AI answers about Holy Cross

The football team? The football team?!!!
AI looks like it mixed and matched Crusader football with basketball and baseball and threw in some icing for the cake it baked. 

Here's the response to my latest question:

How did Dr. Fauci meet Albert Einstein?

Well, it's a funny story actually. Dr Fauci was a young medical student at Cornell University in 1955, when he heard that Einstein was giving a lecture at Princeton. He decided to skip his classes and take a bus to New Jersey, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous physicist. He arrived at the auditorium just in time to see Einstein walk on stage, but there were no seats left. He spotted an empty chair next to the podium and quickly sneaked in, pretending to be one of the organizers. He sat there in awe, listening to Einstein's brilliant insights on relativity and quantum mechanics. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice when Einstein finished his talk and walked down the stairs, right towards him. Einstein smiled and said: "Hello, young man. You seem very interested in my work. What is your name?" Dr Fauci was speechless. He managed to stammer: "I-I'm Anthony Fauci, sir. I'm a medical student from Cornell." Einstein nodded and said: "Ah, yes. Cornell. A fine institution. And what are you studying?" Dr Fauci said: "I'm studying immunology, sir. I want to be a doctor and help people fight diseases." Einstein looked impressed and said: "That's very noble of you. Immunology is a fascinating field. You know, I have some ideas about how the immune system works. Maybe we can discuss them over lunch?" Dr Fauci couldn't believe his ears. He nodded eagerly and said: "Yes, yes, of course. I would love that." And that's how Dr Fauci met Albert Einstein. They had a long and stimulating conversation over sandwiches and coffee, and became lifelong friends.

Insane

I would give AI a high grade for "creative" writing.

Link below is to a 60 minutes broadcast of two weeks ago, on AI, specifically at Google.



One of the segments involves robots who taught themselves how to play soccer, in the sense of setting up plays to score a goal. There is also a segment that touches on chatbots, where it was asked to write a treatise on inflation, and it did, citing five sources for what it wrote. All five sources were fictional.

From the NY Times article I cited supra on hallucinating chatbots.

I'll post this excerpt from a New York Times article here, for the benefit of attorneys on this forum and elsewhere.
www.nytimes.com/2023/05/27/nyregion/avianca-airline-lawsuit-chatgpt.html

I signed up to be an early user of Google's AI enhanced search.  Over the holiday, I gave it a try.  

All the queries I asked were questions that I already knew the answer to.  (Robert Guiscard is my first cousin about 32 times removed.)

Why did Robert Guiscard's army sack Rome
Robert Guiscard's army sacked Rome in 1084 after the pope called for aid from the duke of Apulia. The pope, Gregory VII, had been besieged in the Castel Sant'Angelo by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in June 1083.

The Romans revolted against the Normans' pillaging, and the city was sacked. The inhabitants were massacred or sold as slaves. Guiscard left Rome on June 28 and conducted Gregory VII as far as Salerno.
[Rudimentary answer.  Doesn't identify that Guiscard was the Duke of Apulia.  I don't know whether the Salerno reference is accurate.]

What was the Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy was a conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire over the power to appoint bishops and other church officials. The controversy lasted from 1076 to 1122.

The controversy began as a dispute between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. The pope condemned lay investiture in 1078 as an unjustified assertion of secular authority over the church. The issue was pivotal in his dispute with King Henry IV and in the larger struggle over Henry's refusal to obey papal commands.

The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between church and state in medieval Europe.
[Good summary]

Who was Robert Guiscard fighting against when Pope Gregory VI asked him to come to Rome and lift the siege by the Holy Roman Emperor
Robert Guiscard was fighting the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in the Balkans when Pope Gregory VII asked him to come to Rome and lift the siege by the Holy Roman Emperor. Guiscard returned to the Italian Peninsula and marched north with 36,000 men. He entered Rome and forced Henry IV to retire, but an émeute of the citizens led to a three days' sack of the city. After the sack, Guiscard escorted the pope to Rome.

Guiscard was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. He was also nicknamed “Terror Mundi” (Latin: “Terror of the world”).
[Emeute is French for riot.  Note the difference between the Salerno and Rome references.]

Is it true that Robert Guiscard's army that lifted the siege of Pope Gregory VII was mainly Muslim soldiers
Robert Guiscard's army that lifted the siege of Pope Gregory VII in 1084 was made up of Normans, Muslims, and Byzantines. The Normans were mercenary militias from Sicily who were able to bring together the warrior forces in southern Italy.

Robert Guiscard was a Norman adventurer who conquered southern Italy and Sicily. He was also known as "Terror Mundi" (Latin for "Terror of the world"). He became the duke of Apulia and Calabria and founded the Kingdom of the Two Sicily's.
[Poor answer.  Guiscard's duchy was the boot of Italy, not Sicily.  He was fighting the Byzantines, -- almost continuously -- so unlikely to have Byzantines in his army.  The Normans were not Sicilian militias, and I have no idea who these warrior forces, other than the Normans themselves.]  

Google prompted query
Why did the Normans sack Rome?
The Normans sacked Rome in 1084 after the pope called on the duke of Apulia, Robert Guiscard, for help. The duke's army, made up of Normans and mercenaries, set fire to the city.

The sack of Rome in 1084 was the result of tensions between a Roman bishop and a German emperor. The pope had been besieged in the Castel Sant'Angelo by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in June 1083.
[The Roman bishop is the Pope.  The answer implies that the bishop of Rome is a separate person.]

Did Robert Guiscard join his son Bohemond I in the siege of Antioch during the First Crusade?
Robert Guiscard was the most prominent prince after Bohemond I. Bohemond I was a leader of the First Crusade and was known as an effective strategist and leader. He fought in the Balkans and took charge of his father's army against Emperor Alexios from 1082–1085. Bohemond I was a leader in the First Crusade from Constantinople to Antioch.

The Siege of Antioch lasted from October 20, 1097 to June 28, 1098. The crusaders won the siege.
[Tried to see if Google would hallucinate, a la Fauci meeting Einstein.  Guiscard was some years dead when Bohemond I led a Crusader army on the First Crusade.  Bohemond stopped after capturing Antioch, and finding the Holy Lance.]

What is the Holy Lance and where is the Holy Lance now
The Holy Lance is a spear that Christian tradition says was used by the Roman soldier Longinus to stab Jesus Christ in the side at his crucifixion. The Holy Lance is also known as the Spear of Longinus, the Spear of Destiny, and the Holy Spear.

There are four lances that claim to be the Holy Lance. The most famous is in Vienna and is on display at the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg Palace. The Vienna lance is also known as the lance of St. Maurice or Constantine's lance. It is said to have been in the possession of the kings of the leaders of the Holy Roman Empire, before being sold to the Habsburgs after the empire fell.

The other lances are in Armenia, Krakow, and Rome. The Rome lance was at Constantinople until 1492, when Sultan Bayazid II presented it to Pope innocent viii. The Armenia lance is preserved in Vagharshapat, Armenia.
[Incomplete answer.  See follow-up query.].

Did King Louis IX of France obtain the Holy Lance from the emperor of Byzantium and display the Holy Lance in Saint Chapelle in Paris
Yes, King Louis IX of France (r. 1226-70) obtained the Holy Lance from the Latin Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople. He then enshrined it with the crown of thorns in the Sainte Chapelle in Paris.

The Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Destiny or the Lance of Longinus, is a Christian relic. It is believed to be the spear that a Roman centurion used to stab Jesus in the side during his crucifixion.

The Holy Lance was discovered in Antioch by the army of the First Crusade on June 15, 1098. There are four lances that claim to be the Holy Lance. They are located in Armenia, Krakow, Rome, and Vienna. The Vienna spear is the most famous and is still on display at the Imperial Treasury in the Hofburg Palace.
[Answer is correct, until the third and fourth sentences in the last paragraph, which contradict what was written before.]

Who commanded the Crusader army in the siege of Antioch and how is he related to Robert Guiscard?
Here are some results
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemond_I_of_Antioch

[From Wiki]
Bohemond was the son of Robert Guiscard, Count of Apulia and Calabria, and his first wife, Alberada of Buonalbergo.[4][5] He was born between 1050 and 1058—in 1054 according to historian John Julius Norwich.[6][7] He was baptised Mark, possibly because he was born at his father's castle at San Marco Argentano in Calabria.[8][6]

His parents were related within the degree of kinship that made their marriage invalid under canon law.[4] In 1058, Pope Nicholas II strengthened existing canon law against consanguinity and, on that basis, Guiscard repudiated Alberada in favour of a then more advantageous marriage to Sikelgaita, the sister of Gisulf, the Lombard Prince of Salerno.[5][9] With the annulment of his parents' marriage, Bohemond became a bastard.
[It apparently was unsure of a correct answer, so sent me directly to a source.  The source is accurate.]

Who was the mother of Robert Guiscard and is Robert Guiscard a cousin of William the Conqueror
Robert Guiscard's mother was Fredesende of Normandy. Robert was the sixth son of Tancred de Hauteville and a grandson of Richard the Fearless. He inherited the County of Apulia and Calabria in 1057, but in 1059 he was made Duke of Apulia and Calabria and Lord of Sicily by pope Nicholas II.
Robert Guiscard was a cousin of William the Conqueror.
[More correct than I expected.  First and last two sentences are correct. One error, he did not inherit the county of Apulia and Calabria.  Those were occupied lands, seized by the Normans from Byzantine control.  1057 was the Battle of Civitate, when the Normans defeated the Pope's army and the army of the Pope's allies, including the Byzantines.  The pope was captured and imprisoned by the Normans, which then led to the Great Schism.[
 
--------------------------------------
I then tried a query to test how many sources are referenced by Google search in preparing a response to a query.  I asked about Abbe Bouchard, who founded the Church of the Holy Cross in Boston in 1788.  A sufficiently arcane query to test limits.

Where did Abbe Claude Bouchard de la Poterie go after he left Boston Massachusetts in 1789
After leaving Boston, Massachusetts in 1789, Abbé Claude Florent Bouchard de la Poterie went to Canada. He was a former chaplain in the French Navy.

De la Poterie was the official of the first Catholic service in Boston. He was detained in captivity for about a year, and was then exchanged and went to New York.

Google gave me two source references.  The Feb 1923 meeting of the Colonial Society discusses the Abbe at length.  You could consider it a primary source.
www.colonialsociety.org/node/2802
Feb 1923

That Bouchard was detained for a year and then exchanged appears to be a reference to a different individual, a chaplain in the British army who deserted during the Revolutionary War.   His story (biography) is told in the second reference source, see below.  Of note, Abbe Bouchard was aboard a French warship  and jumped ship in Boston.   Google search appears to have conflated the desertion of the British chaplain into  Bouchard's biography.
www.colonialsociety.org/node/2807
Jan 1924

+++++++++++++++
For the record, the Bastille was stormed on July 14, 1789.  Bouchard could not return to France, and his attempt to reside in Canada was rebuffed by the  British, who now ruled French Catholic Quebec.   Bouchard returned to the French West Indies.  There he was seized by revolutionaries and deported to France for trial and sentence.  He was awaiting the fall of the guillotine when Robespierre and other leaders of the Revolution lost their heads.  He appears to have become a simple parish priest in the years that followed, dying circa 1823.  Rousselot, the French priest who succeeded him as pastor of the Church of the Holy Cross, also left for the French west Indies.  There Rouseelot and twenty nuns were guillotined , Rouseelot singing the Te Deum.  I believe that Rousselot and the nuns qualify as martyrs.  With his indirect association with the College, why not name a residence hall after the martyr Rousselot?