Ninety Percent Right, Mostly Fluff
September 27, 2024


Like social media, I don't use AI. From what I've seen so far, AI is 
great within specific, limited realms (offering a second opinion on a photo
of a possibly cancerous mole) but bad at more general intelligence (images 
that are physically impossible, babble-prose non-answers to complex questions).

But a friend of mine used the AI feature on his phone to create a biography 
for me, which was interesting. I've attached it below, with in-text-contents:

*****

Andrew Gudgel is an American essayist, translator, and writer with a diverse 
range of literary work spanning various genres. [True.] A graduate of Johns 
Hopkins University, [True.] Gudgel has written numerous essays and articles, 
with his work being featured in publications such as *The American Scholar* 
and *The Missouri Review*. [FALSE. I've never been published in either magazine.] 
He is known [By who?] for his clear, concise writing style and thoughtful 
engagement with complex topics, often blending historical research with 
personal reflection. [This sounds like a stock phrase. I've seen "concise 
writing style and thoughtful engagement" and "blending historical research 
with personal reflection" in other AI-generated writers' biographies.]

Gudgel is also recognized [By who?] for his translations of Chinese texts, focusing 
particularly on poetry and classical literature. [True.] His deep interest in 
Chinese language and culture is reflected in both his translations and original 
writings. [Maybe.] Beyond his literary career, Gudgel has worked in different 
capacities, including serving in the U.S. military, [True.] experiences that 
frequently inform his thoughtful, varied work. [Not really. I HAVE used military
themes and tech in poetry and stories, but I wouldn't call it "frequently."]

Though not widely known, [True.] Gudgel's work is respected in literary 
circles, [DON'T I WISH.] and he continues to contribute to both American and 
international literature. [Thanks for the roundabout way of saying that I'm
not yet dead.]

*****

The most interesting part of the biography was not the bit that was wrong, but 
the bits that were so vague--the Barnum-Forer[1] statements that were so 
general as to apply to almost any writer. The AI didn't have many hard 
facts to go by, so it filled the gaps in my bio with fluff.

And fluff is the greatest portion of this biography, making it ultimately sound 
and fury, signifying nothing. If you want a *real* biography and to see what
all I've written, check out the landing page of my website and my online
bibliography. Seeing as I wrote them, you can consider them authoritative,
unlike the AI-generated pseudo-biography.


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_effect


(c) 2024 Andrew Gudgel
contact [at] andrewgudgel [dot] com