‘An Experiment in Lust, Regret, and Kissing’

Novelist Curtis Sittenfeld, writing for The New York Times:

This summer, I agreed to a literary experiment with Times Opinion: What is the difference between a story written by a human and a story written by artificial intelligence?

We decided to hold a contest between ChatGPT and me, to see who could write — or “write” — a better beach read. I thought going head-to-head with the machine would give us real answers about what A.I. is and isn’t currently capable of and, of course, how big a threat it is to human writers. And if you’ve wondered, as I have, what exactly makes something a beach read — frothy themes or sand under your feet? — we set out to get to the bottom of that, too. [...]

As for the results of the contest — which one was the better story — I invite you to be the judge. My story and ChatGPT’s story are below. Read to the bottom to find out which is which.

I guessed correctly, and was pretty sure about my guess. But not certain. And without question, I enjoyed Sittenfeld’s story more.

★ Monday, 26 August 2024