I asked a ChatGPT clone to tell me stuff – How did it do?

I asked a ChatGPT clone called YouChat (available at You.com) to tell me some stuff and this is what it came back with. I have not edited any of the words that YouChat wrote me back; I have only removed the inline reference numbers where YouChat links out to web sources. At the bottom of the results, I show you what I asked it to tell me, and give my viewpoint.

('Robot at a Typewriter' Generated by Dream.AI)

AI Generated Content Follows…

The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. It is estimated to be around 13.8 billion years old and is expanding at an ever-increasing rate. It is believed to contain between 100 and 400 billion galaxies, each containing billions of stars. The universe is full of matter and the attractive force of gravity pulls all matter together. In addition to stars, galaxies contain interstellar gas and dust, which can form new stars and are essential for the formation and evolution of galaxies.

The galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems that are held together by gravity. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is estimated to contain between 100 and 400 billion stars. The Milky Way is classified as a spiral galaxy, meaning it has a relatively flat, rotating disk of stars with a central bulge of older stars. There are three main types of galaxies: elliptical, spiral, and irregular. In addition to stars, galaxies contain interstellar gas and dust, which can form new stars and are essential for the formation and evolution of galaxies.

The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. It formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with the majority of the remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The Solar System also contains smaller objects, called minor planets, dwarf planets, and comets, which orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits. The planets and other objects of the Solar System are divided into two main regions: the inner Solar System, which includes the four terrestrial planets, and the outer Solar System, which includes the four gas giants, as well as the icy dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies.

Planet Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only known planet in the universe to host life. It is the fifth-largest planet in the Solar System and is composed of many different layers that make up its atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Earth is home to a variety of plants and animals, and its environment is composed of complex ecosystems that are constantly changing. It is believed that the planet has been around for around four billion years, and has been home to many different forms of life over its long history.

…AI Generated Content ends.

What I asked it was the following four questions, separately and in order:

1. What is the Universe?
2. What is the Galaxy?
3. What is the Solar System?
4. What is the planet Earth?

Now if you were a young adult, and your homework was to read up on and write about the above four things, the AI has basically done your homework for you. All that's needed is a little editing to make the four responses tie up into a single narrative, and it could be submitted to the teacher for a decent grade.

YouChat is not even as powerful as ChatGPT, which at the time I'm writing this post, the owners of which, OpenAI, have just announced a $20 monthly fee for premium access as they are that confident that this is a watershed moment for AI writing. They may be right, but it is also maybe the end of school homework and very shortly, any sort of written content we consume.