Lethal Protection

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:02 Hello and welcome to Awaiting Prompt, the AI podcast hosted by me, Matt Eastland-Jones.

Nick Short 0:08 And me, Nick Short.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:09 Each week we gave an AI a series of story prompts. These could be genres, characters, plot points, and see what kind of story it comes up with.

Nick Short 0:18 We're not writers, and we're certainly not authors.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:21 We may need to give a bit of direction on the way. But every single word is going to be entirely generated by an AI,

Nick Short 0:27 We're just really interested in the technology, seeing what it can do and having a laugh at the stuff that it can't.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:33 So if that sounds good, then tune in every Friday to Awaiting Prompt. Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Awaiting Prompt! This week, Nick and I task the AI with writing two stories about love and Nick, you're up first.

Nick Short 0:55 My name is Cupid and I know how to make love happen. 20 years ago, my arrows were flying faster than bullets and my aim never miss.

Matt Eastland-Jones 1:12 Is this Cupid but it's Michael Caine?

Nick Short 1:14 I don't know! I took lovers from their lonesome state, brought partners together in a wild embrace. I spread the love that ignited souls with intoxicating flames, gentle pangs and strong desires that could never be contained.

Matt Eastland-Jones 1:30 What is this voice?

Nick Short 1:31 I don't know, shall I start again?

Matt Eastland-Jones 1:33 No, it's great.

Nick Short 1:36 But now, I'm back on the assignment and this time, my job looks different. The arrows are no longer needed, replaced by physical strength and tactical knowledge. Instead of drawing people closer, drawing them away from danger, an instrument of protection. My mission is to protect with a vengeance. I'd learned a few key lessons during my travels over the years. Weapons know no loyalty and fear is my best friend. When confronting anyone who stands in my way, a thick, impenetrable armour would be necessary to keep me from harm's way. So I assembled a virtual arsenal of guns, ammunition, knives and grenades to prepare for the battle ahead.

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:34 I'm so confused. It wasn't like a hard pivot it was a gradual pivot and suddenly like where the fuck are we going?

Nick Short 2:43 This is clearly Cupid having a bit of a bad time. It's straying a bit far from Valentine's Day. So I'm going to push it back by saying right the next part of the story but set on Valentine's Day. I won't give away the full prompt, but I did put helping people fall in love right and I don't think a virtual arsenal of ammunition, knives and grenades is gonna help that.

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:08 No. I went from shooting arrows at people to now just shoot people.

Nick Short 3:16 The wind whipped around me. I've forgotten what the voice was that I did for the first part but I think this was vaguely similar. A reminder that it was Valentine's Day and my mission to help those in desperate need was overwhelming. I'd been hired by the local hospital to provide couples who are unable to spend their valentine's day together with some protection and care. What?

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:42 Does the AI know who Cupid is?

Nick Short 3:44 I think so. Because it said I don't need to arrows anymore. 20 years ago, my hours are flying faster than bullet I made sure that they were escorted safely to one another and would stay together until Christmas if necessary.

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:03 But no later.

Nick Short 4:04 But no later, New Year's is pushing your luck mate. Each couple was dear to my heart as if I had hand picked them myself. After all, it was my Cupid arrow that had drawn them together all those years ago. I set off for my mission with a heavy heart and an uneasiness in my stomach, but determined to fulfil it anyway. It was time for me to rise up again and become the hero of love.

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:33 Is that how it ends?

Nick Short 4:33 That's how it currently ends. I'm going to keep pushing it towards the love angle.

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:39 Yeah.

Nick Short 4:40 I'm gonna put continue the story with Cupid helping a couple fall in love by using his skills. I got to the rendezvous point and all was set

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:51 Do you think he's wearing camo?

Nick Short 4:53 It's camo but it's just love hearts. I got to the rendezvous point and all was set. Everything was in order, and the couple was ready to make their way out of town and find a place to spend their Valentine's day together, I promised them protection and that's exactly what I plan to give them.

Matt Eastland-Jones 5:12 What kind of protection are we talking about here?

Nick Short 5:14 Oh no! We ventured out into the night using my special set of skills to remain undetected. I provided cover fire as we escaped from the enemy trying to impede on our progress. With my ears perked up for any sirens or noise that we try to distract us, I took every precaution necessary to ensure we made it out safely. We worked together as a team, both relying on one another's strength when things got tough. The couple grew closer and closer as their confidence in one another group throughout the journey. Finally, we made it to a small cabin off in the woods, where they could stay safe from any trouble. After making sure the cabin was secure. I took my leave and gave them one final reminder to stay vigilant before I disappeared back into the night. Finally, the time had come to unleash my bow and arrow, I carefully aim for the couple and shot an arrow towards them. It quickly arched across the sky, leaving a shimmering glow in its wake as it made its way to its destination. When it found its target. Suddenly, the couple embraced, tears of joy streaming down their cheeks. This was the power of my arrows. Love so strong that a single shot could impact the lives of two people more powerfully than a thousand words. When I heard news a few days later that their love was strong, and they had started their own family. I was elated that my mission had been successful. But clearly the protection had not.

Matt Eastland-Jones 6:51 That was really good. I love this character of Cupid it's created. In my mind, he's like a war vet and he never left.

Nick Short 6:59 So because I did... Yeah, exactly, literally exactly like that. I didn't feel that they ended it properly. So I did write a montage of all the ways Cupid helps couples get together.

Matt Eastland-Jones 7:10 Has it worked?

Nick Short 7:12 The montage opens with Cupid rappelling off the side of a mountain, firing arrows through the air while holding on to the rope. On the ground we see various couples

Nick Short 7:22 Wait, say again? That doesn't make sense.

Nick Short 7:25 The montage opens with Cupid rappelling off the side of a mountain, firing arrows through the air while holding on to the rope. Ahh, he's holding on to the rope before firing arrows and plummeting to the ground. On the ground, we see various couples who have been saved by his marksmanship and courage. He takes a break to enjoy the moment before getting back to work. As he scales higher we see more couples embracing as he connected them with his arrows. So is it if you're in love and you get shot by the arrow, you feel more in love. If you're an enemy of the state... The montage transitions to Cupid storming a busy city street while trying to keep two lovers safe. Allowing them to...

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:08 Escape from who? He keeps talking about being vigilant...

Nick Short 8:11 I think like you said he's just hasn't left the war, there is nothing going on. Allowing them to enjoy a romantic dinner while using his skills to fight off any enemies that get in his way. Heaps of people are running around screaming as Cupid sets off smoke bombs lighting up the night sky with sparks from his gun. Cupid continues on, this time heading out into a beautiful countryside protecting couples in cars as they make their way out towards a wine-tasting event at a vineyard. He navigates an old bridge at full speed, avoiding homing rocket and dodging close calls amid the chaos of battle. With his mission accomplished he bids farewell and hops onto a waiting bike with a special message for the customer to keep in their hearts. True love will always prevail and then it goes back into Cupid's voice!

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:03 Oh my god.

Nick Short 9:08 I've helped lovers every way possible. I hosted rooftop picnics, filled with starlight and beautiful music. I guided a couple on a midnight stroll that was filled with surprises and wonder. I flew them away to exotic locales, giving them space to explore each other. I gave suggestions on how to romance each other with an assortment of flowers and gourmet chocolates, I even constructed elaborate scavenger hunts that tested their determination and love for one another. As Valentine's Day came and went, I continued my work, each day I received gratitude, not just from the grateful couples I was helping, but from the entire community who had been brought together by my mission. I was celebrated and honoured being invited to speak out at various events throughout the town. Through it all, I made sure to stay humble, for despite my success, I had done nothing more than spread love and hope throughout the world, something we can never have too little of in these trying times. My work is far from over and I've still got a few hours left yet. There are many more hearts out there waiting to be unified.

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:19 Wow. I like to think that he's making up all of this about the enemy and when he goes and talks to the other cherubs or whatever they're called he's there telling these stories and they're all just they're like, yeah, whatever Cupid.

Nick Short 10:32 He's in, like, the face paint.

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:36 Okay, all right, Cupid

Nick Short 10:37 Yeah, sure mate. I'm very rarely proud of the prompts apart from the first episode of Santa Claus Die Hard, and this one, write the beginning of a novel, where Cupid remembers helping people fall in love. But in the style of Rambo.

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:54 Okay. There we go.

Nick Short 10:55 All I was going for was a figure with a bow and arrow.

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:58 Nice. Yeah, that's fair. Have you got a title for it?

Nick Short 11:02 Lethal Protection, The Cupidity of Love and Cupid's Wild Ride to Love and Safety.

Matt Eastland-Jones 11:16 Well, my story is not... well no, we'll save it for the end...

Nick Short 11:23 I'm expecting greatness.

Matt Eastland-Jones 11:25 John couldn't believe he was doing this. He'd never gone on a blind date before. He was feeling a mixture of anxiety and excitement. As he waited for his date to arrive, he fiddled nervously with his tie. Finally the woman showed up. She was beautiful and John felt her presence as soon as she stepped into the restaurant. Still, he was nervous about making a good first impression. The conversation started off pretty well as they discussed their professions and favourite pastimes. But things quickly changed when John let slip an inside joke between himself and his friends. He didn't think it was that funny. But the woman didn't seem to appreciate the humour and she gave him a look of disgust. The rest of the date went pretty downhill from there, his jokes fell flat, his attempts at making small talk ended up awkward, and he kept accidentally stumbling over his words, as I am doing now reading the story. The tension between them was palpable, and John felt completely embarrassed by his lack of social skills. Eventually, John and the woman finished their meal in silence. The evening ended before they could pick up the tab as John rushed out of the restaurant to hide in his car.

Nick Short 12:38 He ran off without paying?

Matt Eastland-Jones 12:40 He dine and dashed!

Nick Short 12:41 Oh my God.

Matt Eastland-Jones 12:42 He drove home in shame, feeling embarrassed and foolish. He had seen the way she looked at him when they said goodbye and he knew that he had completely blown it. This was definitely not the first impression he'd been hoping for. Okay, so I've written continue the story but the next day, The next day, John was still reeling from the blind date disaster, he felt embarrassed and ashamed. Although he had gone out of his way to make a good impression, it had all gone horribly wrong. He kept replaying the evening in his mind, wishing he'd handled it differently. He blamed himself for his mistakes, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with the difficulties of blind dates. John had never been on a blind date before, and he wasn't sure he would ever want to try it again. He decided to take some alone time to reflect on the experience and tried to move on. Unfortunately, John soon discovered that his date had a different opinion on the matter. She had taken to sharing the story, along with her own colourful commentary on her social media account, giving her followers a full recount of the evening's disaster.

Nick Short 13:57 I mean, to be fair, he did dine and dash.

Matt Eastland-Jones 14:01 Okay, so I've written continue the story. John was horrified when he had stumbled across the posts. He'd been humiliated enough in person, now her accounts were making him into a meme. Everywhere he went, he saw some version of his disaster date posted online. Those who didn't know him personally began to recognise him in the street, and he is often met with a barrage of laughter and mocking comments. Everywhere he went, he was a source of entertainment and embarrassment. The experience humbled John...

Nick Short 14:39 As it would.

Matt Eastland-Jones 14:41 ...and made him more aware of the power of social media. He took it as a lesson to always be mindful of the way he handled himself in the future. John eventually managed to put the blind date disaster behind him and gradually rebuilt his reputation in the community. Thankfully, he had other qualities that people appreciated him, such as his hard work and kindness, which would eventually eclipse this embarrassing episode of his past. So there we have it.

Nick Short 15:14 There was more romance... well that was more love-based than mine.

Matt Eastland-Jones 15:18 Yeah, it was very difficult to get there, though. The AI just kept coming up with really boring stories.

Nick Short 15:25 Well, I think that's because with, what was it, a couple of episodes ago, when we did the winter theme, it had a very vague prompt, and it was fine with it because I think if you go winter, and then literally anything else, there's enough that you can just run with it.

Matt Eastland-Jones 15:40 I think it's the fact that you start to write a love story, and it's just gonna it's gonna write a meet-cute, it's gonna write two characters fall in love. No matter how many times you get it to do it, or you try and rephrase it. It's just going to do the same story, just with slight differences. But none of them are particularly exciting. So I actually asked AI to write an anthology series of a guy that goes on bad dates and instead of writing the stories it just gave me like, kind of short synopsis, and the synopsis that gave me for this was blind date disaster. This is a story of a man who goes on a blind date with women who has never seen before. I added that he embarrasses himself on the day, and then write the story and it kind of wrote the first bit and I just kept saying, continue the story the next day and then finish the story. So that was a lot of hard work to get that story. I think, but it was okay, but not half as good as your story your story was very, very good.

Nick Short 16:33 Yeah, but if only my accent was as good as the story.

Matt Eastland-Jones 16:37 If only the story is as good as your accent.

Nick Short 16:40 So there you have it two AI stories on the theme of love. Gonna be honest, I think that it struggled. Let us know what you think! Following on from these closer-to-home stories, or as close to home as a gun-toting Cupid could be, next Friday, we're going to try and visit Outer Worlds. Join us then. That's everything for this episode of Awaiting prompt.

Matt Eastland-Jones 17:04 If you enjoyed it, then please leave us a review and make sure to subscribe so you can stay up to date with all future episodes.