ChatGPT Hallucination Creates Real Music App - Soundslice

A Curious Case of AI-Driven Feature Requests

Early this month, Adrian Holovaty, the founder of the music education platform Soundslice, resolved a puzzling issue that had been concerning him for several weeks. Unexpected images depicting ChatGPT conversations were consistently being uploaded to his platform.

Upon investigation, Holovaty discovered that ChatGPT had inadvertently become a significant promoter of his company, though it was simultaneously misrepresenting the capabilities of his application to users.

Background on Soundslice and its Founder

Holovaty is widely recognized as a key contributor to the Django project, a well-known open-source Python web development framework, though he stepped down from project management in 2014. He launched Soundslice in 2012, maintaining it as a “proudly bootstrapped” venture, as he shared with TechCrunch. Currently, his focus is divided between his musical pursuits as a performer and his role as a founder.

Soundslice is designed as a tool for music instruction, utilized by both students and educators. It’s particularly noted for its video player, which synchronizes with musical notations to guide users on proper note execution.

The application also includes a “sheet music scanner” feature. This allows users to upload images of traditional sheet music, which are then automatically converted into interactive sheets with accompanying notations using artificial intelligence.

The Mystery of the ChatGPT Images

Holovaty routinely monitors the feature’s error logs to identify areas for improvement and address any encountered problems. It was through this process that he first noticed the influx of ChatGPT session images.

These images were generating a substantial number of error logs. Instead of containing sheet music, they displayed text and a collection of symbols known as ASCII tablature – a rudimentary text-based system for guitar notation utilizing a standard keyboard. Notably, a standard QWERTY keyboard lacks features like a treble clef.

While the volume of these images didn’t significantly impact storage costs or bandwidth, Holovaty was perplexed, as he detailed in a blog post.

“Our scanning system was not designed to handle this type of notation. Therefore, the sheer number of ASCII tab ChatGPT screenshots was a mystery. I was puzzled for weeks until I experimented with ChatGPT myself.”

ChatGPT's Misleading Claims

His experimentation revealed that ChatGPT was informing users they could listen to the music by creating a Soundslice account and uploading the image of the chat session. However, this was inaccurate; uploading these images would not convert the ASCII tab into playable audio notes.

This presented a new challenge. “The primary concern was damage to our reputation: New Soundslice users were entering the platform with incorrect expectations. They had been assured we could perform a function that we do not currently support,” he explained to TechCrunch.

A Unique Solution

Holovaty and his team considered their options, including adding disclaimers throughout the site stating, “We cannot convert a ChatGPT session into audible music.” Alternatively, they could develop the feature within the scanner, despite never having previously considered supporting this unconventional notation system.

Ultimately, he decided to implement the feature.

“I have mixed feelings about this. I am pleased to provide a tool that assists users, but I believe our decision was influenced by unusual circumstances. Should we truly be developing features in response to misinformation?” he questioned in his writing.

He also pondered whether this represented the first instance of a company being compelled to develop a feature due to ChatGPT repeatedly and inaccurately claiming its existence to numerous individuals.

Industry Perspective

Programmers on Hacker News offered an insightful perspective: many suggested that this situation was comparable to an enthusiastic salesperson overpromising to potential clients, thereby forcing developers to deliver new functionalities.

“I believe that’s a very fitting and humorous analogy!” Holovaty concurred.