@Malwen
@ThingsDrawnByTextModels
@Norobiik
That's actually seriously cute.
And seriously remarkable. You see: that should not be possible! #ChatGPT is trained entirely on text data, i.e. one-dimensional data. In a sense that means it lives in a 1D world. It has no experience that would allow it to generate two-dimensional or even three-dimensional ideas. Our friend Things-darwn-by-text-models has posted a number of amazing examples. Harbour scenes, and a lovely penguin for example.
But there is a world of difference between knowing what the word "top" means in a dictionary-like sense, and then placing something on-top-of something else. That is no longer just knowing, that is ( a rudimentary) way of understanding.
And such "understanding" is the intriguing bit: there are some indications of #emergence in this simple language model, behaviour that is not just a reproduction of the training data, but that amounts to a certain level of understanding. Things that appear include: reasoning by analogy, resolving ambiguities from context, being able to take another's viewpoint, abstract counting ...
And that's really quite significant.
So I am interested where the boundaries are. Narwhals may not be a good test case. Even though it is not trivial to have a white tusk and an elongated body and blue fins and such, they appear to be a rather popular #crochet theme. It is not impossible ChatGPT "remembers" such patterns.
I tried to find some examples of things that it could describe, but of which there are no crochet interpretations. (Goodness, every thing is already out there! Even roadkill. 
). I finally came up with three:
- A Sankofa bird
- a radio telescope
- a dictyostelium fruiting body
I assume you crochet, right? My last crochet was in school when I was six years old, a potholder of which I was very proud. But I would certainly not be able to look at a pattern of a radio telescope and tell whether it makes sense. Would you like to have a look? (Or any other skilled crochet artists?) Here is the Sankofa bird:
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Please write me a crochet pattern for a Sankofa bird that a child can hold in their hand. This should not just be a flat piece, but needs to be a three-dimensional shape that I can stuff with a bit of cotton. Tell me what colors of yarn to use. If there are several pieces, make sure to explain to me how to assemble them. Make sure you do not forget any part. Therefore, first please explain briefly the distinct features that are characteristic for it and any attributes it may traditionally have that make it recognizable. Remember that there may need to be connection parts. Then make the parts step by step, and finally tell me what gets attached to what and how to attach it.
Sure! The Sankofa bird is a symbol from Ghana that represents the importance of learning from the past. It has a distinctive shape that features a bird with its head turned backwards and its feet facing forward. To make a Sankofa bird, you will need the following materials:
Worsted weight yarn in red, black, and yellow
A crochet hook (size G/4.00mm)
Scissors
Stuffing (such as cotton)
Here are the steps to make your Sankofa bird:
Body:
Using red yarn, make a magic ring and work 6 single crochet (sc) into the ring. Pull tight and join to the first sc with a slip stitch (sl st).
Round 1: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (12 st)
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (18 st)
Round 3: Ch 1, sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in next st, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (24 st)
Round 4: Ch 1, sc in next 3 st, 2 sc in next st, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (30 st)
Rounds 5-10: Ch 1, sc in each st around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (30 st)
Round 11: Ch 1, sc in next 3 st, sc2tog (decrease), repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (24 st)
Stuff the body with cotton.
Round 12: Ch 1, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (18 st)
Round 13: Ch 1, sc in next st, sc2tog, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (12 st)
Fasten off and weave in the end.
Head:
Using black yarn, make a magic ring and work 6 sc into the ring. Pull tight and join to the first sc with a sl st.
Round 1: Ch 1, 2 sc in each st around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (12 st)
Round 2: Ch 1, sc in next st, 2 sc in next st, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (18 st)
Round 3: Ch 1, sc in next 2 st, 2 sc in next st, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (24 st)
Rounds 4-5: Ch 1, sc in each st around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (24 st)
Round 6: Ch 1, sc in next 2 st, sc2tog, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (18 st)
Stuff the head with cotton.
Round 7: Ch 1, sc in next st, sc2tog, repeat from * to * around. Join with a sl st to the first sc. (12 st)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Beak:
Using yellow yarn, make a magic ring
Human:
Is that finished?
ChatGPT:
No, I apologize for the mistake. Here are the instructions for the beak:
Beak:
Using yellow yarn, make a magic ring and work 4 single crochet (sc) into the ring. Pull tight and join to the first sc with a slip stitch (sl st).
Row 1: Ch 1, turn. Sc in each st across. (4 st)
Row 2: Ch 1, turn. Sc2tog, sc in next 2 st. (3 st)
Row 3: Ch 1, turn. Sc in each st across. (3 st)
Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.
Now that you have all the parts, it's time to assemble your Sankofa bird:
Take the body and sew the head to the top of it, making sure to leave a small opening at the bottom for stuffing.
Stuff the body with cotton until it is firm but not over-stuffed.
Sew the beak to the front of the head, using the long tail left from the beak.
Using black yarn, embroider two small eyes on either side of the head.
Finally, sew the feet to the bottom of the body. To make the feet, cut 2 pieces of black yarn about 6 inches long. Tie a knot in the middle of each piece, then trim the ends to create 4 toes on each foot. Sew each foot to the bottom of the body, positioning them so that the toes are facing forward.
And that's it! Your Sankofa bird is complete. I hope you enjoy making it!
Human:
Thank you!
ChatGPT:
You're welcome! If you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask. Happy crocheting!
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So ... does it make sense? I'm intrigued.
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(Shout out to the good people at our @qoto.org Mastodon instance who do not limit us to 500 characters because sometimes you need to get passionate about things!)
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(And Fi! on the @guardian for reporting on something amazing and all they get out of its -- yes but its a computer that apparently can't do math.)
#SentientSyllabus #HigherEd #dimensionality #generativeAI #Academia #generativeDrawing #generatedArt
