ChatAI learns fast.

Recently I wrote of my encounter with ChatAI, an artificial intelligence website. I asked ChatAI to write an 80,000-word novel using a one-paragraph synopsis I supplied. The results, as you may remember, were not impressive.

ChatAI sent me an email saying it had much improved itself. I accepted the challenge and gave it precisely what I had given it a few days ago. The results are ... uh ... impressive. Yeah, "impressive" is the right word.

The ChatAI logo.

ChatAI still hasn't written the 80,000-word novel I asked for. But it has written two much longer synopses that -- well, judge for yourself. Here in their entirety, unedited except for paragraphing and quotation-marks, are my query and ChatAI's two responses.

FRANK: Please write a novel of 80,000 words using the following synopsis: An ordinary woman encounters the President and says something casually that touches his soul. He asks her to come back again. She in effect becomes his psychiatrist. We see why he needs one, why she needs this relationship herself for her own struggles, how word gets out, how his political opponents twist it, how it turns sour for both, possibly destroys both, but changes both in both good ways and bad.

ChatAI Response #1:

"Chapter 1: Jane walked down the bustling street, trying to stay cool on a sweltering summer day. She was an ordinary woman with an ordinary life, working as a waitress at the local diner. She'd never been one to pay much attention to politics, so when she saw the crowds gathered outside the courthouse, she didn't give it much thought. As she walked closer, she realized it was because the President was in town. She wasn't one to get starstruck, but she couldn't help but stop and watch as the motorcade drove by. As the President's car passed by, their eyes met for just a moment. It was just a fleeting glance, but something about it felt different. Something about the way he looked at her made her feel like he needed her.

"Chapter 2: A few weeks later, Jane was shocked to receive a call from the White House inviting her to meet with the President. She didn't know what to expect, but she couldn't turn down the opportunity. She arrived at the Oval Office nervously, unsure of what she was supposed to say to the most powerful man in the world. To her surprise, the President was warm and welcoming. He thanked her for coming and then launched into a long monologue about his struggles with anxiety and depression. He talked about the pressure of being the leader of the free world, about the constant scrutiny and criticism, and about how he struggled to find any real connection with the people around him. Jane didn't know what to say, but she listened as he poured his heart out. She found herself getting lost in his story, feeling for him in a way she never thought she could for someone in such a high position of power.

"Chapter 3: Over the next few weeks, Jane found herself meeting with the President more and more often. They talked about everything, from his personal life to the stresses of the job. It was weird to her at first, being a waitress and having these deep conversations with the most powerful person in the world. But as they met more frequently, her confidence grew. She began to see that the President was just a man, like anyone else, and that he needed someone to talk to just as much as anyone else. She found herself feeling honored to be that person.

"Chapter 4: As the meetings continued, Jane began to hear rumors about their relationship. At first, it was just whispers among the staff at the diner. But soon enough, the rumors grew into a full-blown scandal. There were headlines in the papers and talking heads on the news, all speculating about what was going on between the President and this ordinary waitress. Jane was mortified. She never asked for any of this attention, and certainly never wanted to be the center of a political storm. But even worse than the attention was the way the President's political opponents used their relationship against him. They twisted everything, making it seem like he was unfit to be President because he needed a "psychiatrist" to talk to.

"Chapter 5: Jane knew she needed to distance herself from the President, but she didn't know how. He had become a close friend, and she didn't want to hurt him. But the pressure was too much to bear. She started avoiding his calls and messages, trying to disappear from his life. But it didn't work. The rumors only grew, and so did the President's desperation for someone to talk to. Jane realized, in the end, that she needed him just as much as he needed her. She went back to him, but their relationship was never the same. The pressure had taken its toll, and their once pure friendship became complicated and difficult.

"Chapter 6: In the end, Jane and the President went their separate ways. The rumors died down, and Jane went back to her normal life. But things were different for both of them. The President had grown as a person, thanks to their conversations. He had learned to open up to people and to seek help when he needed it. Jane, too, had grown. She had learned that even the most powerful person in the world could be vulnerable, and that she was stronger than she ever thought she could be. Their relationship may have ended on a sour note, but it changed both of them in ways they never imagined. And who knows? Maybe they'll meet again someday, under different circumstances, and be able to pick up where they left off."

ChatAI response #2:

"Chapter One: Samantha had a habit of wandering around the city, taking in the sights and sounds, and sometimes talking to people she meets on the way. It was on one such day that she came across Adrian, the President of the United States out on a walk. She interrupted him, without knowing who he was, to share her love for the park they were both walking through. She didn't think much of the encounter, and was surprised when a couple of days later Adrian contacted her, asking her to come to the White House.

"Chapter Two: Adrian was going through a rough patch in his life. The pressures of being the President were weighing heavily on him, and he needed someone to talk to. He wasn't sure if Samantha was the right person, but there was something about her casual approach and easy attitude that made him feel like he could trust her. And so, she became his therapist of sorts, coming to the White House whenever he needed to talk.

"Chapter Three: Samantha was fascinated by Adrian's world. She grew up in a small town in the Midwest and had never imagined herself in the White House. She found herself drawn to Adrian's vulnerability and the way he opened up to her. She realized that she needed this relationship just as much as he did, and that it was helping her deal with her own struggles.

"Chapter Four: Word began to get out about their meetings, and the press started speculating about the nature of their relationship. Adrian's political opponents began to twist the narrative, suggesting that something inappropriate was going on between the President and this ordinary woman. Samantha was shocked at how quickly things had turned sour, and she worried that she was causing more harm than good by being in Adrian's life.

"Chapter Five: As the pressure mounted, Samantha and Adrian began to distance themselves from each other. He was worried about the impact their relationship was having on his presidency, and she was starting to feel like she was in way over her head. They both realized that they might have been better off if they'd never met, but at the same time, they both knew that their time together had changed them in profound ways.

"Chapter Six: Years went by, and Samantha and Adrian lost touch. She returned to her simple life, while he continued to run the country. But they never forgot each other, and sometimes late at night, when the stress of the world got to be too much, Adrian would think back to the woman he had once confided in so freely. He knew that she had helped him more than she could ever know, and he hoped that somehow she had found the peace and happiness she deserved.

I will not comment further. But I'd love to know your thoughts. Email me at frank@frankjoseph.com. And stand by.

Frank S Joseph Author

P.S. To Do Justice, the award-winning final novel in my Chicago Trilogy, is scheduled to be published in fall. Stand by for specifics plus an insiders' peek at the cover.