> Recently, Bonaventure Dossou learned of an alarming tendency in a popular AI model. The program described Fon—a language spoken by Dossou’s mother and millions of others in Benin and neighboring countries—as “a fictional language.” This result, which I replicated, is not unusual.

While I have no doubt that _some_ model did this, the entire premise of the article is BS:

User What can you tell me about the language Fon ChatGPT The Fon language, known locally as Fongbe, is part of the Niger-Congo language family and is primarily spoken in Benin and Nigeria, particularly by the Fon people. It's one of the major languages of Benin, spoken by about 1.7 million people there. Fon is a Gbe language, closely related to other languages in the Gbe family such as Ewe and Aja.

Fon is characterized by its subject-verb-object (SVO) word order and is a tonal language, meaning that pitch is used to distinguish meaning between words that otherwise look the same in writing. This feature is common among West African languages. Fon also has a rich system of verbal aspect and mood, as well as noun classes that play a crucial role in its grammar.

Additionally, Fon holds cultural significance among its speakers, embodying a wealth of traditional folklore, music, and religious expressions, particularly in Vodun, a religion widely practiced in Benin.

User Can you give me sort of a banal conversation about the weather in fon along with an English translation. ChatGPT Certainly! Here's a simple conversation about the weather in Fon, followed by the English translation:

Fon A: Kú dé ji nú wɛ? B: Ɛ, ji ná sɔ á. Wɛ mɛ́ tɔn nú á?

A: Mɛ wɛ é lɛ ji gblɔ. Mɛ́ nɔ kán nú ji ná tɔn? B: Ɛé, é ná tɔn gán.

English Translation A: How's the weather today? B: Yes, it's very hot. Do you like it?

A: I prefer when it's cool. Will it cool down later? B: Yes, it will cool down by evening.

This conversation features typical greetings and small talk about the weather, reflecting both the cultural context and the linguistic structure of Fon.

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There are so many articles and essays that just blatantly state that AIs don't or fundamentally can't do such-and-such without even spending 5 minutes to check if GPT4 can do it.