Middlebury and Dartmouth – Demystifying AI

In Vermont’s hills where knowledge takes its stand,

Two schools arise, stories intertwined, expand.

Dartmouth, with Ivy’s pride and traditions grand,

While Middlebury’s arts, a liberal command.

In winter’s chill, where New England’s tales unfold,

Snow-laden landscapes, histories untold.

Dartmouth engineers with precision bold,

Middlebury’s humanities, their narratives unfold.

Dartmouth’s pines whisper secrets of the past,

Middlebury’s leaves, a tapestry cast.

In valleys and on mountains where minds are vast,

Intellectual echoes, a shared knowledge blast.

Dartmouth alumnus, cast your gaze with care,

At Middlebury’s campus, where ideas flare.

Domains distinct, yet history they share,

In the dance of intellect, a harmonious air.

I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about Middlebury College as seen through the eyes of a Dartmouth alumnus, focusing on historical similarities and differences. I was quite impressed at how varied, sophisticated, and structured the verses of the poem were. While the results were better than what I could have come up with, I don’t consider them high quality poetry. The language was too general and trite, the cadence too monotonous, and the imagery lacked imagination. I tried to push ChatGPT to make the language more exciting and cadence more lively by first asking for a rewrite in the style of the psalmists, then in iambic pentameter (about all I remember of poetry from my studies in high school..). The final result, posted here, is an improvement over the first attempt, though hardly inspired. ChatGPT also doesn’t seem to realize that Dartmouth and Middlebury are in different states.

Peter Wolcott

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