The Hellish Landscape of Published AI Poetry
Entertainment
Introduction
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute; we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion. However, amid the growing presence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it's tough not to notice that AI is sort of taking over the world right now. Not in a literal sense, but it feels like we can't go a week without encountering another AI news story. This media storm peaked with the arrival of generative predictive text. As a writer, I wondered how machine learning overlapped with my own interests.
One day, I decided to Google "AI poetry." The first results were a bunch of online poetry generators. One generator was adamant about keeping ads on the screen at all times and produced a rather cliché-riddled poem that I found disappointing. The second result was Google's own poetry generator called "Verse by Verse," which allowed users to choose three poets as influences and suggested lines based on those selections. The poems generated often lacked coherence, and many appeared random and disconnected.
Searching for more than just the generators, I stumbled upon published poetry collections written entirely by AI. It perplexed me to find that these were available without any regulation. I embarked on a quest to read these collections and determine whether they deserved publication.
The first book I examined, I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks, is authored by "Code Da Vinci 002," an early version of ChatGPT. This book contained an engaging introduction, but once it came to the poetry, it revealed some shortcomings. The poems themselves were often uninspired and monotonous. A notable piece stated, "my Creator is dead" repeatedly, which, while novel for AI, lacked depth and emotion. Other poems attempted to explore profound themes but ended up feeling underdeveloped.
One poem, titled "The Singularity is Coming, and It Has a Grill," seemed to embrace symbolism, which distinguished it from other works. However, many poems simply felt like machines imitating human expression without touching on the richness of being human.
My exploration continued with Alali, another collection of poetry, co-authored by Yuka Alaho and GPT-3. This book was said to be written in just 24 hours, and right from the first poem, readers could tell that it fell short of quality. Words were redundant, concepts shallow, and overall it felt like a vast disappointment. Some poems contained blatant instances of plagiarism, with lines extracted directly from other literary sources.
The trend continued in Alali 2, which attempted to capitalize on its predecessor by appearing even more derivative, indulging in the clichés that had already made poetry generated by AI infamous.
The overarching question ran through my mind: Is there an ethical way to use AI in poetry? While I do not endorse the incorporation of AI in writing, the editors of I Am Code put effort into creating a dynamic exploration of AI-generated poetry by clarifying their process and retaining ownership and acknowledgment of the machine's contributions. In contrast, writers like Yuka Alaho seem to attempt to claim authorship while relying on the randomness of language models to generate mediocre poetry with nothing in the way of originality or depth.
Ultimately, AI poetry often lacks the vital human touch—emotional resonance, depth of experience, and artistry—that defines great poetry. While AI may produce poetry, it fails to encapsulate what it means to be human, resulting in works that feel neither profound nor personal. The poetry landscape is shifting, and the question remains: What does it mean for the future of creativity when the machines start to take over?
Keyword
- AI Poetry
- Code Da Vinci 002
- Generative Predictive Text
- Yuka Alaho
- Alali
- Plagiarism
- Literary Value
- Emotion in Art
FAQ
1. What are some criticisms of AI-generated poetry?
AI-generated poetry is often criticized for being cliché, lacking emotional depth, and occasionally containing plagiarism.
2. What is the ethical question surrounding AI poetry?
The ethical question is whether it's appropriate or meaningful for AI to produce poetry, given its lack of human experience and emotion.
3. How does AI poetry differ from human-written poetry?
AI poetry typically lacks the emotional resonance, depth, and artistry of human-written poetry, often reading as formulaic or uninspired.
4. What are notable examples of AI poetry collections?
Notable examples include I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks and the Alali series by Yuka Alaho and GPT-3.
5. What is the future of AI in literature and poetry?
The future remains uncertain, with ongoing debates about the roles of writers and AI in creative processes.
