Julia Wakes Up With ChatGPT

Submitted into Contest #183 in response to: Write a story that includes the line “We’re just too different.”... view prompt

29 comments

Fiction Drama

(Julia)

I hate my boyfriend. 


(ChatGPT)

It's normal to have ups and downs in a relationship, but if your feelings of dislike towards your boyfriend are persistent and affecting your happiness, it may be a good idea to talk to him about your concerns and try to work through the issues together. If the situation does not improve, it may be worth considering ending the relationship for your own well-being.



(Julia)

Yes!


(ChatGPT) 

If you have decided to end the relationship, it's important to communicate with your boyfriend in a clear and respectful manner. Explain your reasons for ending the relationship and give him the opportunity to respond.



(Julia)

The reason is, he never stops telling dumb jokes. It's INCREDIBLY annoying.


(ChatGPT) 

It sounds like your boyfriend's behavior is causing frustration in the relationship. Consider having a conversation with him about how his constant joking makes you feel and see if you can reach a compromise. It may also be helpful to encourage him to pursue other hobbies or interests outside of the relationship to find an outlet for his joking.



(Julia)

I feel like I don’t even know who he is sometimes.


(ChatGPT) 

It can be concerning when you feel like you don't know your partner well. If you're feeling disconnected from your boyfriend, it may be helpful to have a conversation with him about how you're feeling and see if you can work together to strengthen your connection.


We’re just too different, so that’s never going to happen. AND he’s still sleeping.


(Julia)

He's asleep right now. So we are not communicating. I'm a writer. How about venting by writing a story about him?


(ChatGPT) 

Writing can be a therapeutic way to process your feelings and work through challenges in a relationship.


(Julia)

Do you remember why I don't like my boyfriend? (just checking)


(ChatGPT) 

Yes, you mentioned that your boyfriend never stops telling jokes, which is excessively annoying for you.


(Julia)

Write a short story about a dental student named Julia who wakes up with a man she doesn't even know, who waves a box of Special K around and says he's a "cereal killer".


(ChatGPT) 

Julia was a dental student who was known for her hard work and dedication to her studies. One day, she woke up in a stranger's apartment with a splitting headache and a man waving a box of Special K cereal around. The man introduced himself as a "cereal killer" and claimed that he had drugged her drink the night before.


Panicking, Julia tried to find a way out of the apartment but all the doors and windows were locked. The man seemed to enjoy playing mind games with her and taunted her with clues about his next victim.


Julia's dental training had taught her to stay calm in difficult situations, and she decided to use her skills to try and find a way out of the apartment. She noticed that the man had a toothache and offered to help him with a temporary filling.


While she worked on his tooth, Julia managed to discreetly grab a pair of scissors and use them to pick the lock on the door. She escaped and ran to the nearest police station to report the man.


Thanks to Julia's quick thinking and bravery, the police were able to catch the "cereal killer" and put an end to his reign of terror. From that day on, Julia was known as the dental student who saved the day.



ChatCPT thinks Mark, a.k.a. ‘the cereal killer’ would be distracted by offering him a free dental filling mid-murder LOL. This AI is not as smart as I thought it was.


(Julia)

Make it sounds like Shakespeare.


(ChatGPT) 

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

A dental student, Julia, doth attend her dreams.

She wakes to find a man most strange and rough,

With box of cereal, he doth…


STOP! I can’t take this anymore. This is a waste of time, this chatbot is stupid.


(Julia)

He's at the door, what should I do?


(ChatGPT) 

If you feel that your safety is at risk, it is important to call the authorities immediately.


(Julia)

just joking. don't be so serious.


(ChatGPT) 

My apologies! As a language model, I take all questions seriously and aim to provide helpful and accurate responses. Is there anything else I can assist you with?


Let's give this one more try.


(Julia)

Can you change my story to be set in the future, in the year 2099?


(ChatGPT) 

Certainly, here's a revised version of your story set in the future in the year 2099:


In the year 2099, the city of Neo-Verona bustled with activity. Julia, a dental student of the future, was known for her unwavering dedication to her studies. One day, she woke up in a stranger's high-rise apartment with a headache that felt like a thousand hammers. A man, dressed in futuristic garb, was waving a box of Special K cereal around and introduced himself as a "cereal killer."


Julia's heart raced as she tried to find a way out of the apartment, but all the doors and windows were sealed shut with advanced technology. The man seemed to enjoy playing a twisted game with her and taunted her with cryptic clues about his next victim.


But Julia was a quick thinker and refused to be intimidated. She remembered her training in advanced dental procedures and noticed that the man had a toothache. She offered to help and used the opportunity to discreetly access her implanted communication device and call for help.


Within minutes, a team of robotic police officers arrived and apprehended the "cereal killer." Julia was hailed as a hero and her bravery was celebrated throughout Neo-Verona. From that day on, Julia was known as the dental student who saved the future.



She ‘Saved the future’? I feel my job as a novelist is safe after all.


(Julia)

I feel my job as a novelist might be safe after all.


(ChatGPT)

As an AI language model, my goal is to assist and augment human creativity, not replace it. A human touch and personal perspective are essential elements in storytelling that cannot be replicated by AI.


(Julia)

Thank you. I hope this is the beginning of a long, mutually beneficial friendship.


(ChatGPT)

It is my pleasure!


This is beginning to feel empty. Let's wrap this up.


(Julia)

How do I write a really good ending for a short story?


(ChatGPT)

To write a good ending for a short story, consider the following tips:

  1. Tie up loose ends: Address all unresolved plot points and themes.
  2. Provide closure: Give the reader a sense of finality and satisfaction.
  3. Reflect the theme: Reinforce the story's central message.
  4. Surprise the reader: End on an unexpected, yet satisfying, note.
  5. Leave a lasting impression: End with a memorable line or image.


Remember, the ending is the last thing the reader will experience, so make it count.



It looks like ChatGPT is good for factual information.


I hear a thump in the room, as Mark rolls over in bed. It would be great if he wakes up soon, so I have a real person to talk to. I’d like to fill him in about my conversation with this vapid chatbot. And thinking about it, Mark gives me great human feedback on my fiction writing. His dumb jokes might grate at times, but it’s only for a minute, and my friends even seem to like them. Talking to this bot has given me a few new perspectives on life.


I think me, Mark, and ChatGPT are at the beginning of a new long-lasting relationship.


January 31, 2023 16:18

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29 comments

Lily Finch
23:57 Jan 31, 2023

Interesting story about a writer writing about writing. Then she complains about her boyfriend. Two topics that go hand in hand? Anyway. It was repetitive. However, it worked. The ChatGPT saves the day by being itself. Changes are slow and build. She goes from hating to a new life perspective, especially her thoughts about Mark. LF6

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09:13 Feb 03, 2023

Thanks Lily, just an experimental concept this week.

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Tommy Goround
16:44 Jan 31, 2023

Hmmmm... 1) I don't love writer stories that write about writers (except Finding Forrester) 2) the joke went too far. 3) the attitude is correct and good. The new Finding Forrester should be about people (novelist) replaced by chatAI after cheating to get their useless MFA. Remind me to get an MFA. I have tear sheets full of saline.

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09:13 Feb 03, 2023

I cut about 1/3 of the boring chatbot text, but yeah, this is more of an essay than a full story.

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Tommy Goround
10:01 Feb 03, 2023

It's the third? I have to write my wife a check. I'll check back in a minute.

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10:25 Feb 03, 2023

just replying for #1 (of 2) choose your own adventure

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Tommy Goround
11:27 Feb 03, 2023

Hmmmm I get the family friendly ending. You have 29 hours. If the phone and chatbot gets taken to the bedroom....? Would chatbot do well with their future children? Mark might be too slow to name them properly. (The eulogy was just an option) To be blunt....trade Fair Verona and Future to interacting with chat bit for: -family planning -naming children -asking if mark drinks too much Sanka -maybe mark gets a chatbot that argues with woman's chatbot. They leave the phones together on a double prong cord, called? AUX. -the aux cord brings...

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16:21 Jan 31, 2023

The response were written by ChatGPT. I cut some short for readability but I included the full story ChatGPT wrote for the prompt "Cereal Killer" as it was so comically wrong. This is an experimental story, not sure if it works or not.

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Amanda Lieser
03:24 Apr 13, 2023

Hey Scott, Oh gracious this was such a charming story! I loved the way that you incorporated, modern technology with the passion of storytelling. I thought that you characterize the AI in an incredibly interesting way. I don’t know if we all totally understand what AI might do for the future, but I really liked the way that this story felt playful and fun while also following all the rules discussed by the way, I am short story writing. ;) PS. Shout out to the serial killer.

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03:36 Apr 13, 2023

Thanks for reading both, I actually like writing light fun stories the most, and wrote this one first. And then a few people thought an AI story might be more powerful if it leads to a darker ending but I didn't want to change the fun positive story. I think people will always win. I'm actually polishing up one my most light positive stories in a while for this week, hoping it works when I post Friday.

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Valerie Shand
14:57 Feb 07, 2023

So Julia has given her life over to the AI ChatGPT. How sad. Also, I sort of feel as if I have walked in in the middle of the story. Although I find the language arts part well done, it's just not really something I can get into as it is right now. I don't mean to rain on your hard work, and I wouldn't comment, except that only leaves clicking "like" and leaving you with no feedback at all. Since I find myself hoping someone -- anyone -- will read and comment on my work, I didn't want to do that to you. From reading the other comments, t...

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15:05 Feb 07, 2023

Theres two alternate versions. If you check the ending of “wakes up with” this is the one where she decides its all hollow and reappreciates her bf. Yes, i was worried about the point u said about guiding..but not actually writing half the story. This story is already out of the competition, experiments sometimes go too far. And no problem i like some pointed critiques.

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Helen A Smith
14:09 Feb 07, 2023

I love this story. Not only is it incredibly funny, it’s relevant. There’s a serious side to all this, of course. Will writers actually have to compete against AI? How will it actually work? Exactly how far was Chatbot involved? I like the human element about the boyfriend giving “human feedback” when it comes to stories. Sounds like a writer’s nightmare!!!

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00:56 Feb 08, 2023

The chatbot wrote all the answers it gave in the story. I thought its stories were very readable but the logic was hilarious, sort of like a 5-year old's. Happy to hear you found it funny too.

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Lindsey B
22:38 Feb 05, 2023

I want all of the short stories that I read from now on to be like they were written by Shakespeare...

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00:56 Feb 08, 2023

Maybe someone will make a website like that!

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Jack Kimball
15:57 Feb 04, 2023

The best thing is exploring the capabilities (at this time) of ChatGPT. I was reading about two elements of story; theme, what the story is about; and meaning, what a reader senses in the periphery of their eye which give the story depth. Predictably AI will recreate the semblance of reality (plagiarism issues already being discussed in the ChatGPT community), but can AI ever 'feel' a meaning? Maybe not, and maybe we will need AI to root out AI... As to the story, maybe it was just me, but I was confused by the italics. I get it that C...

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04:22 Feb 05, 2023

Hey Jack, thanks for reading. yeah that's the subplot, our need for real human feeling. I find including social media, texting,etc confusing to format in fiction. Normally anything in italics the MC/narratators thinking, so in this case is was Julie's thoughts, following what chatgpt just said. I should have made that more explicit. I just wrote an alternative ending story on my timeline here, that formatted everything differently and took out the internal thoughts. maybe that's simpler to read. Not sure. I just got such a huge laugh ou...

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Delbert Griffith
15:00 Feb 04, 2023

I absolutely loved this story, Scott. The AI responses were hilarious in an understated, disturbing way. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I'm so used to your wonderful endings that this one left me a little deflated. Still, I find this scenario a remarkable insight into ChatGPT and where it might be headed. Wonderful work, Scott.

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15:10 Feb 04, 2023

Thanks for reading my first experiment with the technology much in the news these days. I did post an alternative ending story that went ALL the way in a different direction. But yes, not the surprise totally out of nowhere ending of some of my other stories;)

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Michał Przywara
23:29 Feb 02, 2023

Amusing, and probably something most writers have wondered about given recent developments. Certainly I have. I particularly like the lazy world building for the future story ("a dental student of the future"), and from a comedic perspective, it's perfect. Less so for a serious story. The Shakespeare is actually pretty great too. "A human touch and personal perspective are essential elements in storytelling that cannot be replicated by AI." This, however, sounds like a lie :) The kind of lie an AI might say to take heat off itself. The k...

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00:48 Feb 03, 2023

Thanks for reading, the ChatGPT will improve stories if the user tells it what's wrong or missing, but I was so amused by its first draft I wanted to show the funny side of the chatbot. Some ppl thought might be a fun idea to have a more dystopian ending, so I just wrote a quicky alternate ending story, will see how they do this week.

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Daniel Allen
12:59 Feb 02, 2023

Love this idea. I think AI will play an increasing role in human relationships going forwards, and this is a great insight into this new phenomenon, its limits, and its potential. Although having a writer as a protagonist can be a little overdone, I think it works and is actually necessary here. It gives the protagonist a unique insight into the limitations of the AI, as well as an extra stake in the results. This leaves Julia stuck between a rock and a hard place. She wants the AI to help her solve her relationship issues but doesn't want ...

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09:33 Feb 03, 2023

Thanks, happy to hear the experimental story worked out for you, it was tough to balance the sledgehammer of some of the chatbot's long wikipedia like text.

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White Roses
21:13 Feb 01, 2023

I love the concept, the real question is did you use the software to create the story?

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09:14 Feb 03, 2023

yes. all the replies are from ChatGPT.

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Mike Panasitti
15:15 Feb 01, 2023

Your experiment here is noteworthy, Scott. It's the first story I've ever read that addresses the technoscientific reality of AI meant to simulate human creativity. The results your work here yielded may not be of a groundbreaking nature yet, but given the seismic nature of Chat-GPT technology, I'd guess that further experiments would be timely and help navigate the dystopian dimensions of our contemporary world.

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15:27 Feb 01, 2023

Thx for reading, ive been working on making a parallel story with a different more dystopian ending.. it is amazing how chargpt can remember things in a conversation and write grammatically correct prose from its own imagination. That is new. Good suggestiom maybe i should ask it some other topics and see if anything interesting comes up

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Graham Kinross
11:30 Mar 16, 2023

“A human touch and personal perspective are essential elements in storytelling that cannot be replicated by AI.” yet… I can see the day when their stories are indistinguishable from ours, they just have to keep learning, consider the leaps and bounds for translation software now. Yesterday I managed to translate a hand written note at work with google. It definitely couldn’t have done that a few years ago. Mark would have made a joke about the dental assistant drilling to the core of the problem.

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