Are Poets Obsolete?

[brynmawr1]

Thanks for sharing the article.  The author makes a good point at the end.  The original poem I posted wasn't great but it was far from bad which I think is the point.  It's likely that if the poem was mixed with a group of poems of similar style it might be hard to determine which was written by AI.  AI will only get better, and quickly.

What I found most interesting was how AI "learns" to write poetry.  Not at all what I was expecting.  Basically the same way humans do, by reading.

I am very curious about the book of poems mentioned towards the end, Travesty Generator.  I wish I could find an example of what she did, but it seems one has to buy the book to find out.

It is ironic that the most common suggestion when first learning to write poetry or write in general is to read and imitate.  I guess the next step is when the student goes beyond the teacher.  I was frustrated that the author didn't make the sonnet the AI generated available.  I thought that was odd and made my cynical side wonder if it wasn't a ruse or at least exaggerated for effect.

I guess the lesson for now is that basic poetry, and life in general, can be formulaic on the surface and easily replicated.  I think what humans still have is those leaps that connect the unforeseen connected to bring the new and show how the irrational can be rational, ie poetic.  Emotion is a shared, infinitely variable experience.