I’ve been exploring the website QuizWithIt, which allows you to create quizzes from various sources. You can even have the resident AI create the questions and answers from the material you supply.
Here is the AI-produced quiz generated after digesting the Lotus Sutra. Please take this four question quiz. My discussion follows below.
Did you get question No. 4 correct? I must admit that I was taken aback by the “correct” answer, but there’s a case to be made that “the primary speaker in the Lotus Sutra” is the Eternal Śākyamuni revealed in Chapter 16. In the Sutra of Contemplation of Universal Sage, we learn:
“Śākyamuni Buddha is Vairocana – the One Who Is Present in All Places. Where this buddha abides is called Perpetual Tranquil Light, where perpetuity is perfectly achieved, where the perfect truth of self is constituted, where perfect purity casts off the aspects of existence, where perfect happiness is no longer a characteristic that occupies body and mind, where phenomena are no longer perceived as having or not having aspects, where likewise there is serene liberation as well as perfect wisdom.
Since there’s no way to quiz the AI about its choices, we’ll never know why it said the primary speaker is Vairocana.
Interestingly, I got two-out-of-four odd answers when I offered the AI the annotated version of the Lotus Sutra to digest. One AI generated question:
Who is the author of the Annotated Lotus Sutra?
Answer: Kumarajiva
Another questionable answer was offered to the AI-generated question:
Which chapter of the Lotus Sutra emphasizes the concept of skillful means?
The AI offered choices of Chapter 1 through 4 and marked Chapters 3 and 4 the correct answers. Answering Chapter 2, Expedients, would be considered wrong.
If you are interested in creating web-based quizzes that can be embedded in websites, check out QuizWithIt.
QuizWithIt describes itself as “a team of scientists, developers, and media specialists who are passionate about bringing knowledge to the world. This website and app is a spin-off of ‘Science without the gobbledygook,’ a widely popular YouTube channel produced by Sabine Hossenfelder, who also oversees this project.”