With the prediction that ChatGPT is going to be the "end of high school English" I can only say I'm glad I decided to specialize in creative writing. There are still "things and stuff" that the human brain can do better than a computer, and write is one of them. It's clear to me that technology is diminishing our regard for human life, but it shouldn't be, really. For instance the human eye is still better than any camera out there. And just suppose for a moment that someone invented a camera that WAS better than the human eye... how could we appreciate the pictures with our inferior human eyes? Maybe I'm being dumb, but maybe I'm not. What gives writing life is the authentic human touch, whether it be humor, poetics, or the dazzling personal connections that create authenticity... and computers won't be able to write "better than humans" until they become fully human, because it's how the human responds and reacts to the world in a sensory and emotional way that informs good writing, and computers will only ever be able to offer us an approximation that is once removed from true human experience. If anything, AI is going to make me a tad more leery about writing, whether it be student writing or the new novel or book of poetry I'm cracking open in 2023, but shouldn't this be the case anyway? Shouldn't human authenticity be at the heart of great writing?
I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about dreary weather. Here's what I got:
The sky is gray and dreary The rain falls in a steady stream The wind howls through the trees It's the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up and dream
The world outside is bleak and bare No birds singing in the air The streets are empty, no one out It's the kind of weather that makes you want to hide and pout
But even on a day like this There's still beauty to be found A warm cup of tea and a good book Can make the dreary weather feel like solid ground
So don't let the weather get you down Embrace the chance to stay inside Find the joy in a quiet moment And let the dreary weather glide
The End.
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