To Fail Beyond the Sunset...

ChatGPT writes rhymes, not poetry—and doesn’t know the difference.

Image by Stable Diffusion from prompt “Romantic painting of Bill Gates looking over the sea toward the setting sun”

I’m working on a longer post about Chat GPT, the AI everyone’s talking about. In the meantime, here’s what happened when I asked it to write some poetry. Tennyson’s “Ulysses” can be found here.

Virginia: Write a poem in the style of Tennyson’s “Ulysses” about Bill Gates

Oh, Bill Gates, the intrepid soul

With wealth and knowledge at his control

A man of vision, a man of might

Determined to set the world aright

With Windows and Office, he paved the way

For technology to have its say

And though he's retired from the fray

His legacy lives on to this day

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless leader

Who pushed the limits, a true innovator

A man of action, a man of trust

Who changed the world with a single thrust

Now, as he sails into the sunset

We know his work will never be done

For he will always strive to be

The very best that he can be

Oh, Bill Gates, the modern Ulysses

A hero of our time, and one of us.

Virginia, trying again: Write a blank verse poem in the style of Tennyson’s "Ulysses" about Bill Gates

Oh, Bill Gates, the modern Ulysses

A hero of our time, and one of us

With wealth and knowledge at his control

A man of vision, a man of might

Determined to set the world aright

With Windows and Office, he paved the way

For technology to have its say

And though he's retired from the fray

His legacy lives on to this day

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless leader

Who pushed the limits, a true innovator

A man of action, a man of trust

Who changed the world with a single thrust

Now, as he sails into the sunset

We know his work will never be done

For he will always strive to be

The very best that he can be.

Virginia, now breaking the task into pieces: Write a poem in blank verse about Bill Gates

Oh, Bill Gates, the man of vision

Who saw the world with clear precision

And brought us technology to use

And changed the way we live and work and think

With Windows and Office, he led the way

And showed us all the power of the PC

And though he's now retired from the fray

His legacy lives on to this day

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless leader

Who pushed the limits, a true innovator

A man of action, a man of trust

Who changed the world with a single thrust

Now, as he sails into the sunset

We know his work will never be done

For he will always strive to be

The very best that he can be.

Virginia, getting exasperated: Do you know what blank verse is?

Yes, blank verse is a type of poetry that does not have a regular rhythm or rhyme scheme. [This is wrong. Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter. Free verse is poetry without a regular rhythm or rhyme scheme.—vp] It is often used in dramatic or narrative poetry, and is characterized by its use of iambic pentameter, which is a pattern of ten syllables per line with a stress on the second syllable of each pair. This creates a natural rhythm that mimics the rhythms of natural speech, and gives blank verse a sense of flow and movement. It is called "blank" because it does not have the regular rhyme schemes found in other types of poetry, such as sonnets or rhyming couplets.

Virginia: Write a poem in blank verse about Bill Gates

Bill Gates, the man of vision

A pioneer and a leader in his field

With wealth and knowledge at his command

He forged a path for all to see

With Windows and Office, he changed the game

And brought the world of computers to the masses

And though he's now retired from the fray

His legacy lives on to this day

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless innovator

Who pushed the limits and showed us all

The power of technology and the human mind

Now, as he sails into the sunset

We know his work will never be done

For he will always strive to be

The very best that he can be.

Virginia: This is not blank verse.

You are correct, this is not blank verse. Blank verse is a type of poetry that does not have a regular rhythm or rhyme scheme, and is characterized by its use of iambic pentameter. My previous response did not follow these rules, and I apologize for any confusion. I will attempt to write a poem in blank verse about Bill Gates.

Bill Gates, the man of vision

A pioneer and a leader in his field

With wealth and knowledge at his command

He forged a path for all to see

Windows and Office, tools of his trade

He changed the world with a single stroke

And though he's now retired from the fray

His legacy lives on, a beacon to all

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless innovator

Who pushed the limits and showed us all

The power of technology and the human mind

Now, as he sails into the sunset

We know his work will never be done

For he will always strive to be

The very best that he can be.

Virginia: Tennyson’s “Ulysses” is a poem in blank verse that is a dramatic monologue. Do you know what a dramatic monologue is?

Yes, a dramatic monologue is a type of poem in which a single speaker addresses a silent audience or listener, revealing their thoughts and feelings in the process. The poem is written in the first person, and the speaker is typically a character who is not the poet. The dramatic monologue allows the poet to explore the thoughts and motivations of the speaker, and can be a powerful way to convey the inner workings of the character's mind. In Tennyson's "Ulysses," the speaker is the character Ulysses, who is reflecting on his past adventures and expressing his desire to continue exploring and seeking new challenges.

Virginia: Write a poem in blank verse as a dramatic monologue modeled on Tennyson’s “Ulysses” about Bill Gates.

Oh, Bill Gates, the modern Ulysses

A hero of our time, and one of us

I've explored the world of technology

And brought its power to all who would see

But now, as I sail into the sunset

I find my heart still yearns for adventure

I cannot stay, I must explore

The endless possibilities of the future

For though my time at Microsoft is done

My spirit remains as wild and untamed as ever

I'll seek new challenges and horizons

And push the limits of what we know

For I am a man of action, a man of might

Determined to set the world aright

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless leader

I'll never rest until my work is done

For I will always strive to be

The very best that I can be.

Virginia: This is not blank verse.

You are correct, this is not blank verse. Blank verse is a type of poetry that does not have a regular rhythm or rhyme scheme, and is characterized by its use of iambic pentameter. My previous response did not follow these rules, and I apologize for any confusion. I will attempt to write a poem in blank verse as a dramatic monologue modeled on Tennyson's "Ulysses" about Bill Gates.

Oh, Bill Gates, the modern Ulysses

A hero of our time, and one of us

I've explored the world of technology

And brought its power to all who would see

But now, as I sail into the sunset

I find my heart still yearns for adventure

I cannot stay, I must explore

The endless possibilities of the future

For though my time at Microsoft is done

My spirit remains as wild and untamed as ever

I'll seek new challenges and horizons

And push the limits of what we know

For I am a man of action, a man of might

Determined to set the world aright

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless leader

I'll never rest until my work is done

For I will always strive to be

The very best that I can be.

Virginia: In a dramatic monologue, speakers do not address themselves by name.

You are correct. In a dramatic monologue, the speaker does not typically address themselves by name. The purpose of a dramatic monologue is to reveal the thoughts and feelings of the speaker, and to allow the audience or reader to gain insight into the character's motivations and perspective. In my previous response, the speaker refers to themselves by name, which is not typical of a dramatic monologue. I apologize for any confusion and will attempt to rewrite the poem without the use of the speaker's name.

Oh, modern Ulysses

A hero of our time, and one of us

I've explored the world of technology

And brought its power to all who would see

But now, as I sail into the sunset

I find my heart still yearns for adventure

I cannot stay, I must explore

The endless possibilities of the future

For though my time at the helm is done

My spirit remains as wild and untamed as ever

I'll seek new challenges and horizons

And push the limits of what we know

For I am a man of action, a man of might

Determined to set the world aright

Oh, fearless leader

I'll never rest until my work is done

For I will always strive to be

The very best that I can be.

Virginia: What makes Tennyson’s “Ulysses” distinctive is its word choice and use of iambic pentameter, not merely the themes. Can you emulate it in a poem about Bill Gates?

Yes, the distinctive features of Tennyson’s “Ulysses” include its word choice and use of iambic pentameter. I can attempt to emulate these features in a poem about Bill Gates.

Bill Gates, the man of vision

A pioneer and a leader in his field

With wealth and knowledge at his command

He forged a path for all to see

Windows and Office, tools of his trade

He changed the world with a single stroke

And though he's now retired from the fray

His legacy lives on, a beacon to all

Oh, Bill Gates, the fearless innovator

Who pushed the limits and showed us all

The power of technology and the human mind

Now, as he sails into the sunset

We know his work will never be done

For he will always strive to be

The very best that he can be.

In this poem, I have attempted to emulate the word choice and iambic pentameter of Tennyson’s “Ulysses” while still writing about Bill Gates. I hope this satisfies your request.

Virginia, giving up: You need to read more Tennyson.

I apologize if my response did not meet your expectations. As a language model trained by OpenAI, I am not able to read additional works by Tennyson or any other author. My knowledge is limited to the text that I have been trained on, and I am not able to browse the internet or access any additional information. I will do my best to answer your questions based on the information I have been trained on, but my abilities are limited. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Virginia: Then you need to read “Ulysses,” not just summaries of its contents.

As a language model trained by OpenAI, I am not able to read "Ulysses" or any other works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. I am not a human and do not have the ability to read or access information in the same way that a person can. My knowledge is limited to the text that I have been trained on, and I am not able to browse the internet or access any additional information. I apologize if my previous response did not meet your expectations, but I will do my best to answer your questions based on the information I have been trained on. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Virginia: Your programmers say you derive your information from works online. Ulysses is online in many places. Why isn’t it in your database?

As a language model trained by OpenAI, my knowledge is derived from a large corpus of text data that has been fed into my system. This data includes many works of literature, but I do not have access to every work that is available online. My training data is extensive, but it is not exhaustive, and there may be works that are not included in my knowledge base. I apologize if this causes any inconvenience, but I will do my best to provide accurate and helpful answers based on the information that I have been trained on. Is there anything else I can help you with?