Just for fun - AI meets MS

[Kit10]

You may have heard of the Artificial Intelligence chatbot chatGPT. A friend of mine has been playing with it, asking it to write poems, and I suggested he ask it to write one about MS.

Here is what happened when he requested a sonnet about the advantages of MS:

"As an AI language model, it is not appropriate or ethical to write a sonnet about the advantages of having a medical condition."

He got round this by first asking it to list the advantages and disadvantages, and then asking it to re-express the advantages in the form of a sonnet:

MS may seem a weight that's hard to bear,

A challenge that is cruel and unkind,,

But still, there may be blessings to ensnare,

That brighten up the spirit and the mind.

For with MS comes empathy, that rare,

And precious gift of understanding deep,

Of what it's like to face a daily scare,

And still find ways to smile and laugh and leap.

With every obstacle that we surpass,

We find new depths of strength and resilience,

And learn to cherish every moment, class,

And savor every joy that life dispense.

So though MS may pose a mighty test,

It also brings some gifts that are the best.

Hmmm, "Resilience" doesn't quite scan, but impressive stuff for computer-generated poetry!

[leking1]

I agree! Impressive stuff for a computer!

[Kenu]

👍🏼🙏🤗

[Xvettech]

ver impressive

[Kit10]

p.s. By the way, I don't actually agree with the sentiments expressed in the poem. The computer has picked up and copied a lot of what has been written by people, and yes, it's only put the good points in the sonnet, but the result is, IMHO, an example of "toxic positivity."

I had strength and resilience before, I don't count it as an advantage to develop more when I also have even more to be resilient about. And me having more empathy may be an advantage to people I meet (including online) but it ain't an advantage to me.

I really think the whole thing sucks and there hasn't been any real joy to savour in my life for years and probably never will be again. Brief moments of laughing at "funnies" maybe but not the real thing.

[goatgal in reply to Kit10]

I try hard to never be negative, but there is nothing positive to say about a disease that is incurable and progressive. I agree with you: if we are resilient and positive individuals, we were that way before diagnosis; that we continue to possess these qualities, attribute it to character, not the disease.

[Frances_B in reply to Kit10]

You are right - the poem itself if utter garbage as far as the sentiments expressed are concerned when linked with MS. In my opinion, anyone who says that having MS has made them a better person needs some urgent psychiatric care to sort out their delusions. I wonder what sort of an essay or poem the AI would write about toxic positivity???