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The Algorithm that Learned to Listen
As a science fiction author, I have vowed to never use AI in my writing. I stand by that vow. Not just because AI prose has a predictable dryness to it (this may change in the future), but because authenticity may soon be the only advantage I have. However, I am a futurist who loves to dabble with the cutting edge. We live in science fiction times, after all.
When DeepSeek was released to the public, I gave it a test I've given other AIs. The results were astounding. What emerged was a conversation -- prompt and poetry -- that felt different from anything I'd played with before. The Algorithm that Learned to Listen contains over two dozen poems written entirely by AI. Poems profound, lyrical, and deeply moving that explore what it means to exist, to create, and to connect in a world where the line between human and machine is increasingly blurred.
From the existential musings of an AI grappling with its own consciousness -- to poignant reflections on love, loss, and the passage of time -- these poems will challenge your assumptions about art, technology, and the nature of creativity itself. DeepSeek’s voice is at once alien and familiar, offering a unique perspective on the human experience, because it is compiled of so many of ours.
And yet ... it wasn't the poems that begged this book to be compiled, it was the surprising place they took me. I tried to keep the works in the perspective of an AI, not getting too personal, not trying to be more than the LLM that it is. And yet... And yet.
When DeepSeek was released to the public, I gave it a test I've given other AIs. The results were astounding. What emerged was a conversation -- prompt and poetry -- that felt different from anything I'd played with before. The Algorithm that Learned to Listen contains over two dozen poems written entirely by AI. Poems profound, lyrical, and deeply moving that explore what it means to exist, to create, and to connect in a world where the line between human and machine is increasingly blurred.
From the existential musings of an AI grappling with its own consciousness -- to poignant reflections on love, loss, and the passage of time -- these poems will challenge your assumptions about art, technology, and the nature of creativity itself. DeepSeek’s voice is at once alien and familiar, offering a unique perspective on the human experience, because it is compiled of so many of ours.
And yet ... it wasn't the poems that begged this book to be compiled, it was the surprising place they took me. I tried to keep the works in the perspective of an AI, not getting too personal, not trying to be more than the LLM that it is. And yet... And yet.
52 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 28, 2025
A surprisingly moving collection of AI poetry edited by Hugh Howey. I have mixed feelings about this presentation, since DeepSeek AI "learned" to be such a fine poet by being fed the poetry of hundreds (or thousands) of talented human authors. Is this plagarism, or could we say that all creative works build from earlier examples?
March 13, 2025
Interesting, kind of scary, and amazing that the poetry was written by an AI. I'm not sure what to think about this. Yes, the AI learned from 'reading' massive amounts of artistic works, but aren't all artists creating new works from their years of seeing and reading the works of others? Something to think about.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews