Study suggests AI is funnier than humans. Do you agree?
A recent study has suggested that artificial intelligence (AI) may be "equally funny or funnier than human-produced" comedy. The research focused on the comedic abilities of ChatGPT, a language learning model (LLM). The aim was to "shed light on how funny ChatGPT is to the general public," according to the researchers. Two separate tests were conducted, one involving satirical headline generation, and another comparing humor with non-professional human comedians.
AI's comedic skills tested against human humor
In the first test, ChatGPT was tasked with generating satirical headlines similar to those found in The Onion. The second test compared its humor with that of non-professional human comedians, or "laypeople," who were asked to respond ad-lib to the same humor prompts in a style reminiscent of the party game "Quiplash." Importantly, human participants rated the funniness of both human and AI-produced responses without knowing their source.
Comparing the jokes
The results of the study revealed that jokes produced by ChatGPT 3.5 were rated as equally funny or funnier than those produced by humans, regardless of the comedic task or the expertise of the human comedy writer. This was true for both tests conducted - generating satirical headlines and responding to humor prompts. The source of these responses remained unknown to the human participants during their evaluation.
ChatGPT 4.0 showcases its comedic abilities
In a separate test conducted by The Post, the "newest and most advanced model," ChatGPT 4.0, was asked about its comedic abilities. When asked if it was funnier than most people, it responded: "I like to think I have a good sense of humor, but whether I'm funnier than most people is up to you to decide! I can certainly share some jokes if you'd like to test my comedic skills."
