I took that test comparing human to AI poetry earlier this week. I am proud to state I scored 9/10, good enough for a non-poetry appreciating reader. If it wasn't for Mrs. Corcoran, my 7th grade teacher, I would not think about poetry at all. Memorize verbatim and recite in class, no sitting in the back, but standing in front of fifty-four other students (size of a class in 1960s Catholic schools in suburban Chicago.)
I’ve had the first few lines of Shakespeare’s sonnet 60 in my brain for decades so I finally re-memorized the rest this year so I could have closure, lol.
Adding my deux centimes: I draw portraits by hand. Hand-drawn artwork is subjective and therefore imperfect or *flawed*. Flawed is more interesting (active) than perfect.
Everything about this post is much-appreciated, from the quiz (similar approach here: look for the unexpected) to the slide you show students (that I'm stealing for our second semester as we push away from that type of writing) to the broader, existential reflection on art.
Pinning this to return to several times over, I'm sure. 🙏
It’s so weird to me, this relentless plugging of AI “art.” My husband and I were talking about this over dinner last night—who, aside from corporations who want free/cheap content (and kids using it to write their homework for them, I guess), even wants this? Art is, I think by definition, something made by people, people who have something to express. Preaching to the choir here, I know, but it’s just so bizarre.
I also scored 10 of 10 with the measure "is there a volta or a foible?"
+1 for memorizing a poem as the best assignment ever.
And shout out to short story collections! Some of my favorites that I've read this year: The Consequences by Manuel Muñoz Manual; Munoz; The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel; The Angel of Rome by Jess Walters; Likes by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynym; People From My Neighborhood by Hiromi Kawakami /trans. Ted Goosen; and Seeking Fortune Elsewhere by Sindaya Bhanoo. I'm in the middle of Exhalation by Ted Chiang right now!
Productive struggle is one of the essential elements of teaching and learning in and of itself. It is also essential because of the world we live (and live through) outside of schools. I love the connection between poetry and productive struggle. I recently wrote about the former, myself. And as a poetry nerd, this is a fascinating view into how art continues to reflect where humanity is.
10/10 although I started with 6 flagged as LLMs and had to go back and decide who qualified as human. My false pick was Chaucer, which I think is fair since the language has been modernised. Not enough "huh" for me on first pass, but enough to pick it on review.
That said, as with the image survey, the quality of the AI samples is pretty low. E.g. here is a poem generated in 2-3 rounds with Claude that is more interesting than anything in the survey (because it's not a generic "poem in the style of" prompt):
9/10 on the quiz, but that was due to me calling one of the human poems an AI poem. I found that the AI passages were a little pedantic and read like they were written by a love-sick thirteen year old girl. The iambics were not quite right in meter. The language had a few too many prepositions. I'm a teacher and I spend a long time on my fifth grade poetry writing unit. The frustrating thing I'm seeing is not students trying to pass off AI as their own, but students Googling obscure poems and turning those in as their own. Do they think I can't use Google? 🤣🤦🏻♀️
One quick note: the Columbia link appears to go to a story from the Northeastern student newspaper. I think the Columbia student newspaper article is here: https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2024/11/21/the-atlantic-said-elite-college-students-cant-read-books-columbia-faculty-say-theres-more-to-the-story/
I took that test comparing human to AI poetry earlier this week. I am proud to state I scored 9/10, good enough for a non-poetry appreciating reader. If it wasn't for Mrs. Corcoran, my 7th grade teacher, I would not think about poetry at all. Memorize verbatim and recite in class, no sitting in the back, but standing in front of fifty-four other students (size of a class in 1960s Catholic schools in suburban Chicago.)
By the shores of Gitche Gumee
By the shining Big Sea Waters...
That's all I remember now!
I’ve had the first few lines of Shakespeare’s sonnet 60 in my brain for decades so I finally re-memorized the rest this year so I could have closure, lol.
8 out of 10 and I don’t read a lot of poetry. Predictability was the key.
Adding my deux centimes: I draw portraits by hand. Hand-drawn artwork is subjective and therefore imperfect or *flawed*. Flawed is more interesting (active) than perfect.
Have fun! Scotland is amazing.
Everything about this post is much-appreciated, from the quiz (similar approach here: look for the unexpected) to the slide you show students (that I'm stealing for our second semester as we push away from that type of writing) to the broader, existential reflection on art.
Pinning this to return to several times over, I'm sure. 🙏
I laughed out loud at that slide. “In conclusion…” 🤣😭🤣
Cannot wait to begin Semester 2 with it!
It’s so weird to me, this relentless plugging of AI “art.” My husband and I were talking about this over dinner last night—who, aside from corporations who want free/cheap content (and kids using it to write their homework for them, I guess), even wants this? Art is, I think by definition, something made by people, people who have something to express. Preaching to the choir here, I know, but it’s just so bizarre.
10/10 and yes the key was that AI was obvious and straightforward
I also scored 10 of 10 with the measure "is there a volta or a foible?"
+1 for memorizing a poem as the best assignment ever.
And shout out to short story collections! Some of my favorites that I've read this year: The Consequences by Manuel Muñoz Manual; Munoz; The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel; The Angel of Rome by Jess Walters; Likes by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynym; People From My Neighborhood by Hiromi Kawakami /trans. Ted Goosen; and Seeking Fortune Elsewhere by Sindaya Bhanoo. I'm in the middle of Exhalation by Ted Chiang right now!
Edinburgh is a Wonderful city / Enjoy!
Productive struggle is one of the essential elements of teaching and learning in and of itself. It is also essential because of the world we live (and live through) outside of schools. I love the connection between poetry and productive struggle. I recently wrote about the former, myself. And as a poetry nerd, this is a fascinating view into how art continues to reflect where humanity is.
Can't believe you're writing in the airport!
10/10 although I started with 6 flagged as LLMs and had to go back and decide who qualified as human. My false pick was Chaucer, which I think is fair since the language has been modernised. Not enough "huh" for me on first pass, but enough to pick it on review.
That said, as with the image survey, the quality of the AI samples is pretty low. E.g. here is a poem generated in 2-3 rounds with Claude that is more interesting than anything in the survey (because it's not a generic "poem in the style of" prompt):
I found you lying on the verge,
a perfect thing still warm with colour—
green like felt, blue like crayola,
red that made my heart hurt.
I thought: I’ll save you.
The box was from my mother's shoes.
I lined it with tissues and grass
and put you in so carefully,
checking every day,
until the flies came
and I couldn't look anymore.
Now I know what happens in boxes.
Now I know how death gets in
through the air holes I cut
so you could breathe. Sometimes
I still dream of your bright feathers
turning black in the dark.
9/10 on the quiz, but that was due to me calling one of the human poems an AI poem. I found that the AI passages were a little pedantic and read like they were written by a love-sick thirteen year old girl. The iambics were not quite right in meter. The language had a few too many prepositions. I'm a teacher and I spend a long time on my fifth grade poetry writing unit. The frustrating thing I'm seeing is not students trying to pass off AI as their own, but students Googling obscure poems and turning those in as their own. Do they think I can't use Google? 🤣🤦🏻♀️