I asked ChatGPT to write biographies about my cats and this is what it wrote:

After seeing a Reddit post about a ChatGPT session, and with a few hours to kill before bed, I decided to engage with the AI bot that is one of the many to have captured people’s attention in the current AI trend.

I decided to play to the AI’s creative side and provided some information about my two cats (River, an eight year old male mackerel tabby who has lived with me for just over six of those years, and Lillie who is one years old female calico and has lived with me after she was a few months old), and explained the scene, one of Lillie wanting to eat River’s food instead of her own. I explained that River is mature but not old, short-tempered but not aggressive, he will tolerate Lillie if she isn’t annoying him. I characterised Lillie as being persistent, energetic and very vocal. I asked the bot to ask me any questions if it wanted to before it wrote the script, but it decided to go ahead. I provided some minor corrections (such as changing the scene from the kitchen to the bedroom, as that is where River’s food is, and some characterisation, such as the fact River would not allow Lillie even one bite of his food, whereas she would still try to push back. Four more iterations (the final one being a minor format correction) and we get the following:

With this I was impressed, and I decided to challenge the AI a bit more. I asked it to generate a new scene, and I invited the bot to come up with the new event depicting my two cats. The AI however asked me what event I wanted and if I cared about where, so I gave the prompt that River was watching pigeons and Lillie joins him, at the living room kitchen, but how that scene goes was up to the AI.

A similar situation happens where I offered feedback, twice this time, until we had this.

This interaction I was a bit less impressed with, so I decided something different. I asked the AI to generate 20 questions about both my cats, I would answer them, and then the bot would generate biographies on them. The AI generate 20 questions, I asked to change four of them, one because it didn’t make sense (“Does River have a specific name?”) and three others that I couldn’t instantly think of a good answer for, and basically I wanted easier questions. One of the new questions was basically the same as one I dismissed, so I instead just asked the AI to stick to the 19 other questions, which were:

1. How old is River/Lillie?
2. What is River/Lillie’s breed?
3. Is River/Lillie an indoor or outdoor cat?
4. What is River/Lillie’s personality like?
5. Does River/Lillie have any favorite activities?
6. Does River/Lillie have any siblings?
7. Has River/Lillie always lived in the same household?
8. Does River/Lillie have any health issues?
9. Is River/Lillie neutered or spayed?
10. Does River/Lillie have a specific diet?
11. How does River/Lillie interact with other animals?
12. How does River/Lillie interact with people?
13. Was River/Lillie always called River/Lillie?
14. How does River/Lillie communicate with other cats or animals?
15. Is there anything unique about River/Lillie’s behavior?
16. Does River/Lillie have any specific training?
17. Is River/Lillie social or more of a loner?
18. Is River/Lillie litter-trained?
19. How does River/Lillie spend his/her time when he’s alone?

I answered these questions and the AI generated a pretty decent biography, using most but not all of the information. My first correction to River’s biography was due to two sentences containing the same information in different contexts – one which describes River as being short-tempered if bothered by other animals but tolerates human, and then later on, that he is friendly to other cats and animals but can also be short-tempered if they bother him. I felt this should be one sentence, and I asked the bot to rewrite it but combine these sentences. The bio wrote a new paragraph that didn’t combine the two sentences but rewrote portions, avoiding the duplication which – fair enough. The new paragraph included some information excluded from the previous iteration but also now removed other information, while a bulk was the same but in new sentences.

I asked for a few other rewrites to clear up some information and to add one specific information that was included in a previous iteration (how River feels about children) but lost in a later one,

Lillie’s biography has an interested “glitch”(?) where it started off with “ie is a sociable and playful (…)” – essentially missing off the ‘Lill-‘ from Lillie’s name. Not sure what happened there. Unlike River’s autobiography that I only offered instruction to make the flow better and to clarify some statements which weren’t incorrect but could be interpreted the wrong way, Lillie’s had two errors that were flat out false. I told the AI that Lillie was born with at least three other siblings – the AI expressed this by saying that “she was adopted from her breeder along with her siblings.” I guess this is true in that her siblings (well two before her and I assume the one after her) were adopted, but not at the same time and not all by me, which is what the sentence as written strongly suggests. I also told the AI (in response to question 18) that Lillie is litter-trained, but she has a habit of while digging and burying in her litter, both piling up the litter on one side so it spills and to dig through the litter liner, ripping it. The AI ignored where I said Lillie was litter trained and said that she is ‘yet’ to be.

For River’s biography, the AI naturally included my name in the text (in my answers to River’s questions, I added a note within one of the answers for the AI to remember my name when it referred to me in the biography), however in Lillie’s, it just called me her owner. When I asked the AI to refer to me by name ‘where it is natural to do so’, the AI replaced all mention of me by my name, even when my name was mentioned multiple times in a sentence. I asked the AI to use both my name but also refer to me by pronoun (as like natural speech). For some reason the AI misunderstood and rewrote the biography in first person from my perspective. It was interesting here is where it struggled the most, but after two more iterations we got an acceptable version.

River is an 8-year-old domestic shorthair cat who has lived with his current owner, Haaris, for six years. Before that, he was adopted by a friend of Haaris after spending his first months with his breeder. River is an indoor cat who is generally very friendly, eager to investigate and make friends with strange cats outside, and enjoys being petted and cuddled on his own terms. However, he dislikes being bothered by other animals, both cats and dogs, and will react with an angry exclamation or swipe, before leaving the situation. He also dislikes children. His favorite activities include sleeping and window-watching. He is a healthy cat with no known health issues. River is neutered and has a specific diet of 50g of dry food and one pouch of wet food per day. River has always been called River, named after River Island, the brand, by his previous owner. He is well-behaved during travel and tolerable of the vet, although he dislikes the association of the leash to travelling near roads. River is more of a loner and independent but he does seek out pets from Haaris regularly. He is litter trained and mostly sleeps when alone.

Lillie is a 1-year-old domestic shorthair cat who has lived with her current owner, Haaris, for a year. She was adopted from her breeder as a single kitten, but she has siblings. Lillie is an indoor cat who is vocal, sociable and playful, and she is very and persistently food driven. Lillie’s favorite activities include spending time with Haaris, bothering River, demanding food, and napping. She has no health issues and is spayed. She has a specific diet of 50g of dry cat food per day. Lillie has limited interaction with other animals, but she will hunt and eat flies. She is very friendly towards River, demanding pets off him when she passes him and will often try to cuddle near him, but she will also instigate play fights and try to annoy him, especially by trying to steal his food while he is eating. She is shy around strangers, but cautiously investigates and will play if play is instigated. Lillie is affectionate and friendly towards Haaris, purring loudly when he is near her, demanding pets, vocally shouting and responding to him, and will allow and enjoy being held like a baby. She will often sit on his desk centimeters away from his face, purring and staring at him. Lillie has always been called Lillie, she was named after a nickname her breeder had. She is litter-trained, but she often digs in the litter in such a way that she causes it to spill and the litter liners to rip. When alone, Lillie will mostly nap.

I then asked the AI to add my cats’ coat colours. Interestingly, rather than just add it to the first sentence of the iterations (where the biographies describe the cat), the AI did both this and rewrote the entire paragraph. A lot of the detail is the same but some extra detail was put in and some removed and sentences rewritten. I kept the new Lillie biography, but asked the AI to combine the two versions of River’s, removing any duplicate information. The AI created a new biography (again with a mix of new, same, and removed information), but also repeated word for word one sentence later in the paragraph. I asked for this specific sentence removed, which the AI did but otherwise kept the paragraph identical. These are the two new biographies.

River is an 8-year-old male mackerel tabby domestic shorthair cat who has been living with his current owner, Haaris, for six years. He was adopted by a friend and colleague of Haaris’ as a 2-year-old after living with his breeder as a newborn. He is a very healthy cat, and apart from a brief fever in 2018, has always been in good health. He is neutered and has a diet of 50g of dry food and one pouch of wet food. His favourite activities are sleeping and window watching. He is generally very friendly, he will approach when called and enjoys pets, but will only cuddle on his own terms and dislikes being held. He is short-tempered if being bothered by other animals but will tolerate humans bothering him, apart from vocally complaining. He is a loner and independent but he does seek out pets from Haaris regularly. He is also litter trained. He is tolerant to travel, and will behave well in cars, buses and trains. Once he arrives at a vet, he is perfectly fine being there, eager to explore the examination room. He is not trained in any specific way, but he understands if Haaris is telling him off, he understands he isn’t allowed in the kitchen unsupervised and is never allowed on the kitchen counter, and he was leash trained by his previous owner but he doesn’t like the association of it with travelling near roads. He dislikes children and will actively climb higher to avoid them. His name has always been River since he was adopted by his previous owner, named after River Island, a branch of which was opposite a pub his previous owner stopped at on her way to adopt him.

Lillie is a 1-year-old female calico domestic shorthair cat who has been living with her current owner, Haaris, for a year. She was adopted from her breeder as a single kitten, but she has siblings. Lillie is an indoor cat who is vocal, sociable and playful, and she is very and persistently food driven. Lillie’s favorite activities include spending time with Haaris, bothering River, demanding food, and napping. She has no health issues and is spayed. She has a specific diet of 50g of dry cat food per day. Lillie has limited interaction with other animals, but she will hunt and eat flies. She is very friendly towards River, demanding pets off him when she passes him and will often try to cuddle near him, but she will also instigate play fights and try to annoy him, especially by trying to steal his food while he is eating. She is shy around strangers, but cautiously investigates and will play if play is instigated. Lillie is affectionate and friendly towards Haaris, purring loudly when he is near her, demanding pets, vocally shouting and responding to him, and will allow and enjoy being held like a baby. She will often sit on his desk centimeters away from his face, purring and staring at him. Lillie has always been called Lillie, she was named after a nickname her breeder had. She is litter-trained, but she often digs in the litter in such a way that she causes it to spill and the litter liners to rip

As a final exercise – I asked the AI to interview me about my cats, based on the entire conversation we’ve just had, asking me no more than five questions asked one at a time. These questions can be either in reference to what we had discussed or can follow up one of the answers I now give. After these questions, I want the AI to then write a brief news-style story based on my reply.

Question 1 from the AI: Can you tell me more about River’s personality and behavior towards other animals?

After I have my response, the AI provided the next four questions in one go, question 2 being identical to question 1 except about Lillie. I reminded the AI about the task being to ask me a question at a time. Then, not wanting to basically repeat myself, asked the AI specifically what they wanted to know about Lillie’s personality and behaviour to other people. The AI apologised for the confusion, and expanded on the question in a way which didn’t actually change or scope the question any better. The AI was also a bit cheeky and asked a second question alongside this expansion, but I allowed it as it’s a fairly natural thing to do. The AI proceeded to ask follow up questions – counting, it never actually asks 5, unless it counted the second question and the clarification of said question as two different questions.

This was its news report:

“A local cat owner, Haaris, has shared the story of his two feline companions, River and Lillie. River, an 8-year-old male mackerel tabby domestic shorthair, has been living with Haaris for six years and is known for his friendly and short-tempered nature. He enjoys spending his time sleeping and watching birds out of the bedroom window. River is also known for his strong hunting instincts and would often chase after wild cats outside, but is generally more tolerant of other cats that he shares indoor space with.

On the other hand, Lillie, a 1-year-old female calico domestic shorthair, has been living with Haaris for just a year. She is known for being vocal, sociable, and persistently food-driven. She enjoys hanging out with Haaris, bothering River, and napping. Lillie has limited interaction with other animals but is very friendly towards River, often approaching him for pets and to be groomed.

While River and Lillie have their own distinct personalities, they have learned to coexist in the same household. River is known to be more of a loner while Lillie is very social, and they have formed a unique bond despite their different temperaments.”

I corrected that the cats River chased were not wild (they were neighbourhood cats) and that actually, River is less tolerant of cats he shares a space with indoors.

ChatGPT then responded with a block of test which was actually less stylised as a new report than the previous answer, and more like the biographies:

River, an 8-year-old male mackerel tabby domestic shorthair cat, has spent most of his life as a solo pet in his owner’s flat, until the arrival of Lillie, a 1-year-old female calico domestic shorthair cat. River has always been fascinated by other cats, and would often express a desire to go out and approach them when he lived alone with his owner. Whenever he would see a neighbourhood cat, he would run after them and trill, with most cats running off, triggering River’s chase instinct. However, if his owner was around, some of the cats would be fine with River being nearby. When River is out with his owner, he would stare and hiss at dogs if they got near, but he would never flee. River initially did not like Lillie when she was adopted, but after a week or so warmed to tolerance. Now, if Lillie is not bothering him, River will be fine with her, occasionally approaching her to sniff her. They playfight in a way which shows they have accepted each other’s presence, even if it’s not always enthusiastic. Lillie, on the other hand, has not interacted much with other animals since her adoption, but she seems to like River and will approach him for pets and to be groomed occasionally. She will also hunt flies. She is not fearful of strangers, although is more cautious than River of visitors to the house, but will not hide from them and will engage in play.

To finish this off, I asked the AI to write me another script, based on what it has learnt about the cats from the conversation and with no further input from me:

It was a quiet afternoon in the living room, River was lounging on the windowsill, watching the birds outside. Lillie sauntered in, her tail held high, her eyes fixed on the plate of food sitting on the coffee table. She meowed loudly, making her presence known, and River turned his head slightly to acknowledge her, but didn’t move from his spot.

Lillie approached the plate of food, her eyes locked on the kibble. She reached out a paw and pushed the plate closer to her, but River quickly stood up, his tail flicking in annoyance. He let out a low growl, and Lillie backed off slightly, but still kept her eyes on the food.

River walked over to the plate and sat down, his body blocking Lillie’s view. He began to eat, his tail flicking in contentment. Lillie let out a meow of protest, but River ignored her. She sat there, watching him eat, her tail twitching in frustration. After a moment, she let out a sigh and turned away, her attention caught by a fly buzzing nearby. She chased after it, her hunger forgotten for the moment.

River finished his meal and jumped down from the table, stretching his legs. Lillie had now caught her fly and was preoccupied with playing with it. River took advantage of the moment and slipped away to find a quieter place to nap. Lillie was left to play with her fly, unaware that River had left the room.

This story is actually not a bad depiction of my cats, the only corrections are minor details (Lillie wouldn’t meow in response to something River did, although she would complain to me so we can pretend I am there, it would still be a delayed response; River also doesn’t care if Lillie steals his food, from what I’ve seen, only when she tries to push past him while he is eating – the cats have microchip-bowls which only allow the respective cat access and will close on other cats, hence why Lillie attempts to steal food from River while he is actively eating). Those aside these are entirely accurate.

I am very much impressed by the experience and will do more of these. My brief opinion of the bot is it is very powerful and reminds me a lot of the way the computer in Star Trek talks – still written to talk back like a computer but can understand naturally-spoken requests with a lot of accuracy. Some of the generated text is notably AI generations from the use of repeated phrases from earlier in conversation where naturally one would paraphrase, but if you didn’t see the prompts you may never know.

You can view the entire conversation here.