Arguing With ChatGPT About Black History

I often use ChatGPT as a research tool to either verify information or seek additional data. Frequently, it will tell me what I know or believe to be true didn’t happen. This happened to me recently in researching the multiple boats blown up by the Trump administration. ChatGPT told me several times that it never happened. Until I pointed out dates and places, the chatbot continued to object, even though it had been in the news since at least September.

I stumbled across a session on X yesterday, hosted by Dr. Allison Wiltz, featuring readings from nonfiction and fiction works by Black authors, followed by discussion. I caught the tail end of a reading about someone touring Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home. I’ve visited Monticello and taken a tour, and was immediately interested.

The author described being told by others that the tour once had Black people dressed in slave garb as part of the tour. The author was told the practice was abandoned because it was painful and problematic. When I asked ChatGPT about the tours featuring Black people dressed as slaves, it adamantly denied it, citing Monticello’s official stance that it never used costumed slave portrayals. This differs from Colonial Williamsburg, which has used people dressed as enslaved people in the past. Keep in mind this is the same Monticello that furiously denied Thomas Jefferson fathered several children with Sally Hemings, the enslaved girl he began sleeping with at age fourteen.

ChatGPT has come a long way in that it now acknowledges the relationship between Jefferson and Hemings would be considered rape.

“Most historians agree that Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings, but because Hemings was enslaved, she could not legally consent. By definition, any sexual relationship between an enslaver and an enslaved person is considered rape or coercion, since the power imbalance made true consent impossible.”

Back to the tour of Monticello, I was initially unable to identify the title of the book Dr. Wiltz was reading. I checked with her and found that she was reading “How the Word is Passed” by Clint Smith. When I provided that information to ChatGPT, it acknowledged that an oral history was cited in the book, which contrasts with the official report from Monticello. It suggested that the people informing Smith about those dressed as enslaved people might have been confused with Colonial Williamsburg or reflected an earlier, experimental phase or a visitor’s perception of costuming, even though Monticello now insists it never formally adopted that practice.

When I took the tour of Monticello, a bus took us past the main cemetery containing Thomas Jefferson’s grave. It never would have come up had I not asked the question, that none of the Hemings’ family were buried in that graveyard, but most were in a separate graveyard with unmarked graves and no fence. The slave graveyard was restored in 2022 with improvements designed to enhance visibility and accessibility, and to create contemplative spaces for descendants and visitors.

Much like many American history books. Information provided about slavery, in my view, is released in the best possible light for historical figures like Jefferson. How a question is phrased makes a world of difference as to the answer you receive. I recently asked for what reasons Herbert Hoover might be considered racist and got a world of information. If I asked, “Was Herbert Hoover racist?” the answer would be less than conclusive.

ChatGPT can be an excellent resource, but I suggest verifying your findings with other sources. If you believe it’s wrong, challenge ChatGPT, and it will often agree with you after digging deeper. Using ChatGPT as a sole resource is like getting your history from Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor who touted the benefits of slavery. Don’t assume you’re getting a balanced response, especially about politics and race. It seems the designers of ChatGPT were a bit concerned about the backlash of being too woke.

—

This post was previously published on Momentum.

***