Readers React to Poetry Written By Artificial Intelligence

Can an AI chatbot write good poetry? I asked that question to a chatbot and it gave me a reasonably honest answer.

"While AI chatbots can technically write poetry, it's generally considered that they cannot produce truly "good" poetry in the sense of being deeply creative, emotionally resonant, or exhibiting the nuanced understanding of the human experience that is often associated with great poetry; however, they can generate poems that appear well-structured and follow traditional forms, particularly when given specific prompts and stylistic guidelines."

I have been reading several articles about experiments with having people read poems written by AI and ones written by actual poets - famous and not well known - and reporting their likes and dislikes.

The researchers told different groups different things (all poems are from humans; all poems are AI; they could be either), and that, as a friend pointed out, opens the experiment up to confirmation biases. That some preferred AI poems to human poems is not surprising depending on which poems they were shown. A Shakespeare sonnet is not a favorite of many people and the language is off-putting to modern readers, so a simply written poem by AI might get the thumbs up.

What do you think of this short poem?

Oh, how I revel in this world, this life that we are given,
This tapestry of experiences, that shapes us into living,
And though I may depart, my spirit will still sing,
The song of life eternal, that flows through everything.

AI or human? 

That’s ChatGPT writing in the style of Walt Whitman's “I Sing the Body Electric.” It sounds Whitmanesque, though the rhyme is rather awkward. 

AI follows poems that exist out there and have been gobble up in their databases. I don't think AI could do much better than this famous Whitman passage from his continually revised Leaves of Grass.

That you are here — that life exists,
That the powerful play goes on,
and you may contribute a verse.
     - Leaves of Grass (1892)

Some researchers asked ChatGPT to create five poems in the style of 10 different English language poets, all white. Then, they asked more than 1,600 people to read five real poems by one of the poets, alongside the five AI-generated poems. People were bad at predicting which poems were written by AI and which were human, Maybe they should have asked some poets to compare.

As AI-generated text continues to evolve, distinguishing it from human-authored content has become increasingly difficult, and one study found that AI-generated poems were rated more favorably in qualities such as rhythm and beauty, and that this contributed to their mistaken identification as human-authored. They theorized that AI-generated poetry was preferred by readers because it was simpler and more accessible. They posit that general readers may have misinterpreted the complexity of human-written poems as garble generated by AI.

But AI poetry has some issues. AI lacks lived experience, a personal perspective, and uman emotion. Because AI generates text by identifying patterns in large datasets, which can lead to predictable and repetitive phrasing in poems. Metaphors and symbolism often require a deeper understanding of language and human experience than most AI models currently possess.

An AI's strength in writing poetry improves as it learns poetic structures and experiments with different rhyme schemes and forms to generate variations.

I find that AI used for brainstorming ideas and getting inspiration for a poem by prompting with a theme or concept is interesting. It can also be used for educational purposes, such as demonstrating how language can be manipulated to create poetic effects.

MORE AT

phys.org/news/2024-11-shakespeare-chatgpt-people-ai-real.html 

theconversation.com/new-research-shows-people-cant-tell-the-difference-between-human-and-ai-poetry-and-even-prefer-the-latter

washingtonpost.com/science/2024/11/14/chatgpt-ai-poetry-study-creative

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How Do You Know When a Poem Is Finished?

How do you know when a poem is finished? It is the kind of question new poets ask older poets. I have heard it in my classroom.   

"How Do I Know When a Poem Is Finished?" is Naomi Shihab Nye's poem answer.  It begins:

When you quietly close
the door to a room
the room is not finished.

It is resting. Temporarily.
Glad to be without you
for a while.

I use her poem (You can hear her read the full poem in the video below.) and also tell students that Paul Valery famously said "A poem is never finished, only abandoned."

In this time of immediate gratification, young poets often feel that their poem is finished as soon as they write that final word. I find that at poetry readings by famous poets or new poets at open readings, a frightening introduction to a poem is "Here is a poem that I wrote today."

There have been poems that I have written and when I was done, it felt finished. More typically, when I come back to the poem a day or weeks later with fresh eyes, I can better tell if it is complete. I would estimate that I revise poems about 90% of the time. The first draft that is a final version is rare - but it does happen.

Reading a new poem to someone or to a group that can give you honest feedback is very useful.  Standup comics tend to try out new material in small clubs where the stakes are lower before they use them in their act. They workshop the jokes. So, perhaps that new poem written today and then read at an open might be a way to test out a poem. Though I wouldn't expect much constructive feedback from an audience, a laugh at a line you hoped was funny or at a line you didn't want to be funny would be useful. Applause is a lousy indicator as it is sometimes just a courtesy clap.

How do you know when a poem is finished? Or are your poems never finished? Post a comment!!

Naomi Shihab Nye reading "How Do I Know When a Poem Is Finished" as part of Dear Poet, the Academy of American Poets' educational project for National Poetry Month 2015. 

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Follow this blog for all things poetry.
To see our past prompts and more than 300 issues,
visit our website at poetsonline.org

Writing a Poem Is Like...

Kurt Vonnegut had written:

Writing a novel is like making a movie: All sorts of accidental things will happen after you’ve set up the cameras. So you get lucky. Something will happen at the edge of the set and perhaps you go with that. You come into it accidentally. You set the story in motion, and as you're watching this thing begin, all these opportunities will show up. So, in order to exploit one thing or another, you may have to do research. You may have to find out more about Chinese immigrants, or you may have to find out about Halley’s Comet, or whatever, where you didn't realize that you were going to have Chinese or Halley’s Comet in the story. So you do research on that, and it implies more, and the deeper you get into the story, the more it implies, the more suggestions it makes on the plot. Toward the end, the ending becomes inevitable.

If we can agree that it is true that writing a novel is like making a movie, does it also apply to writing a poem?

Accidental things happen while writing. Sometimes there is research. 

Your thoughts?

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Follow this blog for all things poetry.
To see our past prompts and more than 300 issues,
visit our website at poetsonline.org

Poetry As Medicine

Photo: griffert | Pixabay

There’s a growing body of evidence in the medical scientific literature to support the use of poetry and the arts in clinical practice – to enhance empathy, communication skills, and both patient and clinician wellbeing. I saw this in an article from the Irish Times by a doctor (unfortunately, the article requires a subscription) who admits that "As a medic, it took me a while to appreciate this." There's a special relationship between poetry and medicine, and great value that physicians, other healthcare professionals, and patients could derive from making better use of this art form.

I have been doing some research into this and considering it for a future writing prompt.It is not just writing poetry that can heal.  I have seen studies that show that patients who read poetry together experience decreased pain and symptoms of depression.

Other studies found that poetry can sharpen listening, attentiveness, observation, and analytical skills. It can refine the artistic side of medicine: Poetry allows us to express ourselves, fosters creativity, and accepts ambiguity. It enhances empathy, self-awareness, and introspection.

There is a National Association for Poetry Therapy which is about the use of language, symbol, and story in therapeutic, educational, growth, and community-building capacities. It relies upon the use of poems, stories, song lyrics, imagery, and metaphor to facilitate personal growth, healing, and greater self-awareness.

I would not claim that poetry can heal physical ailments but writing and reading poetry can be healing and transformative because poems reflect the voice of the soul. Writing - poetry, journaling, memoir etc. -  is a way to nurture a mindfulness practice because when writing (maybe especially with poems), we have the chance to unleash the unconscious mind.

Studies using MRIs show that poetry causes the part of the brain that activates during daydreaming to light up while reading or listening to poetry. It can "brighten" the brain and improve memory. Poetry often sticks with the reader, causing them to re-read and even memorize the words.

I ran a workshop for healthcare professionals a few years ago and found several books that were useful in preparing for the sessions.

  

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