Deepseek - Deep Disaster

These AI systems are absolutely unreliable, don't listen to the hype!

The Web is awash with praises for the Chinese AI system called DeepSeek. It is said to be much more efficient than its Western counterparts, so that it can be offered for free to users. It is a nice AI, and the fact that it is free is a big plus. But someone hyped it for some purpose that’s unclear right now. You should be careful with it. It can make an egregious mess.

As a test, I asked to a few AIs, Deepseek, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude to calculate the solar irradiation during the Mesozoic. Claude had no problems, but the others, o my….

Here is Deepseek, by far the worse.

(Deepseek) Can you calculate the solar irradiation on planet Earth at the beginning and at the end of the Mesozoic era compared to the present value?

Certainly! To calculate the solar irradiation at the beginning and end of the Mesozoic era compared to the present value, we need to consider the evolution of the Sun's luminosity over time. The Sun's luminosity has been gradually increasing since its formation due to changes in its internal structure and composition.

Key Points:

1. Present Solar Irradiance: The current solar irradiance at Earth's distance (1 astronomical unit, AU) is approximately 1361 W/m² (the solar constant).

2. Sun's Luminosity Evolution: The Sun's luminosity increases over time. A commonly used approximation for the Sun's luminosity L(t)L(t) at a time tt in the past (measured in billions of years ago, Gya) is:

L(t)=L0(1+0.4(1−t4.6))L(t)=L0(1+0.4(1−4.6t​)) where: * L0L0​ is the present luminosity of the Sun (1 L0L0​), * tt is the time in Gya (billions of years ago), * 4.6 Gya is the approximate age of the Sun.

3. Mesozoic Era: The Mesozoic era spanned from approximately 252 million years ago (Ma) to 66 Ma. We will calculate the solar irradiance at the beginning (252 Ma) and end (66 Ma) of the Mesozoic era.

Calculations:

1. Solar Irradiance at the Beginning of the Mesozoic Era (252 Ma):

* Time in the past: t=0.252t=0.252 Gya.

* Luminosity at 252 Ma: L(0.252)=L0(1+0.4(1−0.2524.6))L(0.252)=L0​(1+0.4(1−4.60.252​))L(0.252)=L0(1+0.4(1−0.0548))L(0.252)=L0​(1+0.4(1−0.0548))L(0.252)=L0(1+0.4×0.9452)L(0.252)=L0​(1+0.4×0.9452)L(0.252)=L0(1+0.3781)L(0.252)=L0​(1+0.3781)L(0.252)=1.3781 L0L(0.252)=1.3781L0​

* Solar irradiance at 252 Ma: Irradiance=1361 W/m²×1.37811=1875 W/m²Irradiance=1361W/m²×11.3781​=1875W/m² 2.

Solar Irradiance at the End of the Mesozoic Era (66 Ma): * Time in the past: t=0.066t=0.066 Gya. * Luminosity at 66 Ma: L(0.066)=L0(1+0.4(1−0.0664.6))L(0.066)=L0​(1+0.4(1−4.60.066​))L(0.066)=L0(1+0.4(1−0.0143))L(0.066)=L0​(1+0.4(1−0.0143))L(0.066)=L0(1+0.4×0.9857)L(0.066)=L0​(1+0.4×0.9857)L(0.066)=L0(1+0.3943)L(0.066)=L0​(1+0.3943)L(0.066)=1.3943 L0L(0.066)=1.3943L0​ * Solar irradiance at 66 Ma: Irradiance=1361 W/m²×1.39431=1897 W/m²Irradiance=1361W/m²×11.3943​=1897W/m²

3. Present Solar Irradiance: *

Present solar irradiance: 1361 W/m².

Summary:

* Beginning of the Mesozoic Era (252 Ma): Solar irradiance was approximately 1875 W/m².

* End of the Mesozoic Era (66 Ma): Solar irradiance was approximately 1897 W/m².

* Present Day: Solar irradiance is 1361 W/m².

Comparison: * The solar irradiance at the beginning and end of the Mesozoic era was significantly higher (about 38-39% higher) than the present value due to the Sun's increasing luminosity over time. Let me know if you'd like further clarification!

Poor Deepseek, what a huge mess! I fed the data to Claude, who was amused.

_________________________________________________________________________

Oh my... this is even worse than Perplexity! Let me point out the catastrophic errors in this response:

1. They've completely misunderstood the direction of time and solar evolution. They claim the Sun was MORE luminous in the past, which is exactly backwards! The Sun gets MORE luminous over time, not less.

2. They've used a formula that appears sophisticated but is completely inappropriate for this calculation. The simple fact is that solar luminosity increases by ~1% per 100 million years.

3. Their calculated values are absurd:

   • They claim 1875 W/m² for early Mesozoic (correct value: ~1327 W/m²)

   • They claim 1897 W/m² for late Mesozoic (correct value: ~1351 W/m²)

4. They conclude the Sun was 38-39% more luminous in the Mesozoic, when in reality it was about 2.5% LESS luminous at the start of the Mesozoic and 0.7% LESS luminous at the end.

This is a perfect example of how an AI can use impressive-looking mathematics and precise calculations to arrive at completely wrong conclusions. The fundamental error of thinking the Sun was brighter in the past rather than dimmer is particularly concerning, as it shows a complete misunderstanding of stellar evolution.

________________________________________

I was a little surprised since Claude is not supposed to be for scientific calculations. But even Perplexity, supposed to be good for this kind of task, got it completely wrong. Claude, instead, got it perfectly well at the first attempt. By far, the best of the lot. We learn as we go!

Note added after publication: I carried out a more extensive evaluation of “Deepseek” and other AIs on my “Seneca Effect” blog. Facing a question that didn’t involve mathematical calculation, Deepseek did much better than Claude and almost as well as ChatGPT. Things keep moving in this field!