AI knows everything, right? WRONG! We tested ChatGPT and Google Bard with a number of simple skating questions and found it spitting out all kinds of misinformation. Why? Because AI scrapes web pages for information, and there is an abundance of skate misinformation out there.. Here are some questions that we found AI giving out the wrong answers.

Q: What inline speed skates should I buy if I am a professional?

Bard’s Answer: If you are a professional inline speed skater, you will need a high-performance skate that can withstand the rigors of competition. Here are a few of the best options:

1) Powerslide Swell World Champion
2) Rollerblade Hydrogen
3) USD Carbon Pro

Why the answer is wrong: None of these skates are professional inline speed skates, and the USD carbon pro is not even a speed skate. der… ChatGPT’s answer was very ambiguous, saying it couldn’t tell you which product to buy but gave a much better response: “Consider reputable brands that are well-known for their inline speed skates. Brands like Powerslide, Bont, Luigino, and Rollerblade have a history of producing high-quality skates.”

Q: Which hardness roller skate wheels should I use for indoor and outdoor skating?

Bard’s Answer: For indoor skating, you will typically want softer wheels (around 78A-88A). These wheels will provide more grip and control on smooth surfaces like polished concrete or wood. For outdoor skating, you will typically want harder wheels (around 90A-98A). These wheels will be faster and more durable on rough surfaces like asphalt or concrete. 

Why the answer is wrong: Firstly, ChatGPT got this answer right. The answer above from Google Bard is totally wrong, as we all know that harder wheels are for indoor skating and softer wheels are for outdoor skating. On further investigation, Bard’s answer was from cora.org, which is an Amazon referral site. It’s pretty disappointing that Bard didn’t source more sites for this answer. If I used Google Bard to research this info, wanting outdoor wheels, and I went out and bought 98A wheels and used them to look cool skating by the beach, I would probably lose my teeth from the chattering!

Q: Which hardness wheels should I use for indoor and outdoor inline skating?

Bard’s answer: For indoor skating, you will want wheels with a hardness of 78A to 88A. These softer wheels will provide more grip and cushioning on smooth surfaces, such as rinks, basketball courts, and smooth concrete. For outdoor skating, you will want wheels with a hardness of 88A to 98A. These harder wheels will roll faster and be more durable on rough surfaces, such as asphalt, gravel, and dirt.

Why the answer is wrong: As with roller skates, Bard got the answer totally wrong, recommending soft wheels for indoors and hard wheels for outdoors. I asked Bard where it sourced its results, and one of the sites giving out bad info was slidingtiger.eu. It also used Amazon product reviews as a bad source of information. Funnily enough, under the question of ‘Where did you source this information?’ Bard replied, “I also used my own knowledge and experience as a skater to help me answer your question.” LOL, Bard used its own knowledge and experience as a skater?!?!

ChatGPT’s answer was a little better but still gave incorrect information stating that “Wheels in the range of 78A to 88A durometer are commonly used for indoor skating.“

Conclusion:

I conducted a number of different searches related to roller skating and inline skating. Many of the results were accurate, but when it came to product recommendations, all of the results were biased towards Amazon commission-based websites that were promoting skates that they could earn a commission on. The answers from ChatGPT were much more accurate than those from Google’s Bard. However, one positive aspect of using Bard is that you can ask it which websites it sourced its information from, and it will provide you with a reply. ChatGPT, on the other hand, will not do this.