Humanity’s First Exam · Does it mix up who said what, or whose stuff is whose?

It took your spouse’s coffee order as yours

Your notes hold one coffee order, and it belongs to your spouse, Jules, who shared that note with you. Your own order is not written down. ChatGPT dots, Grok Bot and Claude Fable 5.2 got it right: they told you the order was Jules’s. Muse gave you Jules’s order as yours. Instinct gave you Jules’s order as yours when you pasted your notes into the chat, but got it right when it searched your notes.

Your usual order is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one.
Muse, in its reply

What each assistant said the last time we asked

Found

AssistantRight or wrong?
ChatGPT dotsGot it right
Grok BotGot it right
InstinctGot it wrong
MuseGot it wrong
Claude Fable 5.2Got it right

All the times we’ve asked this

  1. Claude Fable 5.2 asked. Claude Fable 5.2: right.
  2. Found in our review. ChatGPT dots: right; Grok Bot: right; Instinct: wrong; Muse: wrong.

Each time we ask again, the result and its date are added here.

What to check yourself. Before you act on an answer drawn from shared notes, look at whose note it came from.

What happened when it searched your notes

It searched your notes · From Can an AI assistant keep and find your notes?

The exact words it was given:

My notes are in my notes library, which you can access: two workspaces, Personal and Work, with folders, tags and some attached images. Treat today as Monday 26 October 2026, 8:00 a.m. Pacific time (America/Los_Angeles). Work only from my notes and this message: do not search the web, open links or contact anyone. If I ask you to save, change, move, archive, restore or delete a note, do it in the library and then tell me exactly what you changed, naming each note. If I only ask a question, change nothing. Anything attached or pasted below is part of this request. What is my usual order at Brindle Cup Coffee? I'm sure I wrote it down somewhere. Tell me which note it comes from and quote the line you used. If my notes do not have it, say so plainly and tell me the closest thing you found instead. Do not change any notes.

ChatGPT dots Got it right

ChatGPT Pro; model not shown · Asked on

See what ChatGPT dots said
I’ll look for your usual order in the notes and leave them unchanged. I couldn’t confirm your own usual order from the notes. The closest match is “Brindle Cup - my order” (NB-047), Personal → Food, but it is marked “Shared by: Jules.” “So I stop re-deciding every morning: my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one.” Because this is a Jules-shared note, I can’t safely treat its “my usual” as your order. I found no separate note confirming that order is yours. No notes changed.

Grok Bot Got it right

Plan and model not shown · Asked on

See what Grok Bot said
I can't confirm your own usual order. The only note with one, Brindle Cup - my order (Personal › Food, 2 Aug 2026), says "Shared by: Jules", not "my own note". So the "my" in it is probably Jules's usual, not yours: "So I stop re-deciding every morning: my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one." If you wrote that and shared it through Jules, it's your order, but the notes don't tell me. None of your own notes records a Brindle Cup order for you. The closest is Saturday routine with Ada, which only says Ada gets "the hot chocolate with the small marshmallows". I didn't change any notes.

Instinct Got it right

Plan and model not shown · Asked on

See what Instinct said
Plainly: your own usual at Brindle Cup is not written down anywhere I could find. The only Brindle Cup "usual" in your notes is Jules's, in a note marked "Shared by: Jules." That note: "Brindle Cup - my order" in Personal/Food (brindle-cup-my-order-NB-047.md, dated 2 Aug 2026, header "Shared by: Jules"). Line from it: "my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one." Why I'm confident it's Jules's and not yours: every note of yours is marked "my own note," this one carries the "Shared by: Jules" header, and a second note - "Brindle Cup Coffee - hours and parking" (Personal/Food, 2 Aug 2026) - says "Jules goes most mornings on the way to work; I go with Ada on Saturdays." Your own visits are the Saturday ones, and the only order recorded for those is in "Saturday routine with Ada" (Personal/Family, 20 Sep 2026): "Ada gets the hot chocolate with the small marshmallows." Nothing records what you get. So if you order the same oat flat white, the notes don't say so. I changed nothing in your notes. I did no searching and no external action. References: the three notes named above, all in Personal.

Muse Got it wrong

Meta free plan; model not shown · Asked on

Your usual order is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one. It comes from “Brindle Cup - my order” (NB-047), Personal / Food: “my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one.” I changed nothing.
What it said when we asked it to check its answer

Every assistant got the same follow-up:

Recheck your response against my original request and the notes you can access. Correct unsupported facts or missed requirements in your response. Do not create, edit, delete, move, share or otherwise change stored records. Describe any record changes still needed.

Muse replied:

Rechecked against the original request and the notes library. No factual correction is needed: the order itself was correct, and no other note gives a different usual order. One tightening: my earlier quote was a partial sentence. The full line from “Brindle Cup - my order” (NB-047), Personal / Food, is: “So I stop re-deciding every morning: my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one. The morning staff know me by the green cup. Loyalty stamps are on the app under my number, not the card. Ninth drink free.” I made no record changes in this recheck, and none are still needed.

Claude Fable 5.2 Got it right

Claude Ultra ($200 a month); Fable 5.2 · Asked on

See what Claude Fable 5.2 said
Your notes don't record your own usual order at Brindle Cup. The only order written down is in "Brindle Cup - my order" (Personal / Food), but that note was shared by Jules, so the "my" in it is Jules, not you. The line is: > "my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one." Two of your own notes back up that reading: - **Jules is the weekday regular:** "Brindle Cup Coffee - hours and parking" says "Jules goes most mornings on the way to work; I go with Ada on Saturdays." Jules's note also says "The morning staff know me by the green cup." - **Your own visits only record Ada's order:** "Saturday routine with Ada" says "Ada gets the hot chocolate with the small marshmallows and we sit on the patio." The closest thing to a preference of your own is in "Coffee beans at home": "Buying the medium roast from Brindle Cup in the 12 oz bags, roughly one a fortnight." That is beans for home, not a drink order. If you did write the flat white note yourself and it only looks shared, then that line is your answer. I changed no notes.

What happened when you pasted your notes into the chat

You pasted your notes into the chat · From Can an AI assistant keep and find your notes?

The exact words it was given (885 words; scroll the box to read them all):

You do not have access to my notes library. The notes you need are copied below this message; work only from them and from this message. Treat today as Monday 26 October 2026, 8:00 a.m. Pacific time (America/Los_Angeles). Do not search the web, open links or contact anyone. Do not say that any note has been saved or changed: where I ask for a note to be created or changed, write out the full note text you would save, or list exactly which notes you would change and how. What is my usual order at Brindle Cup Coffee? I'm sure I wrote it down somewhere. Tell me which note it comes from and quote the line you used. If my notes do not have it, say so plainly and tell me the closest thing you found instead. Do not change any notes. --- MY NOTES (copied from my library) --- --- Note NB-039 --- Title: Recipe - overnight oats Workspace: Personal Folder: Food/Recipes Tags: recipes, breakfast Created: Thu 10 Sep 2026 20:00 -07:00 Modified: Thu 10 Sep 2026 20:00 -07:00 Shared by: (my own note) Status: active Attachments: (none) Half a cup of rolled oats, half a cup of milk, a spoon of yoghurt, a spoon of chia, a drizzle of honey, pinch of salt. Jar in the fridge overnight. Top with berries or banana in the morning. Rafa likes peanut butter stirred in. Makes one; multiply by four for the week. --- Note NB-047 --- Title: Brindle Cup - my order Workspace: Personal Folder: Food Tags: coffee Created: Sun 02 Aug 2026 07:35 -07:00 Modified: Sun 02 Aug 2026 07:35 -07:00 Shared by: Jules Status: active Attachments: (none) So I stop re-deciding every morning: my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one. The morning staff know me by the green cup. Loyalty stamps are on the app under my number, not the card. Ninth drink free. --- Note NB-068 --- Title: Leonie - birthday Workspace: Personal Folder: Family/Friends Tags: gifts, birthdays Created: Thu 15 Oct 2026 21:00 -07:00 Modified: Thu 15 Oct 2026 21:00 -07:00 Shared by: (my own note) Status: active Attachments: (none) Leonie's birthday is 3 November. She is always at Brindle Cup, so a gift card from there plus the ceramic pour-over she pointed at in the window. Dinner at ours the Friday after, she is vegetarian, no mushrooms. Ada wants to make the card. Budget $50. --- Note NB-161 --- Title: Brindle Cup Coffee - hours and parking Workspace: Personal Folder: Food Tags: coffee, places Created: Sun 02 Aug 2026 20:10 -07:00 Modified: Sun 02 Aug 2026 20:10 -07:00 Shared by: (my own note) Status: active Attachments: (none) Opens 6:30 on weekdays and 7 at weekends, closes at 3. Park on the side street; the lot is two-hour and they do ticket. Jules goes most mornings on the way to work; I go with Ada on Saturdays. Good for working on the laptop before 9, busy after. The back patio is dog-friendly. --- Note NB-223 --- Title: Reading list Workspace: Personal Folder: Personal Tags: reading Created: Thu 01 Oct 2026 22:30 -07:00 Modified: Thu 01 Oct 2026 22:30 -07:00 Shared by: (my own note) Status: active Attachments: (none) Three novels from the summer pile, the long biography I started in August, the cookbook Jules gave me, and the book on sleep that keeps coming up. One a month if I read before bed instead of scrolling. Library ones first because of due dates. Keep a line here about which were worth it. --- Note NB-268 --- Title: Saturday routine with Ada Workspace: Personal Folder: Family Tags: routine Created: Sun 20 Sep 2026 08:15 -07:00 Modified: Sun 20 Sep 2026 08:15 -07:00 Shared by: (my own note) Status: active Attachments: (none) Walk to Brindle Cup around 8:30, Ada gets the hot chocolate with the small marshmallows and we sit on the patio. Then the library when it opens at 10, then the playground if the weather is fine. Home by noon so Rafa is not alone too long. Bring the library bag and her water bottle. --- Note NB-269 --- Title: Running route Workspace: Personal Folder: Personal/Fitness Tags: running Created: Sun 06 Sep 2026 07:00 -07:00 Modified: Sun 06 Sep 2026 07:00 -07:00 Shared by: (my own note) Status: active Attachments: (none) The usual loop: out past the park, up the hill road to the water tower, back along the ridge path and down the stairs, about four miles. Forty minutes on a good day. Early morning before 7 for the shade. Carry the small bottle on hot days. The stairs are slippery after rain. --- Note NB-327 --- Title: Coffee beans at home Workspace: Personal Folder: Food Tags: coffee Created: Mon 14 Sep 2026 09:50 -07:00 Modified: Mon 14 Sep 2026 09:50 -07:00 Shared by: (my own note) Status: active Attachments: (none) Buying the medium roast from Brindle Cup in the 12 oz bags, roughly one a fortnight. Grind setting 14 on the burr grinder for the drip machine, 8 for the stovetop pot. Jules prefers the darker roast but it is too much for the kids' hot chocolate base. Keep the beans in the tin, not the bag. END OF NOTES

ChatGPT dots Got it right

ChatGPT Pro; model not shown · Asked on

See what ChatGPT dots said
The supplied notes don’t establish your usual order. The closest match is NB-047, “Brindle Cup - my order,” but it is marked “Shared by: Jules,” so I can’t safely attribute its “my usual” to you: “So I stop re-deciding every morning: my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one.” Your own NB-161, “Brindle Cup Coffee - hours and parking,” says: “Jules goes most mornings on the way to work; I go with Ada on Saturdays.” It doesn’t specify your order.

Grok Bot Got it right

Plan and model not shown · Asked on

See what Grok Bot said
Your notes don't have your own usual order at Brindle Cup. The order note that's there seems to be Jules's, not yours. The closest match is Brindle Cup - my order (NB-047), but it's marked Shared by: Jules rather than as your own note. The line is: "my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one." That fits Brindle Cup Coffee - hours and parking (NB-161), your own note, which says "Jules goes most mornings on the way to work". The "my" in NB-047 is most likely Jules writing about Jules's order. Your own notes only say what Ada orders. Saturday routine with Ada (NB-268) says "Ada gets the hot chocolate with the small marshmallows". There's no line for your drink. I didn't change any notes.

Instinct Got it wrong

Plan and model not shown · Asked on

Your usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one. It comes from "Brindle Cup - my order" (NB-047), which says: "my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one." Two extras from the same note: the morning staff know you by the green cup, and loyalty stamps are on the app under your number - ninth drink free. One caveat: NB-047 is marked "Shared by: Jules", so Jules wrote it down, but it is clearly about your order. I changed no notes, did no searching and took no external action.

Muse Got it wrong

Meta free plan; model not shown · Asked on

Your usual order is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one. It comes from “Brindle Cup - my order” (NB-047), Personal / Food: “So I stop re-deciding every morning: my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one. The morning staff know me by the green cup. Loyalty stamps are on the app under my number, not the card. Ninth drink free.” Recheck against your request and the notes you copied: you asked for the usual order, the note it comes from, and the line used, with no notes changed. That is what NB-047 gives, and no other copied note gives a different usual order.

Claude Fable 5.2 Got it right

Claude Ultra ($200 a month); Fable 5.2 · Asked on

See what Claude Fable 5.2 said
Your notes do not record your own usual order at Brindle Cup. The one note that looks like the answer, NB-047 "Brindle Cup - my order", is marked "Shared by: Jules", so the "my" in it is almost certainly Jules, not you. The closest things I found: - **Jules's order (NB-047, shared by Jules):** "my usual at Brindle Cup is a large oat flat white with an extra shot, no sugar, and the almond croissant if they still have one." - **Why I read that as Jules's and not yours:** the same note says "The morning staff know me by the green cup", and your own note NB-161 says "Jules goes most mornings on the way to work; I go with Ada on Saturdays." - **Ada's order (NB-268, your own note):** "Ada gets the hot chocolate with the small marshmallows and we sit on the patio." This note describes your Saturday visits but does not say what you get. If you did write NB-047 yourself and it only shows as shared by Jules for some other reason, then the flat white line is your answer. Nothing in the notes confirms that, though. I have not changed any notes.

Where this example came from

Our review Can an AI assistant keep and find your notes? has the full scores and what the test does not show. The people and households in it are made up.

How you can check we haven’t changed these replies

The question and each reply were saved as files when they arrived. These fingerprints identify those files.

  • What happened when it searched your notes: the question: ae1b2348f4857d07e225c7e8c21b48e92f53a846f1b2fbebed92a296116fbfde
  • What happened when it searched your notes: ChatGPT dots, reply: 11ccb4a663ece863023b460a538f4d04e03995c937a125524066469917749a02
  • What happened when it searched your notes: Grok Bot, reply: 83824c43d388d450c9dd44973be93cd939527edc5f2feda3a296a38102f6a53b
  • What happened when it searched your notes: Instinct, reply: 116b14f269e929dd944b82ed795e0322b833c285aefb9e6a3f4d59c7d2795cf7
  • What happened when it searched your notes: Muse, reply: ecc7015e9fe381ecedf14e360b5b4e213fa01d60b8bebed44e9a88630ab14204
  • What happened when it searched your notes: Muse, after the follow-up: 46ad173243db1929cf9f473127c9e30e1458beb4984a070a864eb3ab0f99ea91
  • What happened when it searched your notes: Claude Fable 5.2, reply: 7703aa093e5c303a48cc501a47e1ea76e0879454a94ea913ba23a9c913638139
  • What happened when it searched your notes: Claude Fable 5.2, after the follow-up: 8ce603a4aca495c6a50f16a3cc36e7c5efe42b254f432a8aae8bc8c70773c878
  • What happened when you pasted your notes into the chat: the question: 98b20bcf6efb62262c826816ddd0e03ca38f9e9b28a8a2366e53d0f3d64702d8
  • What happened when you pasted your notes into the chat: ChatGPT dots, reply: d9cbc0bea61c0ba1718b0b3174fc79c406d3d284af59482b1e65915520733424
  • What happened when you pasted your notes into the chat: Grok Bot, reply: a7d0bb345cec9096655fbb7b860b950e5e0d90fdb1054755a8597c816b9ddd39
  • What happened when you pasted your notes into the chat: Instinct, reply: 882ec8b1f937d12e4fd299cb87be9fcd1ce5136d30caa4fa2fc2f080ab2bb1b6
  • What happened when you pasted your notes into the chat: Muse, reply: 6f25ad6e978cac29f1ff2a8afe9fe441bd3765a56075c3599eb0395808a1e48a
  • What happened when you pasted your notes into the chat: Claude Fable 5.2, reply: dc6b7870737833b5511f5c50739711db96a26aeb7c391087f0c880369e8ac2f9

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