Experimenting with AI in Writing
Will it help me, or replace me?
One of the most time-consuming aspects of writing for me is cleaning up the manuscript. My method is to use the file as a bin for all the parts of the piece: background info, concepts, references, etc. I throw everything into that one file, and then sort it all out into the finished piece. That typically means a lot of editing. I read it, and change it, repeatedly till I get to the joke part - Q: how do you know when your writing is complete? A: when you can’t stand to look at it any more.
Recently I’ve embarked on learning how to use AI tools, and Chat GPT in particular. One of my main purposes is to learn how to use it as a tool for writing, with the goal of reducing the amount of time I spend in editing, or even to become my editor. However, because the exploration of the creative process is one that I thoroughly enjoy, I definitely want to continue with that. Of course my fear is that ChatGPT will replace me entirely, or that I will become too dependent on it. Well, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.
I’m beginning this AI learning experience with a piece that has been on my mind for a while - an elementary explanation of the three possible planes of existence that we, as spiritual beings, can live in. I will be posting this in three sections beginning with the material plane, then the mental plane, and finally spiritual plane. I’ll write each section myself and post it here, followed by the version that ChatGPT has written. Of course, the quality of the output from AI totally depends on the quality of the prompts it is fed. So to be fair, I’ll write from the same intitial paragraph that I feed to ChatGPT.
This post will be the two introductory paragraphs. First will be my first draft, followed by my edited version, which will be followed by ChatGPT’s edited version. ChatGPT will be given the same first two paragraphs to work from.
It’s very important to me to hear your feedback. Is my writing superior to OpenAI? Or (say it ain’t so! 😆) does ChatGPT do a better job? Of course, because ChatPGT is known to be a bald-faced liar, everything it produces must be confirmed, so at the very least, that job will fall to me.
Here we go:
The Three States of Existence
The very first step of spiritual growth is to learn that we are spiritual beings, or rather, spiritual energy. This requires some explanation due to the fact that the word “spiritual” is likely the most user-defined word in the English language. But it is not that difficult. Firstly, we can understand what spiritual energy is simply by studying ourselves and our nature. By doing so the characteristics we might come up with is that the spiritual energy is conscious and personal. As conscious beings, we are endowed with personal characteristics, such as: first and foremost consciousness – awareness of our self; personality, or ego, or sense of self; emotions – such as happiness and distress, love and hate, desire, empathy, sympathy; likes and dislikes, and so on. Moreover the spiritual energy is eternal. We have always existed, and will always continue to exist. We will never experience extinction, or what some ignorantly refer to as death.
The next step of our spiritual journey is to understand that we can exist in three states, or planes of existence: material, mental, and spiritual. Another way of saying that is that we can live in the material world, the mental world, or the spiritual world. Each of these worlds provides a body suitable to its nature – a material body (which we now have experience of), a mental body suitable to the mental world, and a spiritual body suitable to the spiritual world.
Above is my first draft, and below is my edited draft.
The very first step of spiritual growth is to learn that we are spiritual beings, or rather, spiritual energy. This requires some explanation due to the fact that the word “spiritual” is likely the most user-defined word in the English language. But rather than using a user-defined definition I’ll take the definition explained in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. The Gita, as it is commonly known, is the fundamental text of spiritual literature, and was spoken by Krishna, the Supreme Spiritual Being, God, some 5,000 years ago when He was present on this earth . There Krishna explains that the spiritual energy is eternal, ever-existing, primeval. The spiritual energy, commonly known as the soul, thus has always been existing. That is, you and I, have been around for a very long time. This is not our first rodeo, as they say. Since we are spiritual energy we can understand what spiritual energy is by studying ourselves and our nature. Doing this, some of the characteristics we might come up with are that the spiritual energy is both conscious and personal. Consciousness means self-awareness. Beyond self awareness we also have personality, or ego, which is a display of our uniqely individual nature. As spiritual persons we also experience emotions – love, desire, empathy, sympathy, likes and dislikes, and so on. And since we are eternal we will never die. We will never experience extinction, or what some ignorantly refer to as death.
The next step of our spiritual journey is to understand that we can exist in three states, or planes of existence: material, mental, and spiritual. Another way of saying that is that we can live in the material world, the mental world, or the spiritual world. Each of these worlds provides a body suitable to its nature – a material body, which we now inhabit, a mental body that we also now inhabit, and a perfect spiritual body suitable for our activities in the spiritual world, known as Vaikuntha, a place free from all anxiety.
This paper is an introduction to these three states of being.
Image created by Dall-E. Here’s the prompt used for this image:
Create a portrait format image in three divided parts as an upside down Y depicting a woman in each of the three parts. The three parts represent the three states of existence: material, mental and spiritual. In the material state she is sitting cross-legged on the ground in a park-like setting, the Mental state should look whispy and ghost like - see through. The background for the mental state should be airy with flowing pastel colors; and the Spiritual person should be radiant with joy in a brilliant white flowing gown. the background for the spiritual person should be a park-like setting.
First, here is the prompt (instructions) I gave to ChatGPT:
The following is a first draft of two introductory paragraphs of a short article I am writing on the three states of existence. This is based on Vaishnava philosophy as taught by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Using *only* the philosophy of Srila Prabhupada's works, Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, Edit them as necessary for clarity and grammar, adding any additional information you think is needed for a proper *short* introduction. Do not write more than two paragraphs.
Please compare the two pieces written by me with the following version edited by ChatGPT:
The first step in genuine spiritual understanding is to realize that we are not the material body, but eternal spiritual beings—parts and parcels of the Supreme Spirit, Krishna. This spiritual identity is characterized by consciousness, individuality, and eternality (sat-cit-ānanda). As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.20), the soul is unborn, eternal, and never dies. Our conscious self—endowed with personal attributes such as awareness, desire, emotion, and volition—indicates the presence of the soul, or ātmā, distinct from the temporary body and mind. This spiritual energy is fundamentally different from inert matter and never undergoes destruction, though it may be covered by material illusion (māyā).
From this foundation, we can begin to understand that the soul can function in three distinct planes of existence: material, mental, and spiritual. In the conditioned state, the soul is entangled in the material body, acting under the influence of the false ego and mind. The mental world is subtler, comprising impressions, thoughts, and desires that shape our identity even beyond physical death, as explained in Bhagavad-gītā (15.8–9). Ultimately, the spiritual state is our original, pure condition, in which the soul is free from material coverings and reestablishes its relationship with Kṛṣṇa in loving devotional service. Each of these states corresponds to a body—gross, subtle, or spiritual—appropriate for functioning within its respective realm.
I must admit that I like what this AI turns out. And in my use of it with regards to Srila Prabhupada’s works, it has done a remarkable job. I was purposely avoiding specific reference to the verses of the Gita, but the references it made are, in my opinion, excellent contributions:
For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. Bg. 2.20
The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another. The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects. Bg. 15.8-9Please let me know what you think in the comment section - and don’t hold back! I can take it. If AI can help why shouldn’t I use it? Everything can be used in the service of the Lord.
Thank you!
Truthfully I liked your edited version the best. It would have been interesting had you but told us which was which, so there world be no bias. The AI version was okay, but it always has a flavor of being AI, as if there is no soul behind it. Perhaps another option world be to rewrite the AI version adding the human touch. ❤️🙏 Hare Krsna!