Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.
Seaside books and ChatGPT? Here’s the spoiler: not a match. Like handmade jewellery and homemade cakes, all our writing is human-made. This includes our stories, blogs, newsletters and books. It doesn’t mean we shy away from the use of ChatGPT, just not as a tool for writing or editing. And (luckily?), it still doesn’t get surf.
There’s such hype built around ChatGPT and other AI-powered chats and general AI use. A few years ago, we couldn’t have imagined this. It’s now part of our daily lives. And developments are happening fast. A computer science professor compared it to a Swiss Army knife:
“It just keeps getting new types of tools that we have to learn to use and understand.”
You can easily feel overwhelmed, left behind, and even dispensable!
HOW CAN IT HELP INSPIRE
We’ve always come up with every idea ourselves. We’ve written, rewritten, edited, and designed all our Seaside work, including our books and website. Yet, I am interested in how it might be able to help us.
After initial attempts, I wasn’t too excited about ChatGPT. I asked it to help me write articles and develop ideas for a newsletter and social media posts. Worse yet, its ideas and texts were lame. They were flat, too general, dull, or absurdly far-fetched. For example, when asked for social post ideas, it suggested I post a photo of a wave (duh). It also said to organise a giveaway (been there, done that, and still doing it). Lastly, it suggested a sea landscape pic with the words ‘the ocean, a mirror of the soul’ (not doing that). It left me both disappointed and hopeful. My brain and imagination are still needed here!
TRYING OTHER APPS
While ChatGPT is not yet my go-to pen pal, I do use the free versions of the Hemingway app and Grammarly. English is not my first language, and I tend to create looooong, wordy sentences. I run my texts by them before I send them to my dearest, real-life editor and proofreader, Gail Bennie. (A human! Much more fun than any app!)
I had a somewhat spooky experience trying out NotebookLM. NotebookLM doesn’t search the web; it uses only what you feed it. So, you feed it websites, documents, or whatever, and that’s what it searches. I fed it ilovetheseaside.com. Within minutes, it generated a podcast where two people talked about I Love the Seaside. It was spot-on! (If you’re interested, here’s a 7-minute listen.)
Two people talked about the books, what we stand for, and what to expect. How we “connect you with the soul of the place” and “tap into a desire for authenticity.” And it’s incredibly detailed and gives examples.
But even a hand-fed Chat’s not getting surf. They (AI-powered Chats) just don’t get surf, do they? In the podcast, the non-existing man and woman use silly imagery about surf. Things like:
“Picture this: you’re bundled up, braving the North Sea wind, to catch a wave with a backdrop of dramatic cliffs.”
Okay? Bundled up to catch a wave? How’s that working for you?
DOES IT GET THE STOKE THO…
On a good note, surfing’s still not THAT mainstream. The unwritten rules. The true stoke. The euphoria and frustration. The imperfection of it all. The funky rewording of words. It’s not Chatable. Remember the dude explaining how he got pitted? Just drop in, cut back, and capooowh.
Although… I did ask ChatGPT what it thinks ‘only a surfer knows the feeling’ means. Well, waddayaknow? It said:
“(…) there’s a uniqueness to surfing that each surfer feels but often finds hard to put into words. (…) it’s something you really have to live to understand. It’s what draws surfers back to the ocean again and again, through cold mornings, wipeouts, and travel across the world, for that unforgettable, irreplaceable feeling.”
That’s not too farfetched at all, Chatty!
NOW WHAT?
So, except for some fun stuff, how do I use Chat? I’m still figuring it out. It’s not a reliable fact-checker. Wikipedia, talking to people, and further research are more reliable. I’m sure it can be a handy assistant, especially on a personal level. Rest assured, for Seaside, we still use imagination, dreams, experience, adventure, and creativity. Our own. ☺
I hope you find this article useful, fun, or inspiring. And I’m curious how you use Chat or any form of AI in your work and/or personal life. Feel free to leave a (human-powered) comment!
Much love,
Alexandra – co-owner, writer I Love the Seaside
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