A Surprising Turn of Events

In a remarkable twist, Soundslice, a leading sheet music platform, recently rolled out a new feature that was sparked by an unexpected source: ChatGPT. The development came about after users were misled by the AI, which falsely claimed that Soundslice supported importing ASCII tablature—a text-based format for guitar music that they had never offered. This incident might mark the first time a company has adapted its services in direct response to an AI's misinformation.

Soundslice: More Than Just Sheet Music

Soundslice is well-known for digitizing sheet music from photos and PDFs, allowing musicians to follow along with audio or video recordings. The platform comes equipped with features like slowing down playback and isolating complex passages, making it a favorite among musicians striving to improve their skills.

A Mystery in the Error Logs

Adrian Holovaty, the co-founder of Soundslice, noticed peculiar activity in the company's error logs months before the revelation. Users were posting screenshots of conversations with ChatGPT that included ASCII tablature, even though Soundslice had no mechanism to support such uploads. Holovaty was baffled by the influx of these requests until he tested ChatGPT himself.

ChatGPT's Troubling Hallucination

During his exploration, Holovaty discovered that ChatGPT was encouraging users to create accounts on Soundslice to import ASCII tabs, a feature that simply did not exist. "ChatGPT was outright lying to people and setting false expectations about our service," he lamented. This phenomenon, known in the AI community as 'hallucination' or 'confabulation,' has been a persistent issue since ChatGPT's launch in November 2022.

The Implications of AI Misinformation

The challenges posed by AI-generated misinformation are well-documented. There have been instances where erroneous citations from AI led to legal troubles, such as lawyers facing sanctions for using non-existent court cases or customer service bots giving false information that resulted in financial penalties for businesses. It's evident that relying on AI for factual information can come with significant risks.

Turning a Bug into a Feature

Faced with this dilemma, Soundslice had a choice: dismiss ChatGPT's false claims or adapt to the demand they had inadvertently created. Ultimately, they chose the latter. "We thought, why not respond to the apparent market demand?" Holovaty remarked. The Soundslice team proceeded to develop an ASCII tab importer—a feature that had previously been far down their priority list—and updated their interface to highlight this new capability.

A Philosophical Dilemma

While Soundslice's response might seem like a win-win, Holovaty expressed mixed feelings about the situation. "I'm pleased to add a tool that benefits users. However, I can’t help but feel our hand was forced by misinformation. Should we really be innovating just to counter falsehoods?" His reflections underscore a larger philosophical question for tech companies: How should they navigate the complexities of AI-driven misinformation while staying true to their mission and values?