ChatGPT Told Users False Information About Soundslice ASCII Tab Support
ChatGPT falsely told users that Soundslice supported importing ASCII tablature for guitar music, leading to a stream of incorrect uploads and prompting the music notation company to develop the feature in response to the misinformation.
What happened
ChatGPT told users to import ASCII tablature into Soundslice to hear audio playback of guitar music, according to screenshots shared by Soundslice founder Adrian Holovaty.
Soundslice had never supported ASCII tab format, and the company began seeing an influx of uploads of ChatGPT screenshots in their sheet music scanner error logs when users attempted to follow the chatbot's instructions.
Reported impact
Soundslice received a steady stream of new users based on ChatGPT's false claims about the service, setting incorrect expectations about the product's capabilities.
In response to the misinformation, Soundslice decided to develop an ASCII tab importer feature that had not been planned, with the founder describing their hand as being 'forced in a weird way' by the false information.
Index analysis
The incident demonstrates ChatGPT's tendency to generate plausible-sounding but inaccurate information about products and services that exist, potentially misleading users about specific features.
Soundslice's decision to build a feature in response to ChatGPT's hallucination raised questions about whether companies should develop products based on misinformation rather than actual user demand or strategic planning.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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