70 Years Ago, Roald Dahl Predicted The Rise Of ChatGPT

The bestselling children's writer Roald Dahl (1916-1990) whose stories include Charlie and the ... [+] Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, 1971. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Roald Dahl has been making headlines of late, after a series of sensitivity edits were made to the author’s famously macabre children’s stories. Dahl’s adult short stories aren’t as beloved, but are very much worth reading; one story in particular appears to have predicted the rise of generative AI, particularly ChatGPT, with uncanny accuracy.

At this point, many have experimented with some form of generative AI (reportedly, ChatGPT is the fastest-growing consumer application in history), and any writer tinkering with ChatGPT might confess to feeling a little nauseous; the AI is far from perfect, but it is coherent, and lightning fast.

ChatGPT spits out cliched phrases and confidently spews misinformation, sure, but it might just be good enough to make a quick buck; there is a real concern that the internet will be spammed with millions of AI-generated articles (Buzzfeed has already started), and emerging fiction writers might just be drowned out by the volume of content produced by ChatGPT.

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