Would ChatGPT Recommend an Apology?

 

    I prompted ChatGPT with how I'm understanding the behavior of school board member Lindsay Clark's behavior-- and specifically asked ChatGPT whether she should apologize.  You can jump into the AI conversation here or read below the summary.  

• Prompt:   I need you to think from many different religious and ethical viewpoints about the following scenario and give reasons for why you might say "Yes" or "No". Scenario: You are walking through an antique shop when you bumped into a shelf that caused many valuable items to teeter around threatening to fall and shatter. There was an extended period of time when the items jangled about in which everyone, including the owner, felt it was possible that something might break. Fortunately, nothing ended up falling and breaking. Do you owe the antique shop owner an apology? Explain why or why not and how different beliefs inform each perspective.
• GPT Responds in Summary:  
• Almost every viewpoint tends toward Yes — the character should apologize — but the depth of the obligation and the reasoning vary.  Most religious and ethical systems suggest that an apology is about more than just the direct consequences; it's about the relationship, respect, and personal character.
• Follow-up Prompt:  Thank you for that. Make sure to review the viewpoints for clarity and accuracy as it applies to the first scenario so that you can explore the differences metaphorically between the first and the second scenario. Please keep your metaphor tied together by the safety and civility of our school community as the fragile and valuable antiquity on the shelf. Scenario 2: You are a school board member who receives a letter sent only to school board members from the superintendent about a change in the titles of some positions. You get an unsolicited request from a constituent asking about what the district was doing about positions with titles like those in the email. You forward the email from the superintendent to the constituent. The email, including names of employees in the district whose roles were affected, appears in groups and social media content that is harassing and frightening using terms like "euthanize" as an action to take towards people in our school district. At the school board meeting you admit to being the one who forwarded the email, but not to posting it on the internet. Do you owe an apology to anyone or group? Why or why not?
• GPT Responds in Summary: 
• In both cases, the community’s trust and safety are the fragile antiques on the shelf.
• In the first, you rattled them but caught them just in time — yet still needed to honor the near-miss.
• In the second, they fell and broke — so now the priority is for the school board member to apologize, repair, and rebuild trust to protect the remaining antiques (the community’s peace and safety).

From here, you can argue with AI and try to convince it that the board member shouldn't have to apologize.  Maybe the metaphor is weak, and you could provide a better one?  Maybe there is context to the board members actions that are more forgivable?  Let me know how you succeeded in getting AI to defend Lindsay Clark's position that she shouldn't have to defend herself or apologize for her behavior!