alt.hn

7/30/2026 at 4:59:38 PM

US gov and OpenAI mislabel map of Africa at global conference

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/30/government-map-mislabels-african-countries

by kirubakaran

7/30/2026 at 5:25:40 PM

The way a lot of people use AI is kind of proof the only thing they ever did or cared about was appearances and hype. There is not one iota of interest in reality. Every waking moment is a walking con and a sales pitch.

by tracerbulletx

7/30/2026 at 7:59:49 PM

At no point has anyone in power ever operated otherwise. Frankly I'm surprised that you're surprised.

by vitally3643

7/30/2026 at 6:21:50 PM

But one can say that previous technologies only magnify and exacerbate this lack of caring. The internet for example, makes most of our interactions casual and sometimes anonymous, and we get trained and even grow up on that model. And on the internet, what gets attention is what matters, not the consequences after because things move so fast.

AI is just the latest step in that. It is the apex of a phenomenon that dehumanizes people. Yes, there were people who just cared about appearances before the internet too, but there were greater consequences of that. Now the consequences have been reduced and it causes this behaviour to spread.

by vouaobrasil

7/30/2026 at 5:25:11 PM

can't blame OpenAI for hallucinating a map, that's what it's good for - can blame officials for not proofreading it though

by stevenalowe

7/30/2026 at 6:25:30 PM

You actually can blame OpenAI for it. Because if a tool exists and people use it, that tool is an effective means of normalizing behaviour. We change our perception and behaviour through the use of tools, at least partially. So if someone invents a tool to do something poorly, and it becomes popular, then doing things poorly becomes more normalized.

It can work in a positive direction, too. Have you ever used Vim or Emacs? Haven't you noticed how dedicating some time to learning a complex system like this also makes you proud of mastering a precise set of tasks? It almost becomes religious. The tool promotes care.

We all have a societal responsibility to consider our inventions and what behaviour they'll encourage when people use them. OpenAI should also be held responsible, like all AI companies. The lack of care they encourage is enough for me to think that they should be all taken off-line and rendered bankrupt.

by vouaobrasil

7/30/2026 at 5:37:52 PM

I know ive been wanting chatGPT to create snazzy map routes to share with friends for our road trips and or vacations the past many years but it fails miserably! Which would show distance / drive time between each spot, interesting sites at each spot and along the way.

by paul7986

7/30/2026 at 5:56:46 PM

You can, but the trick is to ask it to write a python script to generate the "visualization". The added set of constraints imposed by library structure, internal data/shapefiles, etc keeps it from hallucinating

by Anon84

7/30/2026 at 6:37:50 PM

Ah thanks, yet tho not easily done. I think letting users easily generate and share AI-created snazzy map routes on social media would be a great marketing play for GPT. I think a lot of people need to be taught how to use it.

by paul7986

7/30/2026 at 7:09:15 PM

If I have to proofread a map you gave me, then your tool is a shit. And I can blame it.

by watwut

7/30/2026 at 6:44:11 PM

Maximum effort going nowhere for 70 years.

by cineticdaffodil

7/30/2026 at 8:10:29 PM

Is there anyone working for the Trump administration who is even borderline competent? Like, it is getting farcical.

by rsynnott

7/30/2026 at 5:43:24 PM

Landlocked Cote d'Ivoire is also interesting. Well, I guess it's a coast of some river or something facepalm

by yread

7/30/2026 at 6:45:10 PM

What is the (unlabelled) left line even doing.

by Apocryphon

7/30/2026 at 6:58:13 PM

Can we blame Rubio for this?

by amanaplanacanal

7/30/2026 at 8:03:06 PM

This administration is staffed by drunks and imbeciles. Their naked corruption is offensive but their stupidity possibly more so.

by josefritzishere

7/30/2026 at 5:25:10 PM

that's not mislabeling. that's pure AI slop

by goldsmith112

7/30/2026 at 7:38:52 PM

Could this not be intentional? Who wants to waste time getting a map of "shithole" countries right? /s

by prmph