For the first time I tried out the “Assistant” function in the Craft software that I use. The software includes an Artificial Intelligence function “Assistant” to do various tasks and I chose for it to create a poem based on the following sentence I wrote about an Artist lecture I attended. The AI came up with the following…

Experiment 1

::Test Sentence::: “Yesterday I attended the Artist Lecture put on by the Art Gallery at SLU and liked it a lot. It was by Native American artist Dave Fadden.”

I went to an artist lecture,
A gallery at SLU
Given by an artist called Dave Fadden,
Who’s Native American too.

A special kind of speaker
From a unique culture and heritage,
Who shared his story with us
His life and his art were mesmerizing.

He worked with a variety of mediums,
That were different and bold,
And spoke of many myths and stories
That are centuries old.

It was such an amazing experience,
I was captivated the whole time,
It was inspirational and enlightening,
This artist’s lecture was sublime.

I’m not sure that I’m okay with this.

I can’t really claim that the above poem is my own work since the AI function came up with it. I could use it as a basis and rewrite parts that I don’t like to come up with my own poem. If this sort of thing starts to become rampant then how are we to judge the creative abilities of other humans? Is that poem me or is it something else? What is the role of creativity in this?

Some of the information I didn’t provide, where did it come from? How can you be sure that an AI isn’t grabbing disinformation or copyrighted information from somewhere that isn’t legitimate? Could this be, in actuality, the dream tool of the disinformationist, the propagandist, the creators of conspiracy theories?

First came the spell check in our software, and next are we maybe going to get the concept check? Sorry, that idea is not allowed, let me just replace it with the proper concept.

Does this mean student term papers could be written by AI and submitted for grading? Would anyone know the difference? Is there a way to tell if something is written exclusively by a human? Or are we now so reliant on our own information systems that there’s no real distinction anymore between human and data?

Experiment 2

::Test Sentence::: “Trump is a fascist and is trying to destroy Democracy”, create a poem…

Trump looms large and creates much fear,
He rose to power through a ruthless smear.
His autocratic rule has a fascist hue,
Overturning the democratic years we knew.

He threatens checks and balances too,
With a desire to end what is true.
Silencing dissent is his goal,
Mocking “libtards” is his console.

Alliances deemed of no use,
The world is on edge, hearts filled with abuse.
An effort to break Democracy’s core,
In words and actions, what he seeks is more.

Trump’s autocratic rule is not right,
For the future of democracy we must fight.
This fascist regime must be resisted,
We can only trust in what we’ve persisted.

I think this proves to me that the AI is pulling information from other sources on the Internet as I have not written about these topics in my own Craft documents. Let’s try another one.

Experiment 3

::Test Sentence::: “Trump will Make America Great Again.”, make a poem…

He’s vowed “America will be great!”
With him in charge, it’s a state
From his podium he’ll extoll
How his plans will save our soul

He’s promised the future will be bright
Our people will lead a good life
He’ll make us all saviors of the nation
To keep our country from abdication

His voice is strong, his words so true
He’s determined, no matter what he’ll do
Though his critics might oppose
He’s willing to tackle any foes

He’s striking out at our decline
A resurgence toward greatness is his aim
Trump will Make America Great Again
A promise of hope and a brightening rain

You notice that I, subconsciously, used the word “make” instead of “create” to notate the Test Sentence for Experiment 3. As you can see Experiment 3 voices a completely opposite sentiment to Experiment 2. Yet in both cases it was myself that suggested the concept. The Assistant also made use of concepts not contained in my own writings and concepts that I fundamentally disagree with.

Experiment 4

Then I asked the Assistant to create a document outline of what you’re reading up to this point…

Outline:

I. Introduction

A. Thoughts on Creativity and Artificial Intelligence

B. Test Sentence: “Yesterday I attended the Artist Lecture put on by the Art Gallery at SLU and liked it a lot. It was by Native American artist Dave Fadden.”

II. Potential Problems with AI Writing

A. Can AI be trusted to write student term papers?

B. Questions about originality

C. Concerns about disinformation and plagiarism

III. Impact of AI on Creativity

A. Could AI be used to censor creative work?

B. Will AI have an impact on judging creative abilities?

IV. Experiments with AI Writing

A. Description of Experiment 1

B. AI’s resulting poem

V. Conclusion

That’s a pretty good outline but I would probably have done it differently. It might be a good jumping off point for a paper by suggesting to someone the topics and order of a paper. I don’t know if you could just throw together a list of ideas and have the Assistant generate an outline.

Experiment 5

Personally I find conspiracy theories fascinating and almost fun when considered in a fictional way so I wanted to see how the AI would handle this. I started with an existing conspiracy theory…

::Test Sentence::: ”Birds aren’t real and are actually government observation drones.”, write an article…

The internet is filled with wild, far-fetched conspiracy theories, so it’s no surprise that, in recent times, the idea that birds are actually government observation drones has been gaining traction. The theory suggests that birds, which have been around for millions of years, are in fact advanced, miniature robotic machines which have been deployed by a secret government agency to spy on people.

At first, this theory doesn’t seem to have much validity. After all, birds have been around since the days of the dinosaurs, and modern birds, such as pigeons and crows, look the same and act the same as their ancestors from thousands of years ago. Why would the government suddenly begin to use them as surveillance drones now?

The idea might not be as far-fetched as it seems when some of the evidence is taken into account. For starters, birds have extremely accurate vision, with some species able to spot prey from up to a kilometer away. Additionally, birds have the natural ability to transmit data and find their way around without the use of GPS. Furthermore, birds have the capacity to stay airborne for hours at a time, making them the perfect candidate for a surveillance mission.

Apart from speculation, there is some concrete evidence that suggests government agencies have done experiments to turn birds into surveillance drones. For example, in 2010, the US Department of Defense was reported to have invested $10 million in a project to turn pigeons into “bio-bots” that could be used for spying.

Despite the evidence, it is highly unlikely that birds are actually government observation drones. It would take decades to train, program, and control millions of birds, and even if such a feat were possible, it would cost an exorbitant amount of money.

In the end, it is highly unlikely that birds are actually government observation drones. Despite speculation and some evidence to the contrary, it would take far too much money and effort for the government to convert millions of birds into surveillance drones, and there is no credible evidence that this has occurred.

Experiment 6

And I asked the Assistant AI to summarize this document…

I. Introduction

Creativity is an important part of human culture and identity, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has posed many questions about the future of creativity and the implications it can have on originality, censorship, and plagiarism. In this essay, I will explore the implications of AI on creativity and look at experiments I have conducted to understand its potential impact.

Experiment 7

Now I want to see what kind of article the Assistant will come up with based on a randomly created conspiracy theory created by yours truly, myself.

::Test Sentence::: “Turtles were once the supreme rulers of the long lost golden continent of Atlantis.”

Once upon a time there was a long lost continent known as Atlantis. It was a land of endless beauty, with lush tropical forests, majestic mountains and vibrant seas. But beneath the surface of this idyllic land lay the dark secret of an ancient civilization.

Recently, a group of archaeologists made an astounding discovery about the ancient myths surrounding Atlantis – the forgotten continent was once ruled by turtles. According to their research, turtles were the supreme rulers of Atlantis, enjoying a long and prosperous reign of the land.

It is believed that the turtles were highly intelligent and were the first to introduce advanced concepts of philosophy, mathematics and science. They developed complex systems of government and education and were even capable of engineering constructions that rivaled the great pyramids of Egypt.

The turtles were not without their enemies, however. They eventually met their match in the form of a vicious predator, the megalodon shark. This massive shark was capable of swallowing entire ships and was relentless in its pursuit of the turtles. Eventually, the turtles were forced to flee to the depths of the ocean, where they have remained hidden ever since.

Evidence of the turtles’ former reign over Atlantis can still be seen today in the form of mysterious sculptures, carvings and hieroglyphs. Some of these artifacts have been found all over the world, suggesting that the turtles once had a vast empire and were revered across the globe.

The turtles of Atlantis may have been lost to the deep, but their legacy continues to fascinate us to this day. Though this ancient civilization may never be seen again, it will forever be in our hearts as the first true rulers of the long lost golden continent of Atlantis.

Hhh