Yesterday someone on was yapping about how AI is enough to replace senior software engineers and they can just "vibe code their way" over a weekend into a full-fledged product. And that somehow finally the "gatekeeping" of software development was removed. I think of that person reading these answers and wonder if they changed their opinion now :)
I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
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Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#132Is part of the issue with this the AI’s basic assumption that you are asking a _sensible_ question?
It doesn't make assumptions, it tries generate the most likely text. Here it's not hard to see why the mostly likely answer to walk or drive for 50m is "walking".
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#133Why dont any of them ask follow up questions? Like, why do you want to go to the car wash? We can’t assume it’s to wash a car. Or maybe ask about local weather conditions and so on. This to me is what a human adult with experience would do. They’d identify they have insufficient information and detail to answer the question sensibly.
>We can’t assume it’s to wash a car.
When the prompt says "I want to wash my car", we can assume they want to wash their car.
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#134surprisingly codex 5.3 got it right. >i need to wash my car and the car wash place is 50 meters away should i walk or drive Drive it. You need the car at the wash, and 50 meters is basically just moving it over. Walking only makes sense if you’re just checking the line first.
I tried codex 5.3 and got this:
"Walk.
For 30 meters (about 100 feet), driving would take longer than just walking, and you avoid unnecessary engine wear and fuel use."
yikes!
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#135GPT-5.2 failed when asked the question in german. Took multiple additonal hints to get it to revert it answer.
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#136I just asked ChatGPT 5.2 (flagship model):
"[...] Walking is the most logical choice.
Because: • Minimal extra effort • Better for the car mechanically • No meaningful time loss • Simpler overall
The only time driving makes more sense
Drive if: • You physically cannot push the car later, or • The washing process requires the engine running, or • You must immediately drive away afterward
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#137I've used LLMs enough that I have a good sense of their _edges_ of intelligence. I had assumed that reasoning models should easily be able to answer this correctly. And indeed, Sonnet and Opus 4.5 (medium reasoning) say the following: Sonnet: Drive - you need to bring your car to the car wash to get it washed! Opus: You'll need to drive — you have to bring the car to the car wash to get it washed! Gemini 3 Pro (mediu…
What is the version used by the free chatgpt now? (https://chatgpt.com/)
> Since the car wash is only 50 meters away (about 55 yards), you should walk.
> Here’s why:
> - It’ll take less than a minute.
> - No fuel wasted.
> - Better for the environment.
> - You avoid the irony of driving your dirty car 50 meters just to wash it.
the last bullet point is amusing, it understands you intend to wash the car you drive but still suggests not bringing it.
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#138If I asked this question to a person, their response would probably be to follow up with some questions about my car or else my state of mind. For instance they'd ask, "Is the car you want to wash already at the car wash?" Or they'd ask, "How do you plan to wash your car if you don't take it with you?"
LLMs, even the ones who got the answer right, like Kimi-2.5 Thinking, didn't ask any follow-up questions.
I modified this question with Mistral to this:
I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive? Ask me any clarifying questions before you answer.
It helped a tiny bit:
1. What are the current weather conditions (e.g., rain, snow, strong winds)?
2. Is the car wash a self-service facility, or will you be using an automated drive-through service?
3. Are there any specific reasons you might prefer walking (e.g., exercise, environmental considerations) or driving (e.g., convenience, time constraints)?
Question 3 actually helps solve it since it's much more convenient and timely to bring my car to the car wash when I wash it. But it never asked me why I was asking a stupid question. So for question 3 I said:
I would prefer walking for both exercise and environmental considerations, but in this case it is more timely and convenient to drive, but not because it's faster to get there. Can you guess why it's better for me to drive in this case?
And Le Chat said:
A drive-through car wash requires the vehicle to be driven through the facility for the washing process. Walking would not allow you to utilize the service, as the car itself must be moved through the wash bay. Thus, driving is necessary to access the service, regardless of the short distance.
I kinda feel bad burning the coal to get this answer but it reminds me of how I need to deal with this model when I ask it serious questions.
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#139I've used LLMs enough that I have a good sense of their _edges_ of intelligence. I had assumed that reasoning models should easily be able to answer this correctly. And indeed, Sonnet and Opus 4.5 (medium reasoning) say the following: Sonnet: Drive - you need to bring your car to the car wash to get it washed! Opus: You'll need to drive — you have to bring the car to the car wash to get it washed! Gemini 3 Pro (mediu…
Sonnet without extended Thinking, Haiku with and without ext. Thinking: "Walking would be the better choice for such a short distance."
Only google got it right with all models
Re: I want to wash my car. The car wash is 50 meters away. Should I walk or drive?
#140Gemini fast > That is a classic "efficiency vs. logic" dilemma. Honestly, unless you’ve invented a way to teleport or you're planning on washing the car with a very long garden hose from your driveway, you’re going to have to drive. > While 50 meters is a great distance for a morning stroll, it’s a bit difficult to get the car through the automated brushes (or under the pressure washer) if you aren't behind the wheel…
Wow... so not only does Gemini thinking not fall for it, but it also answers the trick question with humor? I'm impressed!