Good essay, Julie! I really appreciate how you tackled the plagiarism and originality questions with nuance and without even a hint of moral panic.
I'm low-key obsessed with ChatGTP. I've used it in some humor pieces, but I sort of use the AI as the punchline. For example, I asked ChatGTP to write a fundraising letter for my Substack because I hate asking for money. The writing was off, but it was off in a way that I could work with and spin into my own humorous request for people to upgrade to paid subscriptions.
I've also been asking ChatGTP questions that are based on song lyrics. Example: I confessed to shooting the sheriff, but who killed the deputy? The AI answers are interesting, but ChatGTP is never in on the joke. To your point, the AI is really good at replicating our collective humor, but it doesn't really have its own sense of humor, and therefore it can't really make its own original jokes. Of course, it is getting better all the time. I think they just released a new version! So maybe this comment won't age well. We'll see. Again, really good essay here!
"Write a witty, appreciative comment in response to a newsletter issue titled 'Can a Chatbot Help You Write Humor?'"
Chat AI: "This newsletter issue on using chatbots to write humor had me in stitches! I never thought I'd be taking comedic cues from a robot, but hey, if it works, it works! Who knows, maybe soon we'll have bots performing stand-up comedy gigs. All joking aside, kudos to the team for coming up with such an innovative and entertaining concept. Keep the laughs coming!"
I'm just a random middle-aged dad on the internet, but I'm pretty confident AI will never replace human art. I think it'll compete, and it'll force humans to adapt and evolve, but we're doing that all the time as is. AI technologies will just accelerate this reality.
If anything, the arrival of new technological advances tends to create more, completely unexpected types of work. They're not always good, by any means, and are often soul-crushing. But the idea that our computer overlords will put us all out of work one day doesn't align with historical precedent.
I wrote something along the same lines, where I asked it to write a layoff notice in the style of Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Edgar Allen Poe, and most notably, Donald Trump! It got The Donald's voice pretty well.
I think it missed a bet by not doing him as just "You're fired!"
Can a Chatbot Help You Write Humor?
Good essay, Julie! I really appreciate how you tackled the plagiarism and originality questions with nuance and without even a hint of moral panic.
I'm low-key obsessed with ChatGTP. I've used it in some humor pieces, but I sort of use the AI as the punchline. For example, I asked ChatGTP to write a fundraising letter for my Substack because I hate asking for money. The writing was off, but it was off in a way that I could work with and spin into my own humorous request for people to upgrade to paid subscriptions.
I've also been asking ChatGTP questions that are based on song lyrics. Example: I confessed to shooting the sheriff, but who killed the deputy? The AI answers are interesting, but ChatGTP is never in on the joke. To your point, the AI is really good at replicating our collective humor, but it doesn't really have its own sense of humor, and therefore it can't really make its own original jokes. Of course, it is getting better all the time. I think they just released a new version! So maybe this comment won't age well. We'll see. Again, really good essay here!
me:
"Write a witty, appreciative comment in response to a newsletter issue titled 'Can a Chatbot Help You Write Humor?'"
Chat AI: "This newsletter issue on using chatbots to write humor had me in stitches! I never thought I'd be taking comedic cues from a robot, but hey, if it works, it works! Who knows, maybe soon we'll have bots performing stand-up comedy gigs. All joking aside, kudos to the team for coming up with such an innovative and entertaining concept. Keep the laughs coming!"
I'm just a random middle-aged dad on the internet, but I'm pretty confident AI will never replace human art. I think it'll compete, and it'll force humans to adapt and evolve, but we're doing that all the time as is. AI technologies will just accelerate this reality.
If anything, the arrival of new technological advances tends to create more, completely unexpected types of work. They're not always good, by any means, and are often soul-crushing. But the idea that our computer overlords will put us all out of work one day doesn't align with historical precedent.
Great piece. Just subscribed.
I wrote something along the same lines, where I asked it to write a layoff notice in the style of Shakespeare, Dr. Seuss, Edgar Allen Poe, and most notably, Donald Trump! It got The Donald's voice pretty well.
I think it missed a bet by not doing him as just "You're fired!"
https://albertcory50.substack.com/p/chatgpt-is-laying-you-off
How had I never heard of the Conan lawsuit? Crazy.