The AI Went Down to Georgia

My duel with ChatGPT for mixtape superiority

(Photo: Amazon)

Should creative types fear AI?

While AI may be able to come up with proficient engineering or technical documents, surely it won’t replace our art, our storytelling, our music…right? Surely humans are more creative and better at reaching our fellow humans than ChatGPT…right?

Fear not, Creatives! Battling against Superpowered Phony Creative Cheats is nothing new. Do you not recall the story from The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band? Johnny, a young man sawin’ on a fiddle and playin’ it hot, went toe-to-toe with the devil himself in a fiddle playin’ contest. The stakes could not have been higher. If Johnny wins, he gets a golden fiddle; if Johnny loses, the devil gets his soul.

Despite fire flying from his fingertips and the assistance of a band of demons joining in, the devil gets smoked. Johnny wins his golden fiddle and taunts the defeated devil on his way out of town. Well done, Johnny. The devil messed with the wrong dude. Humans 1, Superpowered Phony Creative Cheats 0.

(Photo: Amazon)

I confess I have feared the AI stuff just a little. Am I going to be replaced? Will my musings and stories be rendered worthless when the machines take over?

Luddite that I am, I have not yet dared to engage with ChatGPT or the other AI content creation apps (or whatever you call them). But my little brother, early adopter that he is, loves ChatGPT, and his reports have left me curious. As you know, I am writing a series of stories about training in palliative medicine called My PalliMed Mixtape, and I have begun to wonder how ChatGPT might handle the same project. So I sent this text to my brother:

“I want to ask ChatGPT to make a mixtape… of 15 songs that describe the experience of doing fellowship training in palliative medicine after being an ER doctor for 13 years.”

One minute (one minute!) later my brother texts back his results from ChatGPT:

1. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

2. A Change Would Do You Good by Sheryl Crow

3. Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

4. The Climb by Miley Cyrus

5. I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty

6. Learning to Fly by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

7. Brave by Sara Bareilles

8. It’s My Life by Bon Jovi

9. Stronger by Kelly Clarkson

10. Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve

11. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

12. Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

13. The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel

14. Beautiful Day by U2

15. Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson

And then this sentence: “These songs capture the emotions, challenges, and personal growth associated with transitioning from being an ER doctor to pursuing fellowship training in palliative medicine.”

OK devil…err, ChatGPT. It looks like you came to play. I love the Sheryl Crow tune you included early on. Good tune, good thematic fit. A bit too on the nose? Maybe. Strong choice with Bittersweet Symphony—can’t argue that one. You did manage to include U2, my favorite band of all time. Solid. You made some good moves here. I’m semi-impressed.

But clearly you’ve never made a mixtape, ChatGPT.

Who buries Don’t Stop Believin’ as song 3? That’s a side closer! Who puts two Tom Petty songs back-to-back? Are you actually including two Kelly Clarkson songs? You really didn’t think to include the ironic Cake cover of I Will Survive instead of the original? Big oversight.

Come on, ChatGPT. You cannot possibly sandwich The Sound of Silence, a great song but a total downer, between Eye of the Tiger and Beautiful Day, two hall-of-fame fist-pumping high-tempo arena rock anthems. What were you thinking?

Maybe you’re new at this, ChatGPT. Maybe you don’t understand that song order and flow matter a great deal. Maybe you don’t understand that you need to define a Side 1 and a Side 2. I’ll give you a little leeway on that. But your choices are generally too obvious. And you—even you, ChatGPT—should know that It’s My Life by Bon Jovi is a trash song.

On the whole, since you’re new at this, I guess I’d say not bad, devil. Not bad. You’re pretty good, ol’ son. But sit down in that chair right there and let me show you a child of the ‘80s gets a mixtape done!

(Photo: Jorgensen)

My PalliMed Mixtape Track List

Side 1

1. Communication Breakdown by Led Zeppelin

2. Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads

3. The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy

4. Old Time Rock & Roll by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

5. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band

6. September by Earth, Wind & Fire

7. Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles

8. With a Little Help from My Friends by Joe Cocker

Side 2

1. Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd

2. Madame George by Van Morrison

3. Night Life by Willie Nelson

4. Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel

5. You Get What You Give by New Radicals

6. Valerie Loves Me by Material Issue

7. My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

Now That’s What I Call a PalliMed Mixtape, ChatGPT! Look at the song selection. Look at the unexpected choices. Look at the combination of mainstream hits and more obscure selections. Each of these songs tells a story. Look at the flow, the gradual tempo changes. There’s an art to this thing, man. That’s how we humans make a mixtape.

Humans 2, Superpowered Phony Creative Cheats 0. ChatGPT, you just come on back if you ever want to try again. I done told once, you son of a chip, we’re the best there’s ever been.

(Photo: tor.com)

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Tell me Crash Cart Campfire friends:

• Have you messed around with AI content generation yet?

• Do you fear being replaced?