Welcome to the future. A time when apps can tell you how far you’ve walked, if your spouse is ‘just not that into you,’ and where a computer can create content.
At least, that was our experiment. The premise: could we give our robot author, Chip, some basic instructions, and ask for it to compose an intelligent piece of prose about Montana? As we found out…the answer is: Kinda? (Chip stands for Computerized Human Interface Program.)
Read below the methodology we used to give the computer the task at hand. A lot of it didn’t make sense, but it is truly hilarious. Nice try, Chip! Here is Chip’s computer-generated story about Montana written in 30 seconds:
1. Welcome to Montana!
Source: Flickr
2. This is why we live here.
Source: Flickr
3. Because Montana is simply the best place on earth.
Source: Flickr
4. In Montana, you’re basically living in a dream.
Source: Flickr
5. There’s nothing in the world like a Montana sunset.
Source: Flickr
6. Montana will undoubtedly take your breath away.
Source: Flickr
7. There’s simply no place like home.
Source: Flickr
8. Mother nature here never disappoints.
Source: Flickr
9. Montana is home to the friendliest people in the country.
Source: Flickr
10. You won’t find a place with better views than this.
Source: Flickr
11. You’ll always be surrounded by friends in Big Sky Country.
Source: Flickr
12. This is home to some of the best architecture in the region.
Source: Flickr
13. Montana certainly has its share of divine brush strokes.
Source: Flickr
14. All of this combines to make Montana unforgettable.
Source: Flickr
15. Montana will expand your cultural horizons.
Source: Flickr
16. Montana is beautiful no matter what season it is.
Source: Flickr
17. You won’t find a better place in the country to raise a family.
Source: Flickr
18. You won’t find sights like this in just any old place.
Source: Flickr
19. Montanans are a different type of people.
Source: Flickr
20. A place is only as good as the people in it.
Source: Flickr
21. This is God’s Country.
Source: Flickr
22. Your heart will always yearn for Montana.
Source: Flickr
23. Big Sky Country is a well-kept secret.
Source: Flickr
24. It’s reasons like this that make Montana a truly special place.
Source: Flickr
25. Montana is captivating and spellbinding.
Source: Flickr
26. Montanans know what it means to be at home.
Source: Flickr
27. You’ll feel like it’s a place you’ve been searching for all your life.
Source: Flickr
28. This is country living at its finest.
Source: Flickr
29. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven here.
Source: Flickr
30. There’s no place like home.
Source: Flickr
How a computer can be trained to create content
How did we do this? First, we generated a random set of 30 phrases that sounded poetic about living in Montana. Things like, “This is why we live here,” and “This place is a dream.”
Then, the computer inserted Montana into the phrases. So, ‘This is home to the friendliest people in the nation,’ became ‘Montana is home to the friendliest people in the nation.’
Thirdly, we randomly grabbed 30 images of Montana from Flickr using generalized search criteria. You can see the entire list of phrases Chip ‘asked for’ at the bottom of the post.
Finally, we asked Chip to randomly assign a phrase to an image.
What did we learn from this?
Chip is actually really smart. This wasn’t too far off, but when Chip missed the mark, it made for some LOLs! We have to say, we were impressed. Possibly one reason this wasn’t a complete disaster is that Montana and the Spanish word for mountain is Montaña. So, we randomly got a bunch of pictures of mountains back from Spanish Flickr accounts.
Here are the photo search phrases Chip used:
- Billings
- Montana beautiful
- Montana sunset
- Montana mountains
- Montana animals
- Montana people
- Montana residents
- Bozeman
- Montana University
- Montana houses
- Montana
- Montana awesome
- Montana sunrise
- Montana pretty
- Montana winter
- Montana hiking
- Montana love
- Montana wedding
- Montana peaceful
- Montana roads
- Montana skies
- Montana adventure
- Montana culture
- Montana man
- Montana woman
- Montana child
- Montana amazing
- Montana fun
- Montana neighborhood
- Montana nature
- Montana cabin
- Montana happy
