a robot and a Shakespeare statue (public domain)‘Artificial Intelligence Versus Real Intelligence’: A Poem by Bruce Dale Wise The Society August 7, 2025 Culture, Poetry 8 Comments . Artificial “Intelligence” Versus Real Intelligence Chat GPT “confuses” metaphors and similes. It also “struggles” to correctly classify milled themes. It does not “understand” the difference of proper nouns and neologisms that it has “found.” It’s not “pro-found.” It’s lacking “knowledge” and much “cultural significance.” Without “emotional nuance,” it “dwells” in ignorance. It cannot “comprehend” the realms of prose or poetry, or “recognize” the slightest “feel” of real quality. What chance does it have to “grasp” controversial verses, or dark energy, star synergy, and th’ Universal More? . . Bruce Dale Wise is a poet and former English teacher currently residing in Texas. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. ***Read Our Comments Policy Here*** 8 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson August 7, 2025 Having not attempted to use AI, I am heartened by your take on the subject with profound observations that ring true. I appreciate your insights and your poem. Reply BDW August 8, 2025 a few thoughts of AI Welder, “Cubes”: One of my favourite Modernist poems is that written by E. E. Cummings (1894-1962). pity this busy monster, manunkind, not. Progress is a comfortable disease: your victim (death and life safely beyond) plays with the bigness of his littleness — electrons deify one razorblade into a mountainrange; lenses extend unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish returns on its unself. A world of made is not a world of born — pity poor flesh and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this fine specimen of hypermagical ultraomnipotence. We doctors know a hopeless case if — listen: there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go where he dealt with that exact heartening Mr. Peterson evinced. However, even though this poem remains for me one of the greatest sonnets of American literature, to pull all of its brilliant strands together to advance poetry written in English I have found a difficult task indeed. I “wish” AI could do this; but it can’t; and would undoubtedly fall flat on its main frame, if it tried. Reply Paul Freeman August 7, 2025 Unfortunately all the AI guardrails mooted a couple of years ago have been forgotten in the rush for monetary gain and keeping up with the opposition AI companies. AI will get there eventually as it’s ‘training’ continues. All the AI aficionados claim AI will result in jobs, but when pushed on the subject can’t name what jobs. We often quote Orwell, usually about the thought police, but he foresaw songs and books being written by machines in ‘1984’, producing ‘prole feed’ to keep the masses content and subdued. Sorry I have some reels to watch… Thanks for the read, Bruce. Reply BDW August 7, 2025 One of the reasons I appreciated Mr. Freeman’s “On Twenty Years of YouTube” is his recording of the origins of that particular tech. That is one of the tasks I want poetry to take on in this Golden Age, id est, to record anecdotes here and there in the New Millennium. As Mr. Freeman, Ms. Coats, and others, have utilized its musical videos, I have too. Psy’s “Gangnam” was just one of those entertaining reminders for me Mr. Freeman mentioned. At the moment one of my grandsons, particularly likes Southern gospel videos. But I use YouTube “prole feed” for so many things—international research, Chinese analysis, like “Lei’s Real Talk”, up-to-date news and political info, from a wide variety of interpreters, like Donald J. Trump, Francis, Darkins, David, Rogan, Owens, Shapiro, TBN Israel, some AI generated, irritating, but informed, videos, etc., US military analysis, health figures, like Berry, Ekberg, and E. Philipps, mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, physics, even Joshua Philipp’s “Crossroads”. Also, like commenter jd mentioned, I enjoy the movies, and DIY videos. Audio books are fantastic as well, fiction, nonfiction, history, poetry and prose from around the World, art, architecture, etc. But unlike cautious tech oligarchs, like Gates and Musk, I have no desire to slow AI advancement down for a One-World Government run by them and CCP operatives. Reply Margaret Coats August 10, 2025 Bruce, I hope your use of YouTube includes occasional consultation of Max Tegmark, who puts forward plans on how we can control AI, and has the brains to do it. He’s been a hero of mine since I saw him explain that he’d been converted to the idea that human beings are significant in the universe (in the documentary movie “The Principle”). It is not surprising that AI may dominate those with the opposite view. There are way too many of them who think they’re only here at the tail end of 20 billion years of the last Big Bang, with no task but to battle for dominance among other peons of the same ilk. I like your poem, which makes many good points–the ones that need to be made. While AI can write poetry, you are quite correct that it has no comprehension of the poetic realm. It might, however, have as much capacity to grasp certain controversial verses as well as most of us beyond the controversial writers. Overall, you have a certain feel of real quality here! Reply BDW August 10, 2025 I know AI would not note that Ms. Coats’ “Together” was Words-worthian or Earthian, a fallen feather’s fluff. How could it note the falling off, the following last words, that break the stanza with pure anguish and remembered hurt? How could it understand such ambling, reassembling thoughts, that wander through such rhymes and meter to connect those dots…? Should baryon acoustic oscillations gather to admeasure Ms. Coats’ verbal pressures with a standard rule? How could AI mechanic’lly interpret heartfelt sounds, proceeding analytic’lly throughout her outer grounds? By heaven, I do think love for her brother is as rare, as any AI would belie with utter-ed false compare. Reply Margaret Coats August 15, 2025 Bruce, thank you for these many notices of subtle sounds and structure expressing feeling in my “Together” poem. You exemplify your points about AI with much appreciated compliments. Though I have been otherwise occupied for quite a while, I value them a great deal, and hope you will allow me, when I have leisure in the future, to place some of what you say here among the comments on that poem. BDW August 21, 2025 Go for it. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ
Roy Eugene Peterson August 7, 2025 Having not attempted to use AI, I am heartened by your take on the subject with profound observations that ring true. I appreciate your insights and your poem. Reply
BDW August 8, 2025 a few thoughts of AI Welder, “Cubes”: One of my favourite Modernist poems is that written by E. E. Cummings (1894-1962). pity this busy monster, manunkind, not. Progress is a comfortable disease: your victim (death and life safely beyond) plays with the bigness of his littleness — electrons deify one razorblade into a mountainrange; lenses extend unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish returns on its unself. A world of made is not a world of born — pity poor flesh and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this fine specimen of hypermagical ultraomnipotence. We doctors know a hopeless case if — listen: there’s a hell of a good universe next door; let’s go where he dealt with that exact heartening Mr. Peterson evinced. However, even though this poem remains for me one of the greatest sonnets of American literature, to pull all of its brilliant strands together to advance poetry written in English I have found a difficult task indeed. I “wish” AI could do this; but it can’t; and would undoubtedly fall flat on its main frame, if it tried. Reply
Paul Freeman August 7, 2025 Unfortunately all the AI guardrails mooted a couple of years ago have been forgotten in the rush for monetary gain and keeping up with the opposition AI companies. AI will get there eventually as it’s ‘training’ continues. All the AI aficionados claim AI will result in jobs, but when pushed on the subject can’t name what jobs. We often quote Orwell, usually about the thought police, but he foresaw songs and books being written by machines in ‘1984’, producing ‘prole feed’ to keep the masses content and subdued. Sorry I have some reels to watch… Thanks for the read, Bruce. Reply
BDW August 7, 2025 One of the reasons I appreciated Mr. Freeman’s “On Twenty Years of YouTube” is his recording of the origins of that particular tech. That is one of the tasks I want poetry to take on in this Golden Age, id est, to record anecdotes here and there in the New Millennium. As Mr. Freeman, Ms. Coats, and others, have utilized its musical videos, I have too. Psy’s “Gangnam” was just one of those entertaining reminders for me Mr. Freeman mentioned. At the moment one of my grandsons, particularly likes Southern gospel videos. But I use YouTube “prole feed” for so many things—international research, Chinese analysis, like “Lei’s Real Talk”, up-to-date news and political info, from a wide variety of interpreters, like Donald J. Trump, Francis, Darkins, David, Rogan, Owens, Shapiro, TBN Israel, some AI generated, irritating, but informed, videos, etc., US military analysis, health figures, like Berry, Ekberg, and E. Philipps, mathematics, chemistry, philosophy, physics, even Joshua Philipp’s “Crossroads”. Also, like commenter jd mentioned, I enjoy the movies, and DIY videos. Audio books are fantastic as well, fiction, nonfiction, history, poetry and prose from around the World, art, architecture, etc. But unlike cautious tech oligarchs, like Gates and Musk, I have no desire to slow AI advancement down for a One-World Government run by them and CCP operatives. Reply
Margaret Coats August 10, 2025 Bruce, I hope your use of YouTube includes occasional consultation of Max Tegmark, who puts forward plans on how we can control AI, and has the brains to do it. He’s been a hero of mine since I saw him explain that he’d been converted to the idea that human beings are significant in the universe (in the documentary movie “The Principle”). It is not surprising that AI may dominate those with the opposite view. There are way too many of them who think they’re only here at the tail end of 20 billion years of the last Big Bang, with no task but to battle for dominance among other peons of the same ilk. I like your poem, which makes many good points–the ones that need to be made. While AI can write poetry, you are quite correct that it has no comprehension of the poetic realm. It might, however, have as much capacity to grasp certain controversial verses as well as most of us beyond the controversial writers. Overall, you have a certain feel of real quality here! Reply
BDW August 10, 2025 I know AI would not note that Ms. Coats’ “Together” was Words-worthian or Earthian, a fallen feather’s fluff. How could it note the falling off, the following last words, that break the stanza with pure anguish and remembered hurt? How could it understand such ambling, reassembling thoughts, that wander through such rhymes and meter to connect those dots…? Should baryon acoustic oscillations gather to admeasure Ms. Coats’ verbal pressures with a standard rule? How could AI mechanic’lly interpret heartfelt sounds, proceeding analytic’lly throughout her outer grounds? By heaven, I do think love for her brother is as rare, as any AI would belie with utter-ed false compare. Reply
Margaret Coats August 15, 2025 Bruce, thank you for these many notices of subtle sounds and structure expressing feeling in my “Together” poem. You exemplify your points about AI with much appreciated compliments. Though I have been otherwise occupied for quite a while, I value them a great deal, and hope you will allow me, when I have leisure in the future, to place some of what you say here among the comments on that poem.
