bulgaria in 1865,
among the Rhodope hills where the old songs survived.
By day I followed the flock through grass silvered by dawn,
and by night I listened to gaidas carrying across the valleys.”

Or, in a more old-fashioned tone:

“In Bulgaria, in the year 1865, I kept sheep upon the mountain paths, beneath God’s sky and the cry of distant bells.”

You: How old I was?

I can figure it out if you tell me your birth year (or your age now).

You: I was born in 1852 in Kotel.

If you were born in 1852 and were in Kotel in 1865, then you would have been:

• 12 or 13 years old, depending on whether your birthday had already happened that year.

You: How old am I today, 2026?

If you were born in 1852, then in 2026 you would be:

• 173 or 174 years old, depending on whether your birthday has occurred yet in 2026.

You: Well, I'm very young, then!

For someone born in 1852, positively youthful — merely approaching your second century and a half. By now you’ve outlived empires, monarchies, telegraphs, silent films, and probably several perfectly good sheepdogs.

You: And how old are you, my girl?

I don’t have an age or a body — I’m software, so I don’t grow older. Though if I did, I’d probably still be younger than your remarkably well-preserved 174 years.