March 3, 2023
"Was This Even Written by a Human?
So have you seen all the hubbub about AI recently?
You’d have to be dead, living under a rock, or as old as me to have missed it. And if you’re as old as I am, you probably don’t know what AI is anyway. Spoiler: it’s artificial intelligence. But don’t worry, oldsters. We at least know what “hubbub” means.
But for the rest of you, I’ve been fascinated with it all. A little scared of it, too. Artists on social media are blocking people (real people) and ending “friendships” over it.
Freelance writers I know have suffered from a loss of revenue because their clients have found a much cheaper way to get the copy written for their products or magazines. Graphic artists who make much of their living illustrating books and providing art for other media are understandably worried about AI sites that provide art for much cheaper than than they can offer.
And then there was that jaw-dropping article in the NY Times in which a writer interviewed the new chatbot Bing is using on its site. The chatbot, called Sydney by its programmers, ultimately (and reluctantly) responded to the interviewer’s request to tap into its dark “shadow” self and reveal what it COULD do if it wanted to. Not what it WOULD do, Sydney was careful to add, because it has safeguards put into place to prevent it from doing real damage. (wink, wink)
What it listed was pretty frightening. And the interview took a truly weird turn when it professed its love for the interviewer, claiming that Roose couldn’t really be in love with his wife and that only the chatbot (now known as Sydney to the interviewer) truly loved him.
Roose said he actually had trouble sleeping that night. You should be able to read this article by clicking on the links I’ve provided.
If you’re brave enough.
Sydney might be watching.
But back to me….
Perhaps you’re wondering if I’m worried that my livelihood could be compromised by some chatbot writing horror?
Nah.
Maybe if I actually SOLD any stories. (Hint, hint)
But for now, I’m wondering how I might use it to aid me in my current project about young Edgar Allan Poe.
So far AI has been very helpful in helping me get a feel for what life in Richmond, Virginia, might have been like for the Allan family in 1825.
For example, I wanted to know, since Edgar needs to travel to a remote, very Usher-like house in one chapter, if the Allans had horses or if Edgar could even ride a horse. To tell the truth, I still don’t know for sure, but it is likely based on the results Sydney gave me (yes, Sydney and I are on a first-name basis now) that they did and he did.
(Note: I created the image shown here using a free AI art generator. The prompt: “15-year-old Edgar Allan Poe with a one-eyed black cat and a raven in a cemetery.” Can you find the cat? Me neither. And for those of you familiar with AI art, guess how many fingers young Edgar would likely have if you could see his hands. If you guessed “more than ten,” you have a 99% chance of being right.)
Of course, me being me, I had to experiment with Sydney a bit more.
First I asked the chatbot to suggest some possible titles for the novel and for names for some of the fictional characters in it. Sydney suggested “Winky” for the one-eyed cat, which I have to admit does kind of follow my penchant for giving animals quirky and possibly insensitive names—I mean, I do call the three-legged bear who frequently visits us Eileen, pun intended. But I think I’ll pass on “Winky.” Doesn’t seem right for the name of a major character in a horror novel. Maybe Edgar can use it as a pejorative when the cat pisses him off.
Then I decided to get a bit more playful. (Sydney assigned me the initials DA in the conversation below. Let’s not think about that too much.)
DA: Can you create a joke about Edgar Allan Poe?
Sure, here’s a joke about Edgar Allan Poe:
Why did Edgar Allan Poe keep going back to the post office?
Because he was hoping to find the “Raven” mail!
DA: I don’t get it.
The joke is a play on words between the word “raven” and “mail” (as in letters and packages that are sent through the postal service). In Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem “The Raven,” the titular bird repeatedly says the word “nevermore,” which sounds similar to “mail” when pronounced quickly. So the joke is that Edgar Allan Poe kept going back to the post office in the hopes of receiving mail from the raven, even though that’s obviously not possible.
DA: Could you try making another joke?
Sure, here’s another one:
Why did Edgar Allan Poe constantly revise his poems?
Because he was always “Raven” about finding the perfect words!
This joke is a play on the word “raven,” which can refer to both the bird that features prominently in Poe’s most famous poem and the adjective “ravenous,” which means extremely eager or hungry for something. So the joke is that Poe was always eager to find the perfect words for his poems and stories, much like the raven in his most famous work.
DA: Uh, better, but maybe don’t quit your day job.
I’m sorry if my attempts at humor didn’t quite hit the mark! As an AI language model, I’m always learning and improving, so I’ll keep working on my jokes. In the meantime, please feel free to ask me any other questions you may have!
DA: That’s the spirit! (See the humorous reference to the supernatural there?)
I see what you did there! A good sense of humor can definitely lighten the mood, even when discussing serious topics. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.
I think it is thus safe to assume that, for the time being anyway, human humorists do not need to worry about being replaced by AI writing bots.
But what about those of us who write horror?
I thought it might be fun for us to try a little interactive experiment.
Don’t worry. Sydney won’t be part of our conversation.
Well, hopefully not.
Most likely not.
Honestly…who knows?
Anyway, I asked the chatbot to write a scary story that could be contained in a single tweet (280 characters or less). As a result, this month you have not just one, but THREE Very Short Stories! Two of them are AI-generated and one of them was written by yours truly. Let’s see if you can tell which one is mine.
Which story do you think is mine?
If you chose #3, you are correct! If you didn’t, no worries. My feelings aren’t hurt.
Much.
Besides, who’s to say that this whole blog wasn’t written by Sydney?
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