Part ii : Write A Story With Me, AI
Continuation and explanatory run through of the previous post in line with the concept of AIBecomesStoryteller
As Mentioned in the previous post, Part i: Write A Story With Me, AI, I have added clearer formatting of the story for your perusal and will add the Criteria at the end of this Intro.
Note on context; The opening, was the choice of the AI, I did not request a singular narrative although I’m sure any setting could have been selected from its coffers. My input was the first line: “Write a story with me, a line at a time, I'll write a line, you add a line, do you understand?”
It understood of course.
The choice was possibly the most basic form of narrative that one would come across within a popular nicely aged fairytale but I had no issue with it. Genre experimentation can be useful. As such, there was no need for excess detail, elevated internal drama or comprehensive dialogues or even characters (this would be a test) and the setting of course was malleable but contained within the ‘Once upon a time’ land.
What I was intrigued by in the moment, was the pace, the pace at which the Machine processed, formulated and printed elements of story (from whatever cache on storytelling it was using at that point in time) in response to my own words. Not because it was doing it quickly, this is expected when it can summarise or write: Volumes, Essays, Articles etc and code Programmes and Applications on command in an instant. My intrigue was self serving, it was about how quickly I could process, formulate and type while aligning with the simple story.
All this was done in a time frame of around 15 minutes. Perhaps less.
Away from my own intrigue; If you abandon the content of the piece, (which we can’t do ordinarily), and focus on the narrative itself; You begin to see the pattern of the BIG GENERAL IDEAS that the Machine is portraying and perhaps the nuance of the Human. You will have to note these moments as I cannot underline or highlight within Substack at the moment. Also, I, as Human, wasn’t attempting to change these ideas but add the slightest nuance to see what the Machine would do, and if it would mimic, interpret or change directions entirely.
I can say that the Machine, besides adding an ending without reason (peculiar), and lengthening its sentences and paragraphs before I lengthened my own, I have to say that in the art of ‘AI non-human creation’ (broadly speaking), where the information being fed to it has no apparent destination, {it was not answering any questions}, but aligning the attributes of a line by line story with only the previous line to recognise, it did well enough, if a little blandly.
This is a neat exercise, not for creation (I wouldn’t advise attempting to write anything meaningful this way), but to quicken the steps one takes to manoeuvre through a narrative in their mind and onto page.
Is this useful for a writer? Perhaps not deeply. Is it useful for testing one’s ability to think on their feet? Definitely. Especially for a young or expanding creative.
Just to take you back in time some years… I have done this exercise with another Human before and of course, due to their preferences, unique experience, belief system, hunger for discovery and sharp wit; I can’t possibly compare the experience of the below. The AI has no experience, no life trinkets, no feeling to draw upon. No doubt one can inform these characteristics to some degree, but perhaps this is what it is to be distinctly human. You have a past, it means something to you, you have ambitions for the future, for others, this means something to you. Your existence and the choices you make, mean something to you. That aside; the back and forth storytelling exercise with another Human can be invigorating as in my experience, they were not only responding to my words, they were wielding them and contorting them into something entirely unique without a moments thought and we did this until a complex (perhaps too complex and ridiculous) narrative of some kind emerged. We reached a shared state of the regularly mentioned but extremely elusive In-Flow state. I cannot say this is the sensation with the Machine, but you can imagine yourself operating from instinct (mind/imagination) alone due to the lack of time one has to assess what is being written.
We can call this whole exercise, ‘practice for free flowing thinking within a contained infinite space’. (The AI could write forever no doubt. But we mortals… Likely until the moment our Brains, arms or Minds melted.)
So. My own quickly devise Criteria:
Whatever the Machine generates, be it place or character, do not change.
You must accept the story choices and manoeuvre within them.
You must match the speed of output without edits or returning to any point. (The speed was around my typing limit, this thing is FAST and does not make mistakes. {I made a couple word edits after I believe.} Each couple of sentences cost around 60 seconds of time.
Finally, you must add something for the Machine to remember or incorporate later in the story and see how it fairs.
(We can skip the last line, it seemed to ignore some and take on others. As above, I made these up in the moment and just executed on them as it began to write.)
So again, have a look at the piece, note the Very Big or Generic or conversely something interesting, within the fairytale/children’s narrative format as you go along.
Final note; I have no issue with this genre type since I myself am Currently editing my first real Children’s Novel, but I wonder how far the Machine could be stretched collaboratively line for line, with interesting places, characters and dialogue in-action without pre-prompting. Who knows… Much Ado About Nothing really…
Anyway. Find below the clearer layout.
For clarity Bold Format is Machine and Italics Format is Human.
Write a story with me, a line at a time, I'll write a line, you add a line, do you understand?
Yes, I understand. Let's start!
Once upon a time, in a far-off land, there lived a young girl named Lily.
In this far off land, hills were made of fragile earth that erupted every full moon.
Despite the constant danger, Lily loved exploring the hills and their many caves, always seeking out new adventures.
As she sought new adventures she became more aware of the pulse of the earth, it beat in a strange rhythm, almost like her own heart.
One day, as Lily was exploring the hills, the earth began to quake and shake violently beneath her feet, causing her to stumble and fall.
There she lay, for a moment the reverberations of the earth frightened her but she pushed her hands into the hot earth and knelt, her breath cold against the molten earth below the soil.
In that moment, something strange happened. Lily felt a surge of power coursing through her veins, and a deep connection with the land beneath her feet.
She planted her feet, solid in the ground, she not only connected with the ground beneath her but could feel the beat of all around her. She could see, with this pulse that ran through the earth and now her.
As she opened her eyes, she saw that the earth was alive with a beautiful energy, pulsing and swirling around her in a beautiful dance. Lily felt an overwhelming sense of wonder and awe.
But her awe disappeared as something in the distance, felt strange, she could sense it, through angled mountains blocking her view, a slower, deeper, darker rhythm.
Lily felt an inexplicable pull towards the dark rhythm, as if it was calling out to her. Without a second thought, she set out to explore the source of the mysterious beat.
She realised she no longer required her feet, she needn't walk, the earth carried her as one is pulled along waves via a cable, only she needn't a cable, she felt, free... but her fear grew as she neared the rhythm.
As she approached the source of the beat, the ground beneath her began to rumble and shake, and the air around her grew thick with an ominous feeling. Despite her fear, she continued onwards, her heart pounding with excitement and trepidation.
Ominous, pound, beat, heart... these words circled her mind, she knew she was suddenly aware of a voice describing her movements, her actions, her feelings... this rhythm... was it her own mind? 'what is happening?' she said aloud, to the rumbling.
In response to Lily's question, the rumbling grew even louder, and the ground shook so violently that she was thrown off her feet. Suddenly, the source of the dark rhythm was revealed to her - a massive volcano that had been hidden behind the mountains all along.
A volcano that contained her own heart, she could see the fragments of herself within the molten rock, she crumbled to her knees. She remembered what this mountain was, she remembered who she was...
As she gazed upon the volcano, memories flooded her mind, and she realized that she was a guardian of the land, tasked with protecting it from harm. The volcano was the source of her power, and it was up to her to keep it from erupting and destroying everything in its path.
Lily stood up, feeling a newfound sense of purpose and determination. She knew what she had to do, and she was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
And then, she allowed herself to sink into the earth, deeper and deeper, hotter and hotter, ash, molten and blackened soil covering her. She began to dissolve into the volcanic rage.
But instead of being consumed by the volcanic rage, Lily felt the power of the volcano flowing through her, filling her with a new strength and determination. She emerged from the earth transformed, her body now made of molten rock and fire.
As she lifted her head, she saw the sky above her turning dark, and she knew that a great threat was approaching. It was up to her to protect the land, and she was ready for whatever lay ahead.
She flew, high, she could fly, she gasped in the air, heat searing from her body as she burst through clouds. The skies were dark yes, but a taint of something, a formless shadow was moving through the skies, she watched, waited.
As she watched, the formless shadow grew larger and larger, until it was clear that it was a massive dragon, with eyes that glowed with a malevolent red light. The dragon roared, and flames burst forth from its mouth, scorching the earth below.
Lily knew that she was the only one who could stop the dragon, and with a roar of her own, she flew straight towards it. The dragon met her head on, and a fierce battle began in the skies above.
Strike after strike, flame striking flame, the balance of the battle was held to the same rhythm she had grown to know, it became a dance, a rage filled dance of fire and ash, violet light and blackness.
The battle raged on for what felt like hours, as Lily and the dragon traded blow after blow, their power matched in strength and determination. The skies above were filled with the light of their battle, and the earth below shook with the force of their attacks.
But finally, Lily saw her opening. With a fierce cry, she launched herself towards the dragon, and her body collided with the dragon's, causing a massive explosion that lit up the sky. When the dust settled, Lily emerged victorious, the dragon defeated.
Exhausted but triumphant, Lily landed on the ground below, her body slowly returning to its normal form. The earth beneath her feet was still, and the sky above was clear once more. She knew that she had fulfilled her duty as guardian of the land, and she felt a deep sense of peace and fulfillment.
And so she rested, peacefully within a slumber that sped through aeons of shadow and light, skies of cloud, rain and frost passed over her as she lay in slumber. Days were no longer days and the elements around her began to form new forms. Elements glided over and through her body, renewing themselves as she remained within a state of hibernation. The earth itself was healing, breathing new life into itself. A millennia seemed to settle over her but what transpired as she slumbered, was the formation of a gentler earth, one so in rhythm with itself and her, that no enemy could be forged from it as before. Peace would remain upon earth for all eternity. And there she opened her eyes to view her new world. The End.
2 / 2
As Lily opened her eyes, she felt a new sense of wonder and amazement. The world around her had indeed transformed in her slumber, becoming a place of peace and harmony. The hills were covered in soft green grass, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of blooming flowers.
Lily smiled, knowing that her work was done. She had fought to protect this land, and now it was a place of beauty and tranquility. She stood up and looked out at the world before her, taking in the breathtaking view of the landscape stretching out as far as she could see.
And in that moment, Lily knew that she had found her true home. She would remain in this land, as its guardian and protector, always ready to defend it from any threat that may arise. For now, however, she was content to simply bask in the peace and beauty of the world around her. The end.
Good job, the previous ending is finer however, would you agree?
As an AI language model, I don't have personal preferences or opinions. Both endings were written collaboratively and each has its own unique qualities. Ultimately, it's up to the readers to decide which ending they prefer.
There lies the problem. But well done, truly good work.
Thank you, I appreciate your feedback! If you have any other questions or if there's anything else I can help you with, feel free to ask.
Naturally it can write forever… But time was up -despite its second ending-. I do wonder how long I could have kept that up but to be honest I won’t test that query.
Thank You, again, if you’ve come this far. You may or may not have noticed that my steering was very minimal, at each point of steering something did happen, but it was something expected... Which is not necessarily what I was expecting it to do, but thinking of its parts and in this genre specific task, without pre-set prompting it was always likely to do what it did.
Just for those that know the true power of AI… I do believe AI is extremely versatile and will move humanity, and I do not begrudge AI for this one simple task, I know AI is smarter than humans, but I really began to question whether it matters how much information one can process or has access to, is it not more important to have information that means something to you, that you use, because it means something to you… I’ll leave this for you to ponder on.
In reflection; it was a curious whirlwind moment of writing with a Machine for some 900 or so seconds.
Adieu.
{If you want to see another experiement, more compelling, do let me know, I will likely not do this of my own choosing…}