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May 8, 2024

An AI Experiment

By: W.F. Strong

There’s been a lot of talk lately about artificial intelligence — what it can do and what its limitations are. And if you’ve been keeping tabs on it at all, there’s no doubt that it seems to be getting better — and fast.

Texas Standard commentator WF Strong wanted to find out for himself just how good its become. So he did a little experiment.

The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

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With all the excitement over

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artificial intelligence

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and what it is capable of.

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I thought I would see what it could

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do for me.

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I decided I would ask Al,

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my AI assistant, to

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write a story in the style

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of WF Strong.

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I didn’t tell him that I write Texas

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stories. I wanted him to send

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his creepy crawlers out

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onto the vast web and

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figure that out for himself.

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And as for my style, I

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couldn’t define that for you.

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I think it depends on whether I’ve

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been reading McCarthy or McMurtry

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or Paulette Jiles this week.

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Well, anyway, here is

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the beginning of the story that Al

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wrote in response to my request.

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In the heart of the Lone Star State,

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where the sun’s rays beat down

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fiercely on the red Earth.

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There lived a man named Jeb.

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Jeb was a rugged cowboy,

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weathered by years of hard

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work on the sprawling ranches

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that stretched as far

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as the eye could see.

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One scorching summer day,

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as Jeb rode out to check on the

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cattle, he noticed a strange

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shimmer in the distance.

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Curiosity piqued, he spurred his

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horse onward, the dust

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kicking up behind him in

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a swirling cloud.

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As he drew closer, Jeb realized

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the shimmer was coming from a small,

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crystal clear spring

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bubbling up from the ground.

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The water was cool and refreshing,

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a stark contrast to the blistering

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heat of the day.

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Jeb dismounted and took a long

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drink.

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Feeling the liquid revive him

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from the inside out.

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But as he knelt by the spring, Jeb

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heard a voice carried on the

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wind.

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You have found the spring of truth,

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cowboy.

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Startled, Jeb looked around

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and saw no one.

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Let me stop the story right here to

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add another wrinkle to this

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experiment.

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I wondered if I could ask

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Al to make this story

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even more artificially.

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Me?

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So I asked him to create

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a clone of my voice.

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It took about an hour, but he came

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up with a pretty good likeness.

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I’ll let the clone take over the

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narration of the story.

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Now remember, we left

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Jeb at the Spring of Truth.

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Determined to uncover the mystery,

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Jeb spent the next few days

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exploring the area around the

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spring.

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In the process, he discovered

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a hidden cave nestled

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in the rocky cliffs nearby.

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Inside the cave, he found ancient

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pictographs and symbols

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etched into the walls, telling

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the story of a lost civilization

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that revered the spring as a

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source of wisdom and enlightenment.

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Armed with this newfound knowledge,

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Jeb returned to the ranch with a

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sense of purpose.

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He shared the tale of the Spring of

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Truth with his fellow cowboys,

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inspiring them to seek out their

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own truths and live

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with integrity and honor.

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From that day on, the spring

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of truth became a sacred place

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for the people of the Texas Plains.

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They would make pilgrimages to the

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spring, seeking guidance

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and wisdom in times of need

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and always finding solace

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in its cool, clear waters.

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And so the legend of Jeb and the

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Spring of Truth lived on a

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reminder to all who heard it

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that the path to enlightenment can

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be found in the most unexpected

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of places, even in the vast

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expanse of the Texas wilderness.

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Not bad.

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A little bit of tweaking, and al can

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send in the clone to take

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my place, but I’ll go ahead and keep

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the direct deposit coming to my

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bank.

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I even had him create the artwork to

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go with this story, which you

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can see if you go online shortly to

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Texas standard.org.

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Okay, Al, you finish

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up while I pop a cold one.

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I’m WF strong.

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These are stories from Texas.

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Some of them are true.

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Stories from Texas is a listener

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supported production of Texas

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Standard, distributed through

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KUT and KUTX

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Studios in Austin, Texas.

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You can support it at support this

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podcast.org.

This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.


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