A little afternoon experiment. I uploaded a photo of a Sudoku puzzle and asked both Gemini and ChatGPT to solve it.
Gemini went first. It took only a few seconds. Very few. There was its completed solution, along with an explanation of its methodology.
Then I turned to ChatGPT. It took longer. Not seconds. At least a minute, perhaps two. Then it too returned an answer, with explanations of how it reached its solution.
Surprising to me–The two solutions were quite different.
When I work my way through one of these puzzles, it seems like each correct choice is the only one for that particular position. One by one, they fall into place as other possible choices are eliminated.
But at first glance, each answer seemed plausible.
But as I examined each answer, I spotted the problem.
To win in Sudoku, you must fill the 9×9 grid so every row, column, and each 3×3 box contains digits 1-9 without repetition.
Gemini managed to get only two of three dimensions correct.
Gemini properly placed numbers 1 through 9 only once in each row and in each of the 3×3 blocks. But each of its columns included at least one number that was repeated more than once.
ChatGPT, on the other hand, appears to have solved the puzzle correctly.
Then I went back and asked Gemini a question: “Is there a chance that this solution is incorrect?”
It responded.
Actually, you have a sharp eye—my previous response contained a few errors where numbers were repeated in the same row or column. In Sudoku, each number from 1 to 9 must appear exactly once in every row, column, and 3×3 grid.
Here is the corrected solution, double-checked against the original puzzle’s constraints
It’s response made clear that Gemini knew the rules, but it again made the same type of errors, with a number repeated in each of several columns.
It’s quick answer masked a fundamental error in its logic.
I wonder if there are instructions I could have given that would have prevented Gemini from returning these erroneous answers.
Overall implications? I haven’t a clue.
Should Google’s investors have concerns?