Google's New Prototype AI Tool Does the Writing For You (theverge.com) 7
An anonymous reader shares a report: Remember that time Google showed off its artificial intelligence prowess by demoing conversations with Pluto and a paper airplane? That was powered by LaMDA, one of Google's latest-generation conversational AI models. Now, Google's using LaMDA to build Wordcraft, a prototype writing tool that can help creative writers craft new stories. AI-powered writing tools aren't new. Chances are you've heard of Grammarly or copywriting tools like Jasper. What makes Wordcraft a bit different is that it's framed as a means to help create fictional work. Google describes it as a sort of "text editor with purpose" built into a web-based word processor. Users can prompt Wordcraft to rewrite phrases or direct it to make a sentence funnier. It can also describe objects if asked or generate prompts. In a nutshell, it's sort of like wrapping an editor and writing partner into a single AI tool.
To test Wordcraft, Google created a workshop with 13 professional writers to see how well the prototype worked. While the writers seemed to appreciate Wordcraft as a way to spark new ideas, they unanimously agreed the tool wasn't going to replace authors anytime soon. For starters, the tool wasn't great at sticking to a narrative style and produced average or cliched writing. It also stuck to tried-and-true tropes while also steering clear of "mean" characters. "One clear finding was that using LaMDA to write full stories is a dead end. It's a much more effective tool when it's used to add spice," Douglas Eck, senior research director at Google Research, said at the AI@ event. Obviously, any prototype has kinks to work out. It's also hard to fully grasp what using an AI-powered creative writing tool is like. So I was curious to see a demo of it firsthand at Google's AI@ event.
To test Wordcraft, Google created a workshop with 13 professional writers to see how well the prototype worked. While the writers seemed to appreciate Wordcraft as a way to spark new ideas, they unanimously agreed the tool wasn't going to replace authors anytime soon. For starters, the tool wasn't great at sticking to a narrative style and produced average or cliched writing. It also stuck to tried-and-true tropes while also steering clear of "mean" characters. "One clear finding was that using LaMDA to write full stories is a dead end. It's a much more effective tool when it's used to add spice," Douglas Eck, senior research director at Google Research, said at the AI@ event. Obviously, any prototype has kinks to work out. It's also hard to fully grasp what using an AI-powered creative writing tool is like. So I was curious to see a demo of it firsthand at Google's AI@ event.
AI image generation (Score:2)
Scott Adams commented that AI is the future of creative work, thinking that in his case that he'd be able to describe a series of cartoons and have the AI draw it for him, then speak the speech balloon contents, then say "and put something funny at the end" to have the AI complete the strip.
I thought I'd try that and see how good the AI text to image generation is, so I typed "Dilbert talking to pointy-haired boss" into a handful of online AI to image programs.
For everyone in the audience, "Dilbert talking
Re: (Score:2)
> Scott Adams commented that AI is the future of creative work, thinking that in his case that he'd be able to describe a series of cartoons...[and] have the AI complete the strip.
Or just video my work-place and apply the SnapChat "Cartoonify" filter. I'm under 3 PHB's.
Scott Adams has a carpel-tunnel-like issue, if I'm not mistaken, such that he may have a good reason to explore such AI.
EMACS (Score:2)
Oh, Emacs has had this feature for years, hasn't it?
Ah, yes, here it is:
-------
write-4me is an autoloaded interactive Lisp function in
‘storywriter.el’.
(write-4me &optional ARG)
Write the necessary text in the current buffer. Every so often the user will be prompted whether to continue.
If ARG is positive, write a story.
If ARG is negative, write a depressing or sarcastic story.
Default is 2 (creative).
-----
Emacs Manufactures All Creative Stories
Google chat with Pluto? (Score:2)
I bet the demo's are either rigged or cherry-picked out of many failures. Google's marketing team tends to talk out of Uranus.
If you run hundreds of sessions, you can cherry-pick the best and still technically deny that they were rigged. They are real sessions, just not representative, which is misleading.
I tried it out (Score:1)
I think it will be very helpful for me and I will come to love using it and integrate it in my daily
What do you mean it's been cancelled ?
Never mind.
Let me guess... (Score:2)
Regardless of the (lack of) quality or originality of any works created this way, ALL of them will live on forever in the endless Alphabet cloud.
No thanks Google. You already have way more than enough data on and insight into the average internet user, and your motives are obviously and demonstrably evil. Get stuffed, you bloated leering privacy rapist.