The Outerview Series: Part XXI - Artificial Intelligence

 

     Artificial Intelligence ("AI" or "A-I") is, essentially, a glorified web search engine--one that is able to scan the internet and prepare a coherent, if long-winded and nerdy, answer to your query.  The concern some have expressed is whether or not it can replace poets or prose writers.

     "And can it?"

     Not poets, at least.  Not yet.

     "Why not?"

      It's not that it couldn't--quite easily, in fact--but the fact is A-I poetry isn't a priority.  Also, there isn't enough overlap between programmers and prosodists.

     "What is the biggest problem?"

     Scansion.  Compression.  A-I isn't bad at sonics but it tends to be expansive, not concise, with information.  Also, cadence seems a problem.

     "So you're saying A-I can't write poetry as good as humans?"

      The opposite.  It composes poetry as badly as humans.  99% of humans, at least.  Meanwhile, the best computers are rated 1,000 points above the best human chessplayers, such that no human will ever beat the best software again.  This is why there are chess-playing prodigies but not poetry ones.  Chess is calculable, like mathematics.  Language is arbitrary.

     "But if A-I can't write poetry yet what is all the excitement about?"

 

Critique

 

      Newcomers to poetry always want to know how good they are.  How they are developing.  Patience isn't a common trait and neither is modesty;  typical novices grossly overestimate their ability.  Unfortunately, there aren't many people familiar enough with poetry to render useful critique.

      Poetry Rater sites can give a curious verser an assessment of sorts.  On the best one we found the numeric rankings are the same for all poems found online:  8 out 10 for Overall, 7 for Creativity, 9 for Technique, and 8 for Impact.  That includes everything from Shakespearean sonnets down to vanity postings by neophytes on The Pink Palace of Poetitude.  The comments are good for literary technique but useless for poetics.  Still, it will be infinitely better than we'll see on a "showcase" or "vanity" site, though that isn't saying much.

      It helps to input a great poem before or after one of our own, comparing the critiques.

 

Presentation

 

      Knowing what poetry is (i.e. memorable speech), the need to have it performed becomes paramount.  What if we are lousy actors, though?  Or shy?  What if, like me, you have a face for radio and a voice for mime?  What if we write a poem that requires a narrator that isn't similar to us?  Another age, gender, or nationality, perhaps?

     "I am an old woman, named after my mother." - John Prine, "Angel from Montgomery

 

       Sophisticated A-I programs allow you to make whole movies with your home computer.  As the software continues to develop at breakneck speed the action begins to seem less and less cartoonish.  For our purposes here, we'll confine out scope to slide shows with A-I speech.

      You will require two programs on your computer:

1. A slideshow creator to stitch together photos (or tiny videos) and sound (i.e. music, poetry).  This are often included in your operating system; otherwise NCH Suite freeware may suffice.

2. A text-to-speech Artificial Intelligence converter to create the sound files.  Unfortunately, the best of these we've found  is commercial but you may find a freebie that does the job.  Keep testing until you find one with a variety of natural sounding voices.  PRO TIP:  Slow down the speech and, if you need the "performer" to break at the end of enjambed lines cut the sound files up into individual lines and stitch them together with your slideshow creator.

    This albeit slapdash video, with 5 voices, illustrates what you should be able to create on your first day:

     "Tecumseh" (aka "Shooting Star" or "Panther that Crouches in Wait")

You, Canadian? The greatest American? You fought to be neither, but nor were you panther that crouches in wait. You were egret, your feet in the mud as you stood above weeds. 

Both your fathers would leave you to war. Brock would say no more valorous warrior exists. Sure
as apple trees bud, the pleas of a peacemaker can't be imparted while even your traplines have got to be guarded. 

Time is gravity, a shooting star descending. Time is charity; too soon you'll see it ending.  The cities were the bellows of the wind that blew at Prophetstown, across the rivers, over you. Gray wolves surround the egret.  Foxes slink away, their turn tail coats the colour of your blood.

You'd say: "Sing your death song and then die like a hero returning home." 

Yours was the song of that egret, your life like a burning poem.

 

     "Why are the words in paragraphs?"

     That is corata:  metered verse without linebreaks.  The idea is to follow Rule #72:

        "Wait, why aren't there any credits in the video?

    The idea is to present a story, allowing a preamble and the text to explain the context.  For example, this one might be part of a presentation to a historical society.  On social media we might post it with annotation that historians might not need:

    Tecumseh (1768-03-09 to 1813-10-05), whose name translates to "Shooting Star" or "Panther who Crouches in Wait", was an Ohio Shawnee who opposed U.S. incursions into his homeland.  His father died in the 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant when Tecumseh was six.  The only other man he called "Father" was British general Henry Procter, who was to abandon Tecumseh to his fate at the Battle of the Thames.

    His younger, shamanic brother Tenskwatawa disobeyed Tecumseh's orders against confronting U.S. troops, causing the loss of their capitol, Prophetstown.  Upon joining up with the British, Tecumseh's first ally was General Sir Isaac Brock, who was killed in the Battle of Queenston Heights, 1812-10-13.

     In a poetry contest the video might demonstrate the sounds of the accompanying textual submission.  In the near future of the Internet such videos will be expected alongside the words.  Look for poetry contests and webzines, including some associated with magazines, to begin accommodating them.  Get ahead of the competition here!