I recently made an account with OpenAI, so I could try out ChatGPT-4, it is a very interesting app. AI, of course, means Artificial Intelligence. Yes, it sounds like something out of a movie, but I am very curious about it because I have been hearing about it and how it is being used for evil. Well maybe not necessarily “evil,” but for lying and cheating, which many people find to be very bad (even evil). Anyway, I will be testing out some questions and give my honest opinion and whether it is good, bad or in between.

Question: hello in cree

ChatGPT Answer:

Hello in Cree can be expressed in different ways depending on the dialect of the Cree language. Here are some common greetings in Cree:

• • In the Plains Cree dialect: Tânisi (pronounced “tawn-ih-sih”)
  • In the Woods Cree dialect: Tânisi or Tân’si (pronounced “tawn-sih”)
  • In the Swampy Cree dialect: Tansi or Tântêh (pronounced “tawn-see” or “tahn-tay”)

All of these greetings can be used to say “hello” or “hi” in Cree.

This is interesting and a very good point in how words are expressed in different ways. So many times, I have translated a word on various Cree Facebook pages, only to have another fluent speaker from another area telling me that I am saying it wrong.

For instance, up here in La Ronge we say “pōsīs” for cat, while down south in Plains Cree, they say minōs. Which is fine and good because we are both from different areas. However, the other person will continue to say that I am completely wrong and that I should not be giving wrong translations for the learners. I did not engage because chances are, they may have never heard it said the way we say it up here. I did engage on another word many years ago and it fell on deaf ears that we are from different areas and have different dialects. It can get frustrating, just realize that they may have never heard about your dialect.

Now the real scary stuff, for story writers like me anyway. I posted a question that was the description of one of my many short stories, and it was eerily similar to what I wrote, only better. My short story is called THERE STOOD WOLF, it is a based-on wolf track images that I got permission to use for a story. The images inspired me to write it up.

Here is the story I wrote, but without the images:

The wolf had stood there, he had fallen behind the pack that he used to lead as their great leader. He had become weary about keeping up. He stood and looked out, listening for the sounds he grew up hearing. No howls, not even a whimper did he hear.

He clawed at the crusty ground. A dusty road made by the humans. A crime to his kind. A trail that was not natural.

The wolf scrapped at the road again. What was he trying to dig for? Had he become this mindless? He looked ahead again but knowing he would see them again, his pack.

He started trampling the soft warm road. It might be the end for him. The natural trails were getting too difficult to travel. His memory was getting too hazy. His senses were dimmed to blindness and became almost deaf.

On the side of the dusty road was stacked up logs and brush. Underneath were openings that had room for him. He had long forgotten the sounds of the pack. The last thing he remembered, was laying down underneath the huge stack of brush. His dreams of his glorious days past, faded into darkness.

That is the whole short story, now read the question below and the answer I was given by ChatGPT

Question: write a short narrative of an old wolf, left behind by his pack.

ChatGPT Answer:

Once a proud alpha of his pack, the old wolf now lay alone on the fringes of the forest. His once-mighty body was now frail, his teeth worn down with age, and his fur dull and matted. His once-strong legs trembled with the effort of standing, and he could feel the weight of his years upon him.

As he lay there, he thought back on his life, remembering the thrill of the hunt and the joy of running with his pack. He remembered the fierce battles they fought and the hunts they won. But as he lay there, he also remembered the day that everything changed.

The pack had been growing restless, and many of the younger wolves were chafing under his leadership. They wanted to explore new territories, to hunt new prey, and to break free from his strict rules. And so, one day, while he was sleeping, they left him behind.

At first, he had tried to follow them, but his old legs could not keep up. He howled and called out to them, but they did not come back. And so, he was left alone, forced to fend for himself in his old age.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. The old wolf struggled to survive, but he refused to give up. He hunted small game, drank from streams, and sheltered in caves. He survived through sheer willpower and determination, refusing to let his age defeat him.

But as time went on, the old wolf grew weaker, and his thoughts turned to the pack he had lost. He wondered what had become of them, whether they were still alive and hunting together. He longed to see them again, to run with them and hunt with them one last time.

And so, one night, he summoned all his strength and set off in search of his pack. It was a long and difficult journey, but he did not falter. He traveled for days, following the scent of his old pack, until at last, he found them.

At first, the younger wolves did not recognize him, but as he drew closer, they saw the wisdom and strength in his eyes. They welcomed him back into the pack, and for a while, he was once again the alpha.

But he knew that his time was running out. He could feel the weight of his years upon him, and he knew that he would not be able to keep up with the pack much longer. And so, he made his peace with them, and with himself.

As he lay down to rest one final time, he knew that he had found what he had been looking for. He had found his pack, and he had found his place in the world. And though he was old and weak, he was content, knowing that he had lived a full and wild life, and that he would always be remembered as the alpha of the pack.

And there it is, while it has a happy ending, mine was sad. The ChatGPT story is actually pretty good and would make a great beginning story to continue on to my story. I see great things from ChatGPT when it comes to story telling/writing. While it would not be fair to submit such stories to magazine and book publishers, I can very well use AI generated stories on this website. I can edit to my liking but still it would be a time saver and provide more content for my readers.

So, is it good or bad? The good: it is awesome for answering questions on math and science. It is also great for general questions that you may want to read about, without having to click so many links like you would get from Google or other search engines.

The bad: it makes it way too easy for students to cheat on an essay. I realize there are AI checker apps out there, but as a former teacher, I would probably not take too much time checking each and every one of my students work. I guess that if it was suspicious and based on the student and the content, I would take the time.

Another bad thing is the cheaters that would send AI generated articles or stories to publishers and to story writing contests. That would be greatly frowned upon by writers who do all the work themselves to write great work, and then get beaten by dishonest ChatGPT users.

I would say that it is between good and bad. It will depend on the person using it. Anything can be used for either, but this app is still at an early phase, time will tell.

There is so much more to explore. I enjoyed the app and checked out a few more things that I was curious about and the answers are a good read. Create your own account and try it out yourself.

https://chat.openai.com/auth/login?next=%2F%3Fmodel%3Dtext-davinci-002-render

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Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay