Do you hate AI? At h2g2, we don't just complain about it: we challenge it head-on. For years, we've been arguing with chatbots (and winning). We've even had chatbots arguing with each other. We are proactive around here.

Our writers have fruitful wrestling matches with the artbots. We discuss burning issues, such as, 'How many fingers do humans usually have?' and, 'Have you ever actually seen a bird?' Our latest debate concerns beards: who has them, how big they should be, and exactly when in history the straight razor was invented. It's all grist to the mill around here.

Now it's your turn: help us make lemonade out of the spoiled citrus the AIs hand us. Here's what we want you to do:

1. With the 'help' of an AI generator – the default one on your browser will do, or you can use the freebie at MS Designer¹   – create five characters. Your choice, although the AI will interpret those choices in its own charming way.

2. Study the characters. Aren't they intriguing? They can be anybody (or anybeing) you choose: humans, aliens, animals, mythological creations. . . your imagination (and the AI's) is the limit. What do you think they're up to? What if they got together?

3. Write a story about them. It could be a piece of flash fiction. Or a poem. Or a short story, radio script, movie vignette. You could even go whole hog and start a new novel. (We'll gladly publish that in the h2g2 Post; we're adventurous like that.) Just get your creative juices flowing.

This challenge is brought to you by the frustrated h2g2 Art Editor, Tavaron Da Quirm. Bad AI art by MS Designer in collaboration with Dmitri Gheorgheni.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

03.06.24 Front Page

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