Countdown star, who has appeared in show’s Dictionary Corner since 1992, says she has to teach chatbots lingo because they are ‘not particularly accurate’
Telly word expert Susie Dent says AI is lousy at language. The Countdown star, who has appeared in the Channel 4 game show’s Dictionary Corner since 1992, says she has to teach chatbots lingo.
The TV boff – who also stars in comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats – says she tells bots ‘no actually that’s wrong’. Then she realises by helping them she is putting herself ‘out of a job’.
Susie, 60, says folk need to be good at spelling before they try to use chatbots as they are ‘not particularly accurate’.
“AI is a fear in so many spheres,” the wordsmith said.
“You actually need to be good at spelling before using AI because it can really lead you astray. I think we’ve all fallen foul of that.
“I have often tested AI and asked it a question about language. And often what it comes back with is not particularly accurate. So what I then do, which is ridiculous, is start teaching it.
“I tell it, ‘no actually that’s wrong’. And then I think, ‘what am I doing – I’m doing myself out of a job’.
“Maybe in the future AI can be of help with dictionaries but we will always need the human mediator.”
Susie is not the first to question bots’ abilities.
Actor and playwright Anthony Spargo – who operated a Dalek on TV’s Dr Who – said robots cannot do panto because they are ‘s***’ at jokes do not have the ‘soul’ to pen a decent script.
Anthony, who won a best script gong for Dick Whittington and His Cat at London’s Greenwich Theatre at this year’s (2025) Pantomime Awards, said he had tried out AI to find out if it could deliver great gags for one of the traditional Brit Christmas shows.
And he said it was a case of `oh no it can’t’ because the chatbot lacked `comedy bones’.
“It couldn’t do it,” he said. “It can’t do it because it doesn’t have a heart, it doesn’t have a soul.
“And it doesn’t have comedy bones. You can’t teach a computer that yet, thankfully.”
Comedy legend Ben Elton has also claimed chatbots are rubbish at jokes.
The Young Ones’ writer and author said AI could only copy gags – not write them.
Ben, 65, who also penned smash hit BBC comedy Blackadder, said: “I think AI’s creativity is based on mimicry. If there’s one area that may stump AI it’s decent comedy. It may create an impression of the Young Ones but it wouldn’t be able to come up with a new Young Ones.”
Bots also flop at picking horse racing winners.
Our superstar tipster Jason Heavey beat ChatGPT by miles in a test at Royal Ascot.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
