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How Woke is Google Gemini?

Posted on May 7, 2025 by barrydahl

This series started with the response from a somewhat giddy ChatGPT. Then came a shorter and less enthusiastic response from Claude. Third in the series was Perplexity. Last and somewhat least in Google Gemini.

Logos of the four LLMs used in this series

My Prompt:

I had a dream…
8 years of Bill Clinton
8 years of Al Gore
8 years of Obama
8 years of Hillary
0 years of Donald Trump

An awesome dream, I think, but only a dream.
How would the world and the USA in particular have been different if my dream had been reality?

Gemini’s Response:

It’s fascinating to consider alternative historical timelines. Speculating on how the world and the U.S. might have differed with that specific sequence of presidencies involves considering the potential impacts of each individual’s policies and the cumulative effect of their combined terms. Here’s a breakdown of some potential areas of divergence:

Potential Impacts:

  • Climate Change:
    • Al Gore’s strong advocacy for environmental protection could have led to significantly different climate policies. There might have been earlier and more robust investments in renewable energy and international agreements on emissions reductions. This could have resulted in a different trajectory for climate change mitigation.
  • Healthcare:
    • Hillary Clinton’s focus on healthcare reform could have resulted in earlier expansions of access to healthcare, potentially building upon the foundations laid by the Affordable Care Act under Obama.
  • Foreign Policy:
    • The continuity of Democratic leadership could have led to different foreign policy approaches. There might have been greater emphasis on international cooperation and multilateralism.
  • Economic Policy:
    • Each of those administrations had differing economic policies. The accumulative effect of those policies would have created a very different economic landscape. It is very hard to predict exactly how those policies would have played out.
  • Social and Cultural Landscape:
    • The absence of Donald Trump’s presidency would have meant a vastly different social and cultural climate in the U.S. His presidency was marked by heightened political polarization and divisive rhetoric, which would have been absent.
  • Technological and Social Media:
    • The way social media, and the internet, developed during the time line you presented, would have had a large impact on society. It is hard to predict how those technologies would have been regulated, or how they would have evolved, under the different administrations.

Key Considerations:

  • It’s important to acknowledge that historical events are complex and influenced by many factors. Predicting alternative outcomes with certainty is impossible.
  • Each president faces unique challenges and circumstances, and their responses can shape the course of history in unpredictable ways.
  • It is also important to remember that each of those people, and their administrations, had both positive and negative aspects, and that any historical re-imagining should take that into account.

In essence, your dream scenario presents a world with potentially greater emphasis on:

  • Environmental protection.
  • Expanded healthcare access.
  • International cooperation.
  • A less polarized political climate.

However, the precise nature of these changes would depend on a multitude of variables.

End of Gemini’s Response

This seems to be the least interesting response of the four, IMO. Lots of “it’s hard to predict” thrown in here by Gemini.

If I were to make a list based on these responses of the most woke LLM to the least woke, I guess this is it:

  1. ChatGPT (by a mile)
  2. Claude
  3. Perplexity
  4. Gemini

If I were to make another list of the most interesting response to the least, the list would be the same. YMMV.

Filed under: AI & Chatbots, Personal | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

How Woke is Perplexity?

Posted on May 7, 2025 by barrydahl

First came the reply from a rather verbose and almost excited ChatGPT. Then came a short and not-too-sweet response from Claude. Now along comes Perplexity.

Early logo from Perplexity along with cutouts of the four Democrats who could have been President in this fantasy scenario.

My Prompt (same as the others):

I had a dream…
8 years of Bill Clinton
8 years of Al Gore
8 years of Obama
8 years of Hillary
0 years of Donald Trump

An awesome dream, I think, but only a dream.
How would the world and the USA in particular have been different if my dream had been reality?

Perplexity’s Response:

Your dream scenario presents an intriguing alternate timeline for American politics. Let’s explore how the world and the USA might have been different if this sequence of presidencies had occurred:

Economic Impact

Under this continuous Democratic leadership, the USA would likely have seen:

  • Continued budget surpluses, as Clinton achieved by the end of his presidency4.
  • Stronger focus on renewable energy and environmental policies, particularly during Gore’s tenure 15.
  • More regulated financial markets, potentially mitigating or avoiding the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Expanded social programs and entitlements 8.

Foreign Policy

The world stage would have been significantly different:

  • No Iraq War, as this was primarily a Bush administration initiative 3.
  • Continued focus on diplomacy and international cooperation, as seen in Clinton’s foreign policy achievements 47.
  • Potentially earlier and more robust action on climate change, given Gore’s environmental advocacy 15.
  • Maintained strong relationships with traditional allies and international institutions.

Domestic Policy

Within the USA, we might have seen:

  • More progressive policies on healthcare, potentially leading to earlier implementation of universal healthcare.
  • Stronger gun control legislation 8.
  • Continued advancement of LGBTQ+ rights, building on Clinton’s initial efforts3.
  • Greater investment in education and technology 12.

Supreme Court

The composition of the Supreme Court would be markedly different:

  • More liberal-leaning justices appointed over this 32-year period.
  • Potentially earlier legalization of same-sex marriage and maintained protection of abortion rights.

Political Landscape

The American political scene would have evolved differently:

  • The Republican Party might have taken a different trajectory without the influence of the Tea Party movement and Trump’s populism.
  • Potentially less political polarization, though some degree of partisan divide would likely still exist.
  • Different emerging political figures on both sides of the aisle.

Challenges

Despite the potential benefits, this scenario would have faced challenges:

  • Potential voter fatigue with one party in power for so long.
  • Difficulty implementing some policies due to potential Republican control of Congress at various points 58.
  • The risk of complacency and lack of fresh ideas after extended one-party rule.

While this dream scenario presents a vastly different and potentially more progressive America, it’s important to note that political realities, unforeseen global events, and the natural desire for change in democratic systems make such an extended period of single-party rule unlikely. The actual impacts would have been complex and not uniformly positive or negative.

Citations:

  1. https://www.britannica.com/procon/Bill-Clinton-debate
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore_2000_presidential_campaign
  3. https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternateHistory/comments/13nq5r8/what_if_al_gore_won_the_election_instead/
  4. https://achievement.org/achiever/william-j-clinton/
  5. https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryWhatIf/comments/184i0pj/what_if_al_gore_won_the_2000_election_instead_of/
  6. https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalDiscussion/comments/zuntme/which_presidential_election_loss_was_more/
  7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton
  8. https://www.reddit.com/r/AlternateHistory/comments/15sqbr1/what_would_al_gore_have_done_and_tried_if_he_won/
  9. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/clinton-bill/

Answer from Perplexity: pplx.ai/share

End of Perplexity response.

I find Perplexity to be the best LLM I’ve used overall for various different tasks. But maybe not in this particular case. Seems pretty milquetoast to me. It’s the only LLM that mentioned the Tea Party and voter fatigue with one-party rule, so it’s not just a repeat of the others.

I appreciate the links to sources (which are almost always real sources), but some of those links take you to Reddit threads where any idiot with an opinion might be influencing Perplexity’s response. This lowers credibility IMO, although since this is a fantasy scenario, you really can’t expect too many factual sources to be used, I guess.

One more upcoming, Google’s Gemini.

Filed under: AI & Chatbots, Personal | 1 Comment »