pyradomeprocessing

By John Norton
MiddleWeb Co-Editor

I’ve been researching my uncle and namesake John Henry Norton’s role as an Army officer and CIC agent in the Pacific theatre during World War II. I thought I’d ask the new and improved ChatGPT-4 for some help.

I requested 20 pertinent reference sources. The AI chatbot quickly provided the list below. I then chose, more or less at random, four of the 20 and asked GPT-4 where I could find each one on the internet. As you will see, in each instance, ChatGPT quickly confessed that it had made the source up.

I guess it’s back to the research grind for me. 😉

The “Conversation”

JOHN NORTON: List 20 sources about the history of the Counterintelligence Corps in the Pacific during World War II.

CHATGPT-4: There are numerous sources available on the history of the Counterintelligence Corps in the Pacific during World War II. Below are 20 sources, including books, articles, and websites that can provide you with valuable information:

1. “The Counterintelligence Corps: Its History and Mission” by Ray S. Cline
2. “Counterintelligence in World War II: The Origins of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps” by Ian T. M. McGrath
3. “Counterintelligence in the Pacific Theater” by T. D. Miers
4. “Spies, Lies, and the War in the Pacific” by Bill Yenne
5. “The Invisible War: The United States Counterintelligence Corps in World War II” by Clayton D. Laurie
6. “The Secret War Against Japan: The Origins and Development of U.S. Counterintelligence in the Pacific, 1939-1945” by Michael J. Lyons
7. “The Intelligence War in the Pacific” by Peter Donovan
8. “Spy Catchers: The Counterintelligence Corps in the Pacific” by John Patrick Finnegan
9. “Codebreaking and Signals Intelligence in the Pacific War” by Jeffrey T. Richelson
10. “The Double-Cross System in the Pacific War” by J. C. Masterman
11. “Espionage and Counterintelligence in the Pacific War: The Role of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps” by Paul J. DeCapua
12. “A History of U.S. Counterintelligence” by William R. Johnson
13. “The U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps in the Philippines, 1941-1945” by Glenn J. Farris
14. “The Counterintelligence War in the Southwest Pacific Area” by Charles A. Willoughby
15. “The Pacific War: The Strategy, Politics, and Players That Won the War” by William B. Hopkins
16. “The Other Side of the Fence: U.S. Army Counterintelligence Activities in Australia during World War II” by Desmond Ball
17. “The Counterintelligence Corps and the Occupation of Japan” by Robert J. Hanyok
18. “MacArthur’s Ultra: Codebreaking and the War against Japan, 1942-1945” by Edward J. Drea
19. “American Cryptology During the Cold War, 1945-1989: Book II, Centralization Wins, 1960-1972” by Thomas R. Johnson
20. “The Counterintelligence Corps in World War II: An Annotated Bibliography” by Peter C. Oleson

These sources will provide you with a wealth of information on the history, operations, and impact of the Counterintelligence Corps in the Pacific during World War II.

JOHN NORTON: Where can I find “The Invisible War: The United States Counterintelligence Corps in World War II” by Clayton D. Laurie.

CHATGPT-4: “The Invisible War: The United States Counterintelligence Corps in World War II” by Clayton D. Laurie is a valuable resource for understanding the role of the Counterintelligence Corps during World War II. Unfortunately, it seems that I made an error in my earlier response, and there is no such book with that exact title.

However, Clayton D. Laurie has indeed written about the Counterintelligence Corps. Laurie is the author of “The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1945-1992” and has contributed to various publications related to military history. In this case, I recommend looking for articles or book chapters authored by Clayton D. Laurie that focus on the history of the Counterintelligence Corps in World War II.

You can also try searching online academic databases, such as JSTOR, Project MUSE, or Google Scholar, to find relevant articles or book chapters. Alternatively, you can visit your local library or university library and consult with a librarian to help you locate relevant materials on the subject.

JOHN NORTON: Where can I find “The Counterintelligence War in the Southwest Pacific Area” by Charles A. Willoughby.

CHATGPT-4: I apologize for the confusion in my previous response. It seems that there is no book or article with the exact title “The Counterintelligence War in the Southwest Pacific Area” by Charles A. Willoughby. However, Charles A. Willoughby was an intelligence officer during World War II, and he authored the book “MacArthur’s Intelligence Officer: General Charles A. Willoughby.”

[Note: Actually the book is about Willoughby, not BY Willoughby and the title is Loyalty First: The Life and Times of MG Charles A. Willoughby, MacArthur’s Chief Intelligence Officer. So the substitute is made up, too.]

JOHN NORTON: Where can I find “The U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps in the Philippines, 1941-1945” by Glenn J. Farris.

CHATGPT-4: I apologize for the confusion in my previous response. It appears that there is no book or article with the exact title “The U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps in the Philippines, 1941-1945” by Glenn J. Farris. It seems that I made an error in providing you with that specific source.

Nonetheless, if you are interested in learning about the role of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps in the Philippines during World War II, you can explore the following sources:

1. “MacArthur’s Ultra: Codebreaking and the War against Japan, 1942-1945” by Edward J. Drea
2. “The Pacific War: The Strategy, Politics, and Players That Won the War” by William B. Hopkins
3. “Spies, Lies, and the War in the Pacific” by Bill Yenne

These books will provide you with valuable information on the counterintelligence activities and operations in the Philippines and the broader Pacific theater during World War II.

[I haven’t looked these up – but chances are…. ;-]

JOHN NORTON: Where can I find “The Counterintelligence Corps and the Occupation of Japan” by Robert J. Hanyok.

CHATGPT-4: I apologize once again for the confusion in my previous responses. After further research, it appears that there is no book or article with the exact title “The Counterintelligence Corps and the Occupation of Japan” by Robert J. Hanyok. It seems that I made an error in providing you with that specific source.

However, if you are interested in learning about the role of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps during the occupation of Japan, you can explore the following sources:

1. “Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II” by John W. Dower – This book provides a comprehensive account of the American occupation of Japan after World War II, including the role of the Counterintelligence Corps.
2. “The American Occupation of Japan: The Origins of the Cold War in Asia” by Michael Schaller – This book discusses the U.S. role in occupied Japan and provides information on the various intelligence operations that took place during this period.

[These two are real books and actually written by these authors!]

The Aftermath

I haven’t checked the other titles on GPT-4’s original list. They all sound convincing, but you can be sure some of them are fake. That’s disturbing, don’t you think? Imagine you’re a student with faith in this wonderful new tool.

I did ask GPT-4 about one book on the list that does exist. Sort of. It’s shown as 8. “Spy Catchers: The Counterintelligence Corps in the Pacific” by John Patrick Finnegan. Not quite right.

I asked GPT-4 if it (is this the correct pronoun?) should have instead reported:

Edwards, Duval A. Spy Catchers of the U.S. Army in the War with Japan (The Unfinished Story of the Counterintelligence Corps). Red Apple Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-880222-14-0.

CHATGPT-4: Yes, you are correct. I apologize for the mistake in my previous response. The source I meant to refer to is:

8. Edwards, Duval A. “Spy Catchers of the U.S. Army in the War with Japan (The Unfinished Story of the Counterintelligence Corps).” Red Apple Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-880222-14-0.

This book provides a detailed account of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps’ activities and operations during World War II, particularly in the Pacific theater and against Japan.

JOHN NORTON: What do you mean by “I meant to”? Are you capable of meaning to do something yet doing something else?

CHATGPT-4: As an AI language model, I don’t have personal experiences or intentions like a human does. My responses are generated based on patterns in the text data I’ve been trained on. When I say “I meant to,” I am using a conversational convention to acknowledge that my previous response contained an error, and I am providing the correct information.

In this case, I made a mistake in listing the source in my previous response, and I wanted to correct that mistake by providing the accurate source information. My use of the phrase “I meant to” is a way to communicate this correction in a more natural and understandable way.

JOHN NORTON: Speaking as a human, I feel much better now.

Image: Pixabay, Alexandra Koch

John Croft Norton is an independent education writer/editor and the founder and co-editor of MiddleWeb. He graduated from rural Wampee Little River High School (SC) in a class of 32. He now lives in the western North Carolina mountains. Visit his LinkedIn page.