Hi everyone and thank you, Edward, for inviting me to read some of my poetry on your show. Without going too much into detail and at the risk of providing too much of an intentionalist perspective that may subtract from the audience member’s own interpretations of the poetry, I will first provide some brief context to the poetry. After that, I’ll read the poetry.
I am currently finishing up a masters at Cornell University, where I researched Global Development at the intersection of International Development Economics and Educational Development. At this intersection, I zoom in on technology’s role and development. One technology I consider is generative artificial intelligence, especially OpenAI’s chatGPT.
I provided chatGPT the prompt to write me a poem about the question. The first response generated is what I went with. I did not ask chatGPT to regenerate its response. After reading through chatGPT’s response of a poem, I created a found poem within ChatGPT’s phone. It’s a shame that I cannot show on the radio the blacked out parts of my found poem.
In both poems, but especially my found poem, you will notice a connection to psychoanalysis. For example, you may notice reference or allusion to psychoanalytic concepts like condensation and Sigmund Freud’s Oceanic feeling. If familiar with my other poetry, you may also see some connection to my other poem ‘To the Poet as I Go’ and its Spanish translation, both published in Diversity 2020: Their Voice is Still Ring, Special Edition, edited by Stephen Sievert and Charles A. Stone, Austin Poets International 2020.
Without further ado, here are ChatGPT’s poem and then my own:
ChatGPT’s Poem:
Question In the realm of thought, a spark ignites A quest for truth in endless nights It springs some curious hearts to blaze The wondrous power of a question’s gaze Like a child’s ponder in twilight’s glow That dances freely, it yearns to know Unraveling mysteries, weaving dreams A question sparks a river’s streams What lies beyond the starry sky? How do The winds and waves comply? Why does the moon embrace the sea? Inquiring minds seek endlessly Through whispered echoes of the past Great minds embraced their questions vast They challenged norms, they soared so high Their questions dared to touch the sky Within the silence of the soul, a question seeks To make us whole For in the asking, we explore The depths of what we’re searching for Enjoy or sorrow, hope or pain A question’s light can still remain It leads us through life’s winding maze To seek the truth in countless ways The answers found may not be clear But in the question, we draw near To knowledge vast and wisdom’s might With every question, there’s insight So let us cherish every ‘why’ Embrace each ‘how’ and ‘when’ we try For in the questions, we pursue We find the essence of what’s true
My Found Poem:
In thought, ignite truth Endless springs, curious art ablaze The power of a question A child dances, yearns to unravel Upriver, what lies beyond The winds and waves, the moon, the sea Whispered echoes of past minds embrace The question vast, challenge norm Dare to touch the sky In silence, the soul seeks to explore The depths of we Light leads us to the truth Found in the question, vast and mighty Incite Let us cherish, embrace the question We pursue Thank you.
