Fight Robots With Poetry! ... or Something! (Contest)

I would like to run a quick and casual poetry contest!

Considering we've been having a lot of dialogue within our community recently about the problems with AI Reviews and AI generated works, I would love that we bring some of that energy into what we do best... writing!

Your prompt for this contest: Write a poem that shows the value of human writing, beyond what AI writing can generate.

> Pull at your reader's heartstrings!
> Use your creativity!
> Have fun!

Rules:
To submit an entry: Submit the poem through the publishing center, and leave a link in this thread before July 31, 11:30 PM EST.

Moderators and regular members, new members and old members, are all welcome and encouraged to participate!
You can submit as many entries as you like.

Be sure to use content warnings if your entry contains mature material.

Do not use AI to write you entry in any capacity.

Prizes:
All participants will receive 250 points for participating!
The winner will receive 1000 total points and a one of a kind bird doodle designed by me and I will review their poem in the literary center too.

* Note this contest must have at least 3 entries for a winner to be chosen, I will try to complete judging by August 15 if there are 3 entries. If there are less than 3 entries, I will not declare a winner.*

A quick little sonnet playing with this meme.

Reliable Sources

deus ex machina
(CW: mention of death)

Robo, I and Chess

A bit confused about the time zones so uploading it now to be on the safe side.

Thank you @AlexWrites @Hkumar @phantasm @radiogrl @niteowl @Plume @floodlights for participating in this contest! WE'VE FOUGHT THE ROBOTS! Will let you know the results of the contest within the month, and really appreciate your participation. I know there are some absolutely awesome poems linked here and I hope you have a chance to read each others' work too!

So! I am a little late on judging this; but alas... I am human after-all! xD

Thank you all for your patience, but more importantly thank you for engaging with creative-writing and adding to this important discussion in I think the most effective way that we can; to prove that truly the human element of poetry is the most important one at the end of the day, nothing can replicate it.

There was something I loved with every single one of your poems...

@floodlights - the twists and turns and layers of your poem, were delectable; as I read I felt there could be so many interpretations to the relationship and also where they are left at the end - there is a wandering feeling to your poem that made me feel like the narrator was dancing around their emotions, but not in a way to avoid them, but to dive into them. I also caught the irony in several of your definition words that seemed to be inherently almost contradictory - the speaker would say they were x while being y. The irony of the title being "no outside text" but also having footnotes too; illustrated that contrasting dualistic nature very well!

@Plume - of course you just pulled out a WHOLE DANG SONNET :') the elevation of something written as a formal sonnet but in reference to a very casual meme was wonderful and applause worthy and exactly the cleverness that only humans can achieve! Thank you! The final line was lovely "We're not the same. I value my life's art. "

@niteowl - I love when your work is referential to other works you've done, because I relate to that a lot in my own writing, where I feel like a lot of time my poems are building second chapters to things that I started years ago, and it's also fun, because I've gotten to read a lot of your work throughout the years so it feels like an easter egg when I see something referenced that I've read before too. But on this poem in particular I think you did a great job of blending narrative, pretty/poetic language, and then just blasting truth statements all at once - and the main point that an AI ultimately can't be self-reflective because it lacks life (and that within the frame of lists of unfinished lists of three) was all very perceptive I felt. The poem felt like a powerful endorsement to the writing process in itself, our poetry isn't good because it's perfect, but because in it we grow and see ourselves in new ways - honestly that resonates with how I view the writing process a lot.

this stanza in particular stood out to me: "only humans can remember lives they never lived, the ones they saw in a mirror twenty years ago and needed to write a poem about. only humans can regret the wrong things they said, the harm they caused, but move forward anyway, because they have to." Ah! Boom!

very insightful and I really can't articulate your point better than you did - so will commend people to read what you wrote!

@radiogrl FRIEND - THE FORM of this poem!! Ah I love an imaginative formatted poem, and it really made the computer / stream of consciousness vibe come through anymore. I love how you were able to take the framework of the writing process and attempt to make it into a roughly drawn equation - that was in itself pretty cool and creative. And then the end of  

a machine knows pattern
  but not
  why you whispered his name
            twice .

Ah I love that because it's so very true. One of the things that sets human poetry apart from AI is the actual human connection. AI can not properly write about love because it doesn't know it, it doesn't know the irrational / non-equation human brain that is full of quirks and love and excess and mistakes and growth! Really fun form that reveals it's truth through the very limitation of its form.

@Calamity the vulnerability and rawness of this poem stood out to me; without the light poetic language it would risk being morbid, but it came through as ultimately very genuine - which is something AI can not achieve at all. I enjoyed your stylistic word phrasing too like "coveredinclaustrophobia" (fabulous choice of smushing the words together) and "rusted-over dream" the contrast of the mind and body with machines prompted some interesting reflections as I read through it and the image presented in the poem lingered after I read it. I really enjoy your relaxed but earnest poetic voice (those are two things I normally think contrast each other, but were both present in this poem.)

@Hkumar - I already wrote some comments in a review of your poem, but to reiterate again I think you tackled this from a very practical / tangible angle that wouldn't cross a lot of people's minds as they begin to list all the "positives" of AI without thinking of the very tangible harm. You had an easy to follow narrative, that kept me reading until the end and I liked the voice contrast between the narrator's experience and the AI's faulty logic. Very well written and presented, and ultimately a very polished story that makes an emotional case for its central point; that AI directly can lead to human loss.

@AlexWrites - I was honestly blown away by the DEPTH of walking through this narrative - my sister and I like to play chess against each other, so I enjoyed being able to understand those references throughout too. Your piece told the story of an AI trying to understand why a human could be "satisfied" with losing, it thinks it "knows" everything, but the human shows all these unknowns to the AI - the human-depth of unpredictability, empathy, and downright human complexity that is beyond calculation or equation. Then in the impactful twist of the conclusion the human defeats the AI through these very "faults" that the AI couldn't understand, and wins against the AI through running out the clock. The chess game was a super clever premise to frame the rest of the discussion and I thought your poem had a very satisfying ending too! I really admire the amount of thought and story-building that went into this, and how you are able to develop the character of the narrator and the AI throughout, by the end you make a very compelling point of not just one but many of the differences between AI and humans. This piece is incredibly cool, and actually reminds me of a short-story my sister wrote years ago about a mother bird explaining to its baby why humans were how they are through a series of scenes. I could see your poem developed into a children's book honestly, it's very engaging and interesting to consider


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Friends. I had the toughest time coming up with a winner for this contest, because (as shown above) each one taught me something new and compelled me to think more deeply on this subject and brought your own beautiful sense of creativity and art. I strongly encourage everyone to read all the linked poems above because they are each beautiful and insightful. Ultimately I did come up with who I'd like to declare the winner of this contest though....


*drum roll please*
Congratulations to @niteowl for your poem an AI cannot look into a mirror - I loved your blend of poetic beauty through language and insight into this discussion!

Everyone will be getting their promised points soon, and I encourage you... KEEP FIGHTING THE ROBOTS... KEEP WRITING POETRY!

Thank you all for participating!

Congrats @niteowl, well deserved <3

Thanks @alliyah for the contest and kudos to you as well for your efforts.

Thank you so much, @alliyah! It was a fun contest and good to know my annoying self-referential tendencies aren’t a total turn-off haha.