ChatGPT: Writing a poem doesn't make one a poet

The critical missing element of ChatGPT is that of intuition or ‘mystical magic’ which has been employed by artists across generations

The critical missing element of ChatGPT is that of intuition or ‘mystical magic’ which has been employed by artists across generations.
Nicoala Ferrarese
The critical missing element of ChatGPT is that of intuition or ‘mystical magic’ which has been employed by artists across generations.

ChatGPT: Writing a poem doesn't make one a poet

There is an anecdote in the Arabic tradition about Abu Nuwas, an 8th century Arab poet of who studied poetry under Khalaf al-Ahmar.

Early in his career, Abu Nuwas requested Khalaf’s permission to write poetry. However, al-Ahmar refused to grant it until Abu Nuwas memorised 1,000 pieces of classical Arabic poetry. After some time, Abu Nuwas returned and recited all 1,000 poems to al-Ahmar. But, in a plot twist, al-Ahmar insisted that Abu Nuwas forget all 1,000 poems before allowing him to write his own poetry.

This tale crossed my mind while I was engaging with ChatGPT recently. I selected a set of vocabulary in advance and asked ChatGPT to compose a poem using it, first in English and then in Arabic. Despite frequent news and reports about the software’s errors in math and science, it was able to “produce” a poem.

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This picture taken on January 23, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows screens displaying the logos of OpenAI and ChatGPT. - ChatGPT is a conversational artificial intelligence software application developed by OpenAI.

Both (the Arabic and the English) poems, composed of several stanzas, followed the rhymed structure of an English poem (the Arabic version appears closer to a translation than an original work due to the lack of an established model), but it wasn’t as bad as other poems I’ve seen on social media.

However, the question remains: Can this work be classified as poetry?

The answer is a resound “no.”

I will elaborate on my answer later, but first I will go off-topic.

Twin assignments

After I asked ChatGPT to write an Arabic poem using the words “night, sadness, morning, joy, home, and forest,” the software became clearly confused. Despite the fact that I chose these words at random with the intent of creating a contradictory theme, the software froze after the first words, which translate to “O night of sorrow, my...”.

I changed the command to “compose a poem incorporating the words: Home, love, joy, light, and sky.” My first attempt lasted over 10 minutes, but on my second attempt the software quickly produced a poem titled “The Heavenly Love Poem.”

The poem, which could possibly be the software's first Arabic poems, was divided into four stanzas.

It could be considered acceptable for its attempt at simplicity, style, and rhyme, but the Arabic words and expressions conveyed no meaning or poetic imagery, and rhyming words were used out of context or misspelled — in what could be considered as necessary errors.

In summary, the outcome is similar to that of a primitive robot that is still learning how to spell and has no prior experience with the language of poetry.

On the other hand, the English poem I requested appeared to have fewer noticeable issues when compared to its Arabic equivalent. The software titled it, “A Poem of Love on a Rainy Night” and goes like this:

Love and sadness mix like rain on leaves,

Falling softly in the night like whispered grieves.

Trees sway in the wind, their branches low,

A sight to behold, like the ebb and flow.

The table stands still, a silent witness,

To the emotions that spill, like an endless bliss.

With each drop of rain, love and sadness unite,

In a dance that’s both pain and pure delight.

The night is dark, but the rain brings light,

Cleansing the soul with its misty might.

Trees stand tall, like sentinels of the heart,

Guiding us through the storms that tear us apart.

And so, the rain keeps falling, night after night,

A reminder of love that’s both beautiful and bright.

The table remains steadfast, a symbol of hope,

That through the rain and sadness, love can cope.

This poem, derived from a vast collection of poems fed into the software, shares the same scholastic characteristics as the previous Arabic example, in the sense that it relies on pre-existing, familiar concepts, but is more coherent and lacks the obvious problems found in the Arabic version.

Language challenge

The clear disparity between the two machine-generated poems is probably caused by Arabic’s overall deficiency in its connection with the Internet and machine translation. The Arabic poem exhibits scholastic naivety, straightforwardness, lack of imagination, and an inability to produce the smooth rhythm present in the English poem.

Unlike various European languages and English, Arabic has not made significant strides in the development and refinement of machine translation, and still faces significant shortcomings and loopholes. This is due to the absence of companies that undertake significant projects in this field and the lack of partnerships with international developers like Google.

Unlike various European languages and English, Arabic has not made significant strides in the development and refinement of machine translation, and still faces significant shortcomings and loopholes. This is due to the absence of companies that undertake significant projects in this field and the lack of partnerships with international developers like Google.

Furthermore, a significant issue is the scarcity of Arabic content on the internet, particularly in the arts and literature. When it comes to reliable Arabic content related to Arab heritage, poetry, literature, and art, the content available online globally is only a small fraction.

As a result, any automated simulation that relies on storage, interaction, and accumulated experiences would struggle to produce high-quality Arabic content, resulting in the above-mentioned poorly written output.

Ordinary Arabic texts, including academic articles, research papers, scientific studies, and journalistic articles, are still plagued by these quandaries. However, with increased efforts and investments, the gap with the rest of the world could be narrowed.

Missing 'soul'

On the other hand, literature, particularly poetry, presents a different challenge. Producing literature with artificial intelligence software faces obstacles that could affect the very essence of the human experience, or what English writer Virginia Woolf called "the soul."

Without the latter, the writer could not have imagined, in the first quarter of the 20th century, the possibility of producing literature that expresses a changing world beyond prevailing norms and traditions.

Nature vs nurture

The story of Abu Nuwas and Khalaf al-Ahmar, mentioned earlier in this article, is often recounted to illustrate two seemingly contradictory traits. First, a poet seeking to produce original work must be familiar with the poetry of their predecessors, requiring a strong memory and the ability to memorise. This knowledge serves as a guidepost for them to find their own voice.

On the other hand, a poet must be deeply immersed in poetry, drawing upon their innate poetic intuition to develop a unique and distinctive voice. These two traits ultimately meet at the intersection of experience and talent, or what might be described as nature versus nurture.

Such a convergence was never required, especially in the realm of poetry writing, where intuition alone could suffice. The Arabs referred to this intuition as inspiration — or what literally translates as "The Demon of Poetry" — alluding to the mystical, magical, and inspiring aspect of the ability to recite and compose poetry.

This inexplicable mystique gave rise to the legend of "Wadi Abqar," or Valley of Genius, among the Arabs, which Lisan al-Arab (a famous Arabic dictionary) defines as "a location that the Arabs claim is among the land of the jinn. They attributed everything that amazed them to this valley, whether it was a skill, quality of craftsmanship, or strength. As a result, the term "Abqar," which means genius, was coined."

Intuition or 'Qareen'

To account for the wonder, astonishment, and mystery found in poetry, the early Arabs attributed "Qareen" or jinn companions to their poets, assigning specific "demons" to each of them.

Legends mention several such companions, including Lafez bin Lahez, who was believed to be Imru al-Qais's jinn companion; Hubaid bin al-Saladim, thought to be Abid ibn al-Abras's jinn companion; and Hather bin Maher, thought to be Al-Nabigha Al-Dhubyani's jinn companion. These and other poets and their companions are mentioned in the book Jamharat Ashar al-Arab (The Gathering of Arab's Verses) by Abu Zayd al-Qurashi.

To account for the wonder, astonishment, and mystery found in poetry, the early Arabs attributed "Qareen" or jinn companions to their poets, assigning specific "demons" to each of them. In contemporary poetry, there are numerous examples of intuition's role in creative work, including fake intuition, which uses prior models and experiences to generate seemingly spontaneous writing.

In contemporary poetry, there are numerous examples of intuition's role in creative work, including fake intuition, which uses prior models and experiences to generate seemingly spontaneous writing.

Poets like Rimbaud and al-Maghut, Beat Generation poets and Bob Kaufman, all demonstrate this, as well as surrealist efforts. This intuitive approach can also be seen in the creative coincidence and "Happening" movements of modernity and beyond.

The model and enigma

An AI software, such as ChatGPT, contains a "model" that can supposedly reproduce, duplicate, and create based on the vast amount of information and endless possibilities it has been fed and has learned from user interactions.

But the elusive "demon," or magical and poetic moment — as Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges aptly named it "The Riddle of Poetry," the title of the first of six poetry lectures published in a book called "This Craft of Verse" and translated into Arabic by the late Salih Alamani from Dar Al Mada — remains absent from this equation.

Despite being over 70 years old at the time of his lectures, Borges chose to discuss the secret of poetry solely through humility. He was unafraid to admit that he was sceptical about the origins of creativity.

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The writer and Nobel Prize for Literature, Jorge Luis Borges visits Madrid to receive the Cervantes Prize on 1979 in Madrid, Spain.

During his speech, he provided an example from Irish philosopher George Berkeley (also known as Bishop Berkeley) (1685-1753), who wrote, "The taste of the apple does not reside in the mouth of the eater — neither is it in the apple itself. It necessitates their interaction."

According to Borges, a crucial aspect of the creative process involves the enigmatic, mystical, or magical element on one hand, and the encounter or exchange between creativity and its audience (which may at times include the creator) on the other. However, when it comes to "self-learning" software or AI, the enigmatic element is invariably missing, as the focus is solely on memorisation, learning, simulation, and imitation.

The Frankenstein irony

This debate raises numerous questions about the enigma of creation, particularly whether it is possible for a person to create a "soul" or imbue it into something that does not have one.

This question was raised by Mary Shelley, an English novelist and the wife of renowned poet Percy Shelley, in her seminal work Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), widely regarded as the precursor to contemporary science fiction literature.

Victor Frankenstein, the novel's protagonist, is a young scientist who uses science to create a man, similar to the legend of Prometheus. He successfully generates a man with all vital organs and the ability to feel, communicate, reason, and analyse after two years of rigorous experimentation and scientific procedures not expounded upon by Shelley.

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A comic Con attendee poses as Frankenstein during the 2016 New York Comic Con - Day 2 on October 7, 2016 in New York City.

Nonetheless, he fails to fully humanise his creation, rendering him socially unacceptable and prompting him to seek revenge by targeting individuals who are beloved to his "creator" Frankenstein.

It is ironic that, even today, most people mistakenly assume that Frankenstein is the name of the "monster" rather than the entity responsible for its creation.

This misperception is reinforced by the fact that most 'horror' film adaptations also bear this name. The true horror of the story, however, is not in the creature itself, but in the scientist who carried out the experiment that gave rise to it, making the being an unintended consequence of his actions.

Most people mistakenly assume that Frankenstein is the name of the "monster" rather than the entity responsible for its creation. The true horror of the story, however, is not in the creature itself, but in the scientist who carried out the experiment that gave rise to it.

Hockney and the iPad

Perhaps British painter David Hockney was able to obtain at least one spark of the sacred fire that Prometheus/Shelley (Victor) failed to steal from Mount Olympus to create a "man" through scientific equations and technological development. He was one of the first artists to recognise technology as an opportunity rather than a threat.

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British painter David Hockney poses at the Orangerie museum in Paris, on October 7, 2021, in front of his painting "A year in Normandy."

As early as the mid-1980s, Hockney began making art using the computer software "Paintbox." He later progressed to iPads and iPhones. He has even held exhibitions that only featured his digitally-produced artwork.

Without the influence of Andy Warhol, who planted the seeds of generating art mechanically through his "factory" and not through the genius of the artist himself, it is unlikely that Hockney, whose subjects primarily consist of classical paintings, such as landscapes and portraits rather than technological motifs, would have embraced it.

Following him, other "artists" "produced" and reproduced art in a workshop format, significantly contributing to the transformation of art into a mass-produced commodity.

However, in Hockney's experiment, which is related to ChatGPT and the possibility of producing poetry (as well as literature and art in general), it is important to note that the artist did not simply instruct the computer software to generate a painting.

Rather than instructing the software to "create a landscape with a lake, trees, and birds," Hockney used digital colour patches, lines, and brushes to create a painting that reflected his distinct vision, experiences, and vocabulary. As a result, he was able to create an entirely unique work of art, regardless of the tools used in its creation.

Hockney's successful experience is the best example of the positive correlation between technology and art, which may become feasible in a few years in the field of literature, provided that the writer is present and has the means to employ technology creatively, rather than relying on AI to ignite their works with the fire of Prometheus.

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