ChatGPT: Image to story in 5 minutes

Just a few years ago, forecasters predicted that AI would first come for the repetitive jobs, and the creative would long be spared.

I just got access to GPT-4 vision and DALL?E-3 in ChatGPT Plus. If I wasn't already convinced that the above notion was outdated, a 5-minute experiment I just ran sealed the deal.

Step 1: Generate images

I gave ChatGPT only the slightest guidance:

Please generate an emotional image with stopping power that has a science fiction theme.

I got four good options:

Step 2: Generate a story from a selected image

Next, I chose the image on the bottom left, as something about it spoke to me. I uploaded it and asked ChatGPT:

Please write a very short (say, 250 word) story to go along with this image.

And it complied—even incorporating information it knows about me and my family (which I wasn't expecting, to be honest, and made this more personally poignant but also perhaps a bit too personal):

In the cosmic realm where galaxies blend and stars whisper tales, Simon, an intrepid astronaut, found himself at the edge of a celestial cliff. Gazing into the fathomless void, he was enveloped by colors that danced and twirled, creating an otherworldly ballet. Each hue whispered secrets of distant worlds, and of love and dreams shared across the vast canvas of the universe.

Below him, shimmering waters mirrored the heavens, blurring the line between reality and reflection. With each step, the cliff trembled softly, as if urging him to leap into the unknown.

Holding his breath, Simon remembered Anna, Amelia, and Isaak. The love and memories they shared became his anchor. Closing his eyes, he took a leap, not of descent, but of ascent. The universe embraced him, and he became one with the stars, carrying with him the stories of Earth, forever imprinted in the cosmic ballet.

You might quibble with its story or its choice of phrasing. But if you're not impressed at its ability to generate an image and tell its story in a few minutes, you might just be experiencing severe goalpost moving syndrome.