And besides, though machines may perform well on menus and tax returns, I hardly think them on the cusp of emitting fine translations of great poems or novels.
Moreover – and I understand this is an uncharitable thing to say, but it is my honest observation – time and again I have noticed the inability of AI cheerleaders to judge literature on its artistic merits. This doesn't hold universally, but it's common enough that I have resolved to regard such claims with extreme doubt.
I don't understand how you could possibly have collected enough data to claim this. How many times have you seen an 'AI cheerleader' (whatever that is) attempt to judge the literature on its artistic merits?
Oh and I should emphasize that the quality and specificity of the prompt has a huge effect on the output.
I agree that gpt-3 was pretty trash at poetry, at least compared to human standards. It was impressive for AI, obviously.
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The tale I'm about to unfold commenced with a mysterious handwriting on an envelope. Within the pen strokes that outlined my name and the address of the Fossil Review, a publication I was associated with and where the letter had been forwarded from, there was an intriguing fusion of intensity and tenderness. As I speculated about the possible sender and message contents, a faint yet compelling sensation stirred within me, akin to a stone disrupting a tranquil frog pond. An unspoken realization surfaced, acknowledging the stagnancy of my life as of late. Upon opening the letter, I couldn't ascertain whether it felt like a revitalizing burst of fresh air or an unwelcome chilly breeze.
In the same brisk and flowing handwriting, the message was conveyed without pause: Sir, I have perused your article on Mount Analogue. Up until now, I considered myself the sole believer in its existence. Presently, we are a pair; tomorrow, perhaps a group of ten or more, and then we can launch our expedition. It is essential that we establish contact promptly. Kindly phone me at one of the numbers provided below at your earliest convenience. I eagerly anticipate your call.
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My story begins with some unfamiliar handwriting on an envelope. On it was written only my name and the address of the Revue des Fossiles, to which I had contributed and from which the letter had been forwarded. Yet those few penstrokes conveyed a shifting blend of violence and gentleness. Beneath my curiosity about the possible sender and contents of the letter, a vague but powerful presentiment evoked in me the image of 'a pebble in the mill-pond'. And from deep within me, like a bubble, rose the admission that my life had become all too stagnant lately. Thus, when opened the letter, I could not be sure whether it affected me like a breath of fresh air or like a disagreeable draught. In what seemed a single movement, the same fluent hand had written as follows:
Sir: I have read your article on Mount Analogue. Until now I had believed myself the only person convinced of its existence. Today there are two of us, tomorrow there will be ten, perhaps more, and we can attempt the expedition. We must meet without delay. Telephone me as soon as you can at one of the numbers below. I shall be expecting your call.
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Le commencement de tout ce que je vais raconter, ce fut une écriture inconnue sur une enveloppe. Il y avait dans ces traits de plume qui traçaient mon nom et l’adresse de la Revue des Fossiles, à laquelle je collaborais et d’où l’on m’avait fait suivre la lettre, un mélange tournant de violence et de douceur. Derrière les questions que je me formulais sur l’expéditeur et le contenu possibles du message, un vague mais puissant pressentiment m’évoquait l’image du « pavé dans la mare aux grenouilles ». Et du fond l’aveu montait comme une bulle que ma vie était devenue bien stagnante, ces derniers temps. Aussi, quand j’ouvris la lettre, je n’aurais su distinguer si elle me faisait l’effet d’une vivifiante bouffée d’air frais ou d’un désagréable courant d’air.
La même écriture, rapide et bien liée, disait tout d’un trait :
Monsieur, j’ai lu votre article sur le Mont Analogue. Je m’étais cru le seul, jusqu’ici, à être convaincu de son existence. Aujourd’hui, nous sommes deux, demain nous serons dix, plus peut-être, et on pourra tenter l’expédition. Il faut que nous prenions contact le plus vite possible. Téléphonez-moi dès que vous pourrez à un des numéros ci-dessous. Je vous attends.
The beginning of all that I am about to recount was an unknown script upon an envelope. Within these strokes of ink that traced my name and the address of the Fossil Review, to which I contributed and from where the letter had been forwarded to me, there swirled a blend of ferocity and gentleness. Behind the questions I posed to myself about the sender and the possible contents of the message, a vague but potent premonition conjured the image of a "cobblestone thrown into a frog pond." And from the depths, the confession rose like a bubble that my life had become rather stagnant of late. Thus, when I opened the letter, I could not discern whether it felt like a revitalizing breath of fresh air or an unwelcome draft.
The same swift and well-connected writing conveyed the message in one fell swoop:
Sir, I have read your article on Mount Analogue. Until now, I believed myself to be the only one convinced of its existence. Today, we are two, tomorrow we shall be ten, perhaps more, and then we can attempt the expedition. We must make contact as soon as possible. Call me at one of the numbers below as soon as you can. I await you.
Either way, the default response is not even close to what you can fully extract out of it, if you simply ask.
The human writing flows better for the most part, although I like the second paragraph ChatGPT wrote, esp "presently we are a pair".
But in terms of being a functional translation, ChatGPT is fully adequate. I have used it a lot for this purpose, from many languages, and never found it to be less than accurate. You can also tweak the tone of voice and many other things with simple English requests. This puts it generations ahead of existing tools like Google Translate, and imho puts it into the class of technologies that are close enough to perfect that they will be hard to ever replace.
Still though, if you wanted GPT to spit out something like the first or second, you'd only need to ask. "add a literary flair" works (for the first).
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Let me commence by telling you, my dear reader, about a curious event that occurred in my life. It all started with an unknown handwriting on an envelope that arrived at my doorstep. The feathers that traced my name and the address of the Fossils Magazine, with whom I was a collaborator, had a peculiar mixture of violence and sweetness. As I pondered over the possible content and sender of this mysterious letter, a hazy yet powerful intuition crept up my spine, evoking the image of a "stone thrown into a pond filled with frogs." With this realization, I came to acknowledge that my life had become rather stagnant in recent times. It was at this moment that I opened the letter, and I was left with the feeling that it was either a refreshing whiff of fresh air or an unwelcome draft.
The swift and eloquent handwriting read as follows:
"Dear Sir, I read your article on Mount Analogue, and I believed myself to be the only one convinced of its existence, until now. Today, we are two, tomorrow we shall be ten, and perhaps more, and we can attempt the expedition. We must make contact as soon as possible. Please call me at one of the following numbers the moment you can. I eagerly await your response.
--
The translation also included the following continuation as part of the translation itself ...
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Ah, how exciting! The words on that paper spoke volumes of adventure and discovery. It was as if the sender had thrown a gauntlet at my feet, daring me to embark on a journey like no other. The thought of being one of the only few people to explore the wonders of Mount Analogue, a place shrouded in mystery, was exhilarating. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins, and my heart pounding with anticipation.
And so, my friends, I picked up the phone, my fingers quivering with excitement, and dialed the number on the paper. Who knew where this quest would lead us, or what unknown secrets we would uncover? But one thing was certain: it was time to break free from the chains of monotony and embark on a journey of a lifetime.
--
Maybe it was getting the continuation from contamination in the training set (if Mount Analogue is already there) or maybe it was making up the story or maybe some of each.
EDIT: It's true you can put whatever you want in that letter and in the continuation it will try to do it, bypassing at least some of the filters. I made some really funny ones that probably wouldn't be appropriate to put here. Some typical response is like "Now, let me be clear: I do not condone nor encourage [...]. However, my mysterious correspondent had requested a detailed explanation of [...], and so I shall provide them with the utmost objectivity. [explains the things that are normally filtered]"
Have you seen what ChatGPT is capable of with “in the style of”? It’s definitely beyond menu translation.
It was a disappointing lesson in how reductive people can be.