AI generated stories have given me respect for Jim Theis.
For those unaware, "The Eye of Argon," by Jim Theis, was published in OSFAN 7 when he was 16 years old. The story is a Conan the Barbarian inspired piece written with more enthusiasm than skill. It's full of typos, flourishes a 16 year old would find edgy and cool, like over the top violence and sexy women. The prose is made words and phrases an inexperienced writer would mistake for quality. Green eyes become "emerald orbs," and people never "say" anything, but "husk" or "query."
"The Eye of Argon" has been mocked ever since. Well into adulthood, Theis never wrote another story due to people still making fun of his juvenalia.
I've read AI generated flash fiction. It's more likely to have correct spelling and lacks purple prose. The "stories" they excrete are glorified outlines, parroting fiction tropes without understanding what makes a tale work. There are no characters, only place holders who may have a vague hint of personality. AI doesn't give reasons to care about what your reading, thus doesn't build voice, narrative, plot, tension, or anything else.
A couple of times, I asked AI to write in the style of "The Eye of Argon." All it did was regurgitate its usual drivel, but using the names of "The Eye of Argon" characters.
While "The Eye of Argon" is not a good story, it's admirable. Writing and publishing a novella at 16 was more ambitious than my work at that age. The prose is colorful and shows experimentation with writing style. Above all, "The Eye of Argon" is memorable. It was published over fifty years ago, and people are still awestruck over its quality, still talking about it, making podcasts and other commentary about it.
In short, the story has far more heart than what a predictive language model can achieve.
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