In the realm of poetry, a surprising new contender has emerged – artificial intelligence. A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh has found that A.I.-generated poems are not only indistinguishable from those penned by humans but are actually preferred by participants.
The study involved gathering works from renowned poets like William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Allen Ginsburg, and then using OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5 to generate poems in the style of each writer. These A.I.-generated poems were then presented alongside authentic works to over 1,600 participants for evaluation.
What’s striking is that participants struggled to correctly identify which poems were created by A.I. and which were human-authored. In fact, the A.I.-generated poems often received higher ratings and were perceived as more human-like than those written by real-life poets. This unexpected preference for A.I.-generated poetry can be attributed to its accessibility and directness in communicating emotions, ideas, and themes.
Interestingly, the study also revealed that participants’ ratings of A.I.-generated poems decreased when they were informed in advance that the poems were created by artificial intelligence. This suggests that people may unknowingly favor A.I.-generated poetry but then doubt their own judgement once they are aware of its origin.
The researchers noted that advancements in large language models (LLM) have played a significant role in enhancing the quality of A.I.-generated poetry. This shift towards favoring A.I.-created works extends beyond poetry, with studies showing similar trends in A.I.-generated paintings and jokes.
In conclusion, the study’s authors emphasized the groundbreaking progress in generative A.I. technology, particularly in the realm of poetry. This newfound ability of A.I. models to produce poems indistinguishable from human-authored works marks a significant milestone in the evolution of artificial intelligence. It seems that A.I. has not only entered the world of art but is also reshaping how we perceive and appreciate creative expression.
