I Asked AI To Review My Story.
Now I can’t stop laughing.
When I asked Bard, Google’s new AI assistant, to search the Internet for my stories, one of the results baffled me.
Bard: The Time Worm (2023) is a short story about a couple whose anniversary is ruined when they are visited by a time worm.
Spoiler alert, Bard. That’s not what happens.
Somehow Bard assumed 1) there is a creature called a time worm, and 2) it visits the main characters.
Uh, oh. A classic AI hallucination.
Everybody has that one friend who stands around with a can of beer in his hand, doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about, yet shares his opinions at the top of his lungs.
That was Bard describing The Time Worm.
Nervously, I prompted Bard further.
Me: Please write a book review of The Time Worm by Carrie Wexford.
Bard: Hold my beer.
The results were so way out there — well, you can judge for yourself.
The Time Worm by Carrie Wexford is a short story about a couple whose anniversary is ruined when they are visited by a time worm. Trent and Amber are celebrating their 10th anniversary when they are interrupted by a strange creature that appears out of nowhere. The creature is small and worm-like, with a glowing green body. It speaks in a language that Trent and Amber don’t understand.
(What the heck!)
The creature claims to be a time traveler from the future. It says that it has come to warn Trent and Amber about a terrible disaster that is about to happen. The creature says that the only way to stop the disaster is for Trent and Amber to change their past.
(How can this weird creature communicate with Trent and Amber if they don’t understand its language? Use logic, Bard.)
Trent and Amber are skeptical at first, but they eventually agree to help the creature. They travel back in time to the day they met, and they try to change the course of events. However, things don’t go as planned, and the disaster still happens.
(What story is Bard describing? This isn’t my plot!)
The Time Worm is a well-written and engaging short story. Wexford’s prose is clear and concise, and she does a good job of creating a sense of suspense and mystery. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is interesting and unpredictable.
(Golly, Bard really liked the story, even though it never actually read it.)
The story explores some interesting themes about time travel, fate, and free will. It asks the question of whether we can really change the past, or if we are all just pawns in a larger game.
(Once again, The Time Worm is not about time travel or worms — oh, never mind, Bard.)
My best guess is that Bard created this wacky review by combining pieces of other science fiction stories it found on the Internet.
Have you had weird AI experiences? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
