Unit 3 Reflection

 

    For this unit, I expanded on my topic for unit 2 regarding technology, AI, and its effects on writers plus society. I did this through a PowerPoint presentation to transform the textual argument and analysis into something more visually appealing. A PowerPoint presentation is something we are all familiar with which is why it was quite easy to decide on this medium because it is flexible. I added videos, pictures, transitions, and color to this presentation so it could be easier and more interesting for the audience to view. 

    Being a statistics major, I am quite familiar with presenting statistical analyses using PowerPoint, so I wanted to do something I know I could do well about a topic I am unfamiliar with; writing. Literature is not something I am an expert in but I do see on a daily basis through academic articles, online stories, books, and in social media. I though about using iMovie for this project, but I could not format it in a way that I enjoyed to make it creative and informational. I felt most comfortable doing a PowerPoint so that lead me to my final decision to do a slides presentation medium. 

    My intended audience for my pitch was current and future authors of all genres. I wanted to ask their opinion or their feelings regarding artificial intelligence and if its presence causes any worry about their careers. Artificial intelligence has been a prominent topic in the media causing many to worry about potentially losing their jobs. AI generators like Chat GPT are used globally for coding, creative ideas, planning, and writing. I wanted to focus on writing and the opinions of authors regarding generators like ChatGPT. 

    From my personal experience, when I ask Chat GPT to generate a story or a plot, it is corny or not engaging. This believes me to think that many authors are not in jeopardy of their careers if one of the most proficient generators still talks "robot-like". For example, I asked Chat GPT "Write me a short story about a relative of Al Capone in the modern era who lives in a small town in California. Include how the relative tries to hide his relation to his ancestor and his attempt to blend in the small-town culture." Chat GPT responded and generated:

" 

"The Quiet Life of Frankie Caplan"

Frankie Caplan wasn’t born a Caplan. His birth certificate, buried deep in a safe deposit box in Chicago, bore the name Francis Capone — a direct descendant of the Al Capone. But in a sleepy California town called Maplewood, nobody knew that. And Frankie intended to keep it that way.

He arrived in Maplewood ten years ago, a clean-cut man in his early thirties with a used pickup and a fake backstory about growing up in Oregon. Maplewood was the kind of place where people cared more about the county fair pie contest than anyone’s past. Perfect.

Frankie opened a little hardware store on Main Street, “Frank’s Fix-It,” and quickly became a fixture in town life. He sponsored the Little League team. He sold raffle tickets for the church fundraiser. He even grew a beard to look more like the other locals — rugged and harmless.

But there were moments, little things, that gave him away. The way his hand tensed when he saw a police cruiser. The way he always sat with his back to the wall at Rosie’s Diner. The faint Chicago accent that slipped out when he was tired.

One summer, a true-crime podcast started making waves, digging into old mob families and their modern-day connections. Frankie’s stomach dropped when the host announced a “Capone family tree” episode.

The next day, Frankie baked an apple pie — poorly, but it didn’t matter — and brought it to his neighbor, old Mrs. Callahan, who’d lost her cat. He mowed lawns for free that week. He let his beard grow out more. He played horseshoes at the VFW barbecue.

The episode aired. No one cared.

Maplewood wasn’t interested in ghosts of the past. They cared about who showed up at the pancake breakfast and helped stack hay bales for the harvest festival.

And so, Frankie Caplan remained Frankie Caplan — a quiet man with a knack for fixing screen doors and keeping secrets.

He liked it that way."

Although my prompt was somewhat detailed, the response was not the greatest. I did say write a short story, maybe if I said write a novel, it could produce something better but I am not confident in that. The story focused on descriptions instead of transferring any emotions on the page, that is a main difference between the work of a machine and the work of a human. I don't think AI does a great job of incorporating human feelings into text. I prompted Chat GPT to include human feelings like trying to blend in and being reserved, which I do not think the generator has the capacity of knowing what that feels like because it is a machine. On the other hand, a human author could easily know what that feels like through their own experiences which would make the story I asked for much better and engaging. Yes, it could take much longer than Chat GPT but the author would produce better work. 

   

When it came to sending my pitch out, I decided to contact The New York Times although I did not believe they would respond. It would be nice to have a response so I decided I would contact the editors to see if maybe it would reach any current authors or those who would like to start writing. I emailed:

Letter to the Editor

letters@nytimes.com

and my pitch was as follows:

Dear authors and aspiring writers, 

My name is Rose Cano, a student at Syracuse University and I am interested in your perspective regarding a project I am undergoing. 

For this assignment, I am looking at how technology affects writers financially, creatively, along with other aspects as well. This is an important topic that is at the forefront of my curiosity because of the popularity of AI generators. 

This project is for those actively in the field of literature and those who have dreams of doing so one day. My project focuses on the practical and creative implications, especially regarding AI, for both current and future writers. I have attached a lovely copy of the presentation via this email and would love for you to check it out once you have the chance!

I would greatly appreciate your insights for this project!

Thank you for your time,

Rose Cano

I did not hear any response which I expected since I did send out to a large company who definitely gets plenty of emails. If I were to hear a response, I would like them to read through my presentation and hear directly from authors who work for that paper about their opinion. This way I could hear from established writers who have made a stable career through writing about their beliefs on artificial intelligence. 

    Peer review was very beneficial for me because it did show me that I was on the right track regarding this assignment. I had a hard time at first grasping the instructions for this assignment and was not sure what it was supposed to look like. But comments like "very clear on getting your topic choice across" verifies to me that I am getting my argument across to a first-time reader.