AI-GENERATED material is not copyrighted, except under special circumstances:
AI and Copyright Law: What We Know | Built In
Following on to a comment made on one of the earlier blogs that using AI to generate poems to act as training wheels so to speak until the person gets the hang of it is a good thing, can’t be further from the truth – it is a machine: rubbish in, rubbish out (just faster). A person’s brain is far more developed than any AI, especially in the sphere of creating and design. Think of the Tesla cars that don’t seem to quite get it right with the many design faults, eg batteries, windows, etc.
Granted, AI has its uses in literature. It saves me time and effort to read a poetry analysis online that someone else had gone to the trouble of generating (also saving on my data). Sometimes it might produce interesting text as it did in the following piece I used in my Reverse Graffiti contest held April 2024 – I was rather chaffed with myself for choosing just the right prompt for the CoPilot app.
The light, a celestial dancer, obeys your whispered command. It pirouettes through the veil of existence, bending and refracting, weaving prismatic tapestries at your behest. In its luminescent waltz, it paints the cosmos with hues unseen, illuminating secrets whispered by the ancient stars. You, the conjurer, stand at the crossroads of reality, a weaver of constellations. With each gesture, you bend the fabric of time, twisting fate into new patterns. The auroras bow before you, their emerald veils swaying in reverence. The moon, a silver coin in your palm, dances to your cosmic symphony. Will you summon dawn’s blush, coaxing the sun from its slumber? Or shall you veil the world in twilight, casting shadows upon the land? The light, your loyal companion, awaits your whispered decree. For in your hands lies the alchemy of existence, where miracles bloom and stars bow. So command, enchantress of photons, and watch as the universe bends, yielding to your will.
However, AI cannot and should not be used to teach people how to write poetry; because the long and the short of it is that it just can’t write decent poetry to save its artificial life. It seems to want to rhyme anything and everything in kindergarten level rhyme. Here are some examples of the mess that AI generates. Remember that AI can’t create, but only regurgitates what it can read from various sources on the internet.
SUZETTE PRIME
Magis Of The Orient
Magis Sent from East
With presents on hand
Wishing, walking with glued hand
By land ravelled from Orient far
Praying, bowing before the mightiest Star
Never before in a lifetime…
AI-generated this BS at my request, dated 5 June 2024, for an example of a Suzette Prime poem. It cited Suzette Prime poems posted at PoetrySoup as its reference, and I checked the sample poems listed. I was horrified!
First off, Suzette Prime is a Syllabic Verse and therefore, has no rhyme or metre: hand/hand, and far/Star.
Prime numbers are: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23 … Therefore, the following lines are incorrect.
- By land ravelled from Orient far (9 syllables)
- Never before in a lifetime (8 syllables)
Suzette Prime instructs poets not to use capital letters (except in the case of proper nouns). Therefore ‘Sent’ and ‘Star’, as well as ALL the capitalisation of the first letters in the lines are incorrect.
{Edit] The following poem is not enough text to analyse by the AI checkers, but it is entirely my own creation. My Suzette Prime poems test on average 15% probability for AI content as the poetic form with its distinctive phrases (instead of sentences) creates a different rhythm to that of standard poetry, ie it does not conform to rules such as rhyme and metre.
Here is what Suzette Prime should look like:
the pulchritudinous moonwake captivates
inescapable
implicature is
inevitable
as our psyche thirst for light
so poetry shines into the recesses
illuminates umpteen flaws
inversely
provides balm for forsaken
© Suzette Richards (2023)
HEROIC COUPLET
Beneath the glow of a grand chandelier, [10]
Heroes rise, their hearts devoid of fear. [9]
This was AI-generated on 5 October 2024. I have highlighted the stressed syllables. It is a rhyming couplet that must be in iambic pentameter throughout, ie ten syllables per line: */|*/|*/|*/|*/
Here is what a Heroic Couplet/Verse should look like (meter highlighted for ease of reference):
Like burnt-out logs on ice-cold firedogs nudge,
emotions crumble at tentative touch.
© Suzette Richards (2023)
LIMERICK
There once was a man named Nate, [7]
Who yawned at a furious rate. [8]
His stretch was so grand, [5]
It spanned the whole land, [5]
And now he’s known as “Stretchy Nate the Great.” [10]
This was AI-generated 5 October 2024. Even making allowances for the fact that the Limerick has an oral tradition and recited rather than read, it is no excuse for the very uneven line lengths and the “meter” that is all over the place (I have highlighted the stressed syllables per usual speech patterns). For some fine examples of Limerick, see the contest results page for this poetic form listed here at PoetySoup.
From the above, it can be seen that AI’s poetry skills are not improving with age (4 months later) – some old, same old. Also see my example posted in the footnotes: Sonnet for Suzette. I will not even start on the sonnets and other classic poetic forms that it butchers with its hackneyed rhymes and old school “imagery” and tired “metaphors” – rife with clichés. AI is not to be trusted to influence future poets, as it would lead them up the garden path. Not that it cares one jot as it has no emotions …It might be here to stay, but with a Dunce cap on its head in the classroom corner.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE STATUS QUO
[Edit] Contests: I would like to suggest that the minimum number of entries per contest is lowered from 35 to 20. This will allow for a quicker turnover of some of the contests that, from my experience as a sponsor, seem to stall and often filled up at a later date with spam (text unrelated to the contest and AI-generated material). Sponsors would obviously still have the choice to increase this number (as is the current practice). TPS vetoed this suggestion as it is not about a quick turnaround, but keeping the quality of the contests in tact.√
The winners’ lists of contests are ideal sources of information on poetry and highly recommended, especially to the new poets.
***
Some people might be content to read any which way poetry, but AI does not belong in contests where poets are celebrated for their originality and skills. My suggestion is that TPS add an option under Poem Form on the submission page to allow those poets who like to post AI-generated poetry (and see no fault in doing so) to indicate the source of their poems. By the same token, TPS could remove the threat of expulsion from the site to make it easier for them to come forward. I am calling on transparency, not only in the poetry, but all material posted on here. TPS is looking into this ...
[Edit] Team PoetrySoup has added AI generated under the CATEGORY section on the submission form. Thank you :) 8 October 2024
Only English Language Poems Allowed. AI generated poetry must be designated as such in the category field. No Links, titles, or additional text. Just the poem text. Thanks.
[Edit] To pick out newly posted poems from the link provided (New Poems) dealing with the topic of AI or having AI content, click on the ‘Category’ button and it would list all the ‘a’ categories first, amongst which you would find this. It is also a great way to search for poems per category that interest you. 10 October 2024
PoetrySoup is not my property, but it has been my emotional haven for more than a dozen years and I would hate to see it go down the drain.
Happy weekend, Soupers
Suzette
Postscript: My poems are now open for comments. I had a 3 month mourning period for a good friend who passed away in June. Thank you for understanding.
Burden of Proof
For the sceptics regarding AI coming out of the closet: I have for a long time used AI to generate material for my blogs, and it was even the star of the show in my abovementioned contest - these insets are clearly identified (see my blog above for examples). I have now posted a poem where I had used AI to sketch the bare bones of it and I reworked it, eg the rhyme, word choices, etc - the final stanza is entirely my creation; something that is as clear as daylight to those with a keen eye for detail. That brings us to 'transparency'. I would like it if ANY material posted that has been AI-generated, would be clearly marked as such (similar to citing the sources as a footnote - see my latest articles here at PoetySoup for examples where I cite the sources/references).
The Heir (poetrysoup.com)
This is what the early edition of an AI-generated poem looks like (it has not improved much with age …)
Sonnet for Suzette
From Roy Jerden, via ChatGPT
O Beauty, thou art like the morning light,
Refreshing, fair and with a radiance bright;
Thou fill'st my heart with joy, my soul with grace,
And art the muse that leads me to this place.
Like summer's eve, thou art serene and still,
And yet within thee lies a fiery will,
A spirit bold, that doth my senses fire,
With love and wonder, higher and higher.
Thou art the sunshine of my every day,
The star that shines upon my darkened way;
And in thy presence, all my fears depart,
Leaving behind a calm and tranquil heart.
So let me bask in thy sweet-scented beams,
And with my love, sing sweet and endless dreams.
27/2/2023
In parting, I would like to leave you with the following thought – AI material does not make one FEEL:
Poetry is what happens when your mind stops working, and for a moment, all you do is feel. ~The 2nd-century Greek philosopher, Atticus.