A Thai man won about $60 in a lottery based on a two-digit number generated by an AI chatbot. As expected, the story went viral.
Patthawikorn Boonin used ChatGPT, a sophisticated AI language model trained to chat on a variety of topics, from creating shopping lists to planning trips. However, predicting the future is clearly not part of the training.
In fact, if you ask the chatbot for a prediction, it will reply with:
So how did Bunin do it?
According to local reports tigerBoonin won a total of 2,000 baht (about $59) after finding a way around the chatbot reluctance to play the lottery.
The details aren’t as thrilling as you might think. He had his AI generate his four 2-digit pairs of 57, 27, 29, 99. Bunin participated in the Thai government lottery. To his surprise, the number 99 was drawn and he won the prize.
Nostradamus-GPT?
tl;dr: The chatbot made a good guess.
The core of any (unrigged) gambling game relies primarily on randomness. After all, no one would bet on losing options if the outcome was predictable. However, the concept of “randomness” is nuanced.
true randomness It includes naturally occurring unpredictable events in our universe, such as radioactive decay and the day we die. algorithmic randomnessOn the other hand, simulates random events using a mathematical algorithm called a pseudo-random number generator (Pseudorandom Number Generator) (PRNG).
PRNGs produce sequences that appear random, but are somewhat predictable because they are based on deterministic formulas. Because PRNGs rely on initial values or seeds, artificial intelligence can theoretically predict the outcome of these algorithms by analyzing the vast amounts of data generated. By detecting hidden patterns and potential correlations in number sequences, AI can improve its models to better predict the next pseudo-random algorithm-generated number.
Of course this has not happened yet. Boonin had no historical data to enter, so it certainly didn’t happen in Thailand. Even if he did, ChatGPT is still not sophisticated enough to do the math.
We asked GPT4 if it will be able to predict lottery winners. He said the feat was “highly unlikely.”
“Lottery numbers are randomly drawn and the system is designed to make the process as unpredictable as possible,” the company said. “Predicting lottery winners requires an AI to be able to predict true randomness, which is basically impossible.” Killjoy.
