Discussion: ChatGPT writes an orienteering sonnet.

Sorry, I just had to post this.

O Orienteering, how doth thy challenge
Test one's wit and strength, both hand and eye!
Through pathless woods and o'er the rugged range,
Thy course doth lead us to the victory prize.
With map in hand and compass for our guide,
We tread where none have trod before our feet,
And find the markers, hidden deep and wide,
That mark the path to glory, complete.
But 'tis not easy, this pursuit of thine,
For nature's obstacles do block the way,
And oft the mind doth falter and decline,
As doubt and fear do creeping doubts convey.
Yet, when the end is reached, the triumph sweet
Makes all the toils and troubles all complete.

Scarily good...

The main identifying features of ChatGPT's poetry in particular and writing in general that give me high confidence in identifying it are that

(1) it loves sententious conclusions like the last two lines of the one above, and

(2) its sense of poetic meter is not great.

(I will give it a pass on the word 'Orienteering' which is hard to fit into iambic pentameter, but the end of the first line isn't much better; the second line is missing a syllable, the eighth line is awful; and so on. It's clear that the algorithm is getting stuck in local optima when it should give up and try something else.)

It might have a way to go on poetry, but it's really good on general business questions. I asked it to write my business' country strategy for France the other day, and it got close to what we'd spent a couple of weeks fretting over.

I have noticed that it's quite good on boilerplate stuff that has a typical format and tone. Also amusing haikus:

Lost in the woods, alone
Paths winding, compass spinning round
Nature's maze to roam

Yes, except that haikus have 5/7/5 syllables per line, not 6/8/5.

On the other hand, I have found it did an excellent job in composing additional verses for the Baby Shark song.

Yes, except that haikus have 5/7/5 syllables per line, not 6/8/5.

Yes, and also amusingly, ChatGPT itself thinks that that haiku has 7,9,5 syllables per line!

I read that sonnet and thought, "Oh, great, bingo controls on an unfieldchecked map" (lines 7 and 6, respectively).

...additional verses for the Baby Shark song

And this was the moment I realised that all this ChatGPT business wasn't just a bit of harmless fun and is indeed a genuine threat to society

Oh, and line 11 is in conflict with the latest research.

So what did you put as input?

There are definitely some shaky lines, but lines 2-11 are pretty darn good. Better than I would have written.

And how does ChatGPT know what orienteering feels like? It's not installed on my Garmin watch is it?

I tried it with a bit of a nudge.

Request: "write me a sonnet about the sport of orienteering. make sure to emphasize the thrill of running through the woods and finding controls."

Through wooded paths and trails unseen,
I run with haste, my heart a-thrum,
For orienteering is my dream,
A thrill that never grows old or numb.

With map and compass in my hand,
I seek out markers, hidden well,
A test of skill and strength, so grand,
A tale that I alone can tell.

The rush of finding each control,
A triumph in the wild unknown,
My mind and body in a roll,
As I race against the clock, alone.

No city streets or crowded course,
Just nature's beauty and the thrill of the sport.

"that's good! but markers shouldn't be hidden"

Through wooded paths and trails unseen,
I run with pace, my heart a-thrum,
For orienteering is my dream,
A thrill that never grows old or numb.

With map and compass in my hand,
I seek out markers, plain to see,
A test of skill and strength, so grand,
A tale that I alone can tell.

The rush of finding each control,
A triumph in the wild unknown,
My mind and body in a roll,
As I race against the clock, alone.

No city streets or crowded course,
Just nature's beauty and the thrill of the sport.


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I definitely LOL'd at the change.

Me too! :)

I remember when "surfing the web" was a thing because the web was new and shiny. I think whatever you call ChatGPT is at that stage. In ten years we will look back on these amusements as quaint.

This is how I feel about submitting paper revisions after certain peer reviews. Minimum possible changes to satisfy the reviewer comments. Does it break the rhyme-scheme? Who cares. I'm not rewriting the whole thing now.

But I will tweak that 'pace/haste' word that has been bugging me.

Is ChatGPT both lazy, and a bit of a perfectionist-fiddler?

Wait until someone gives ChatGPT a database full of responses to peer review, and it starts pedantically, but respectfully arguing with all suggestions to change it's text.

Reminds me of Asimov's laws of robotics.

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.