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Blog Entry #3: Experiment with AI Text Generation
For this post, like the first one, I'll be using AI and comparing the generated results to my own preferences. For this assignment, I was asked to "write a prompt based on a topic you know well, and tell the software to create a pseudo blog post of 250-300 words." The software to be used was ChatGPT. There is an emphasis on finding and correcting factual inaccuracies. I've sectioned each step of the assignment into drop-down menus for ease of navigation.
Prompt and ChatGPT response
The prompt was: In 250 words, what is involved in throwing a cylinder?
ChatGPT's response was: Throwing a cylinder refers to the process of shaping a cylindrical form on a potter’s wheel using clay. It’s one of the fundamental skills in ceramics and involves several key steps.
First, the potter wedges the clay to remove air bubbles and ensure even consistency. Next, they place the clay on the center of the wheel and begin centering it by applying pressure with both hands while the wheel spins. This step is crucial, as off-center clay leads to uneven forms.
Once centered, the potter opens the form by pressing thumbs or fingers down into the middle to create a hole, then pulls the walls outward to establish the base width. With the base set, they begin pulling up the walls, gently squeezing the clay between fingers from the inside and outside as the wheel spins. This motion is repeated in stages to gradually increase the height and maintain even thickness.
During the process, the potter uses water and tools (like ribs and sponges) to keep the clay smooth and workable. A rib helps refine the shape and surface, while a needle tool may be used to trim the rim. The final step involves shaping and smoothing the cylinder, then cutting it off the wheel using a wire tool.
Throwing a cylinder requires practice, control, and attention to detail. It lays the foundation for more complex forms like mugs, vases, and pitchers, and is often used to teach fundamental wheel-throwing techniques.
Edits I made to the ChatGPT response
Here is a link to the Google Document for those who'd like to see the edits (I've also included screenshots below).
My response to the prompt
A cylinder is one of the most basic and important forms in learning how to throw. Cylinders lay the foundation for almost every other form (with the exclusion of plates) as well as techniques like pulling walls.
To start, the potter will wedge the clay. Wedging is important, as it works out air bubbles and makes the clay soft (or “warm”) by evening out moisture. Following that, the potter will place their clay on the wheel (the clay should be shaped like an egg, and the point goes down for extra security). Next, the potter will cone the clay. Coning clay is an extension of wedging, and requires the potter to bring the clay up and down through applying pressure in the proper areas.
After the potter has coned a few times, they can open the piece up. To open the piece up, they will create a dimple on the cross sections to find the middle. Then, they can push down towards the center at an angle, and pull the piece towards themselves to open the walls up.
Once the piece is opened, the potter will begin to pull the walls up. To do this, the potter will gently pinch the walls and pull them up at the speed of the wheel. The inside fingers should be slightly above the outside fingers, and the potter should be able to feel the lump of clay they are pulling up (until they reach the rim). This step may be repeated until the walls are at the desired thinness.
Finally, the potter will trim off the excess clay at the bottom of the piece using a wooden knife. At this point, they will wire their piece off of the wheel.
While cylinders seem unexciting, they can be beautiful and are an essential skill.
From Ceramic Arts Daily:
What I learned from this exercise
Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by ChatGPT's response. It was much better than I expected it to be, and was generally pretty accurate. It fell short of explaining the steps in a way that would not be as overwhelming to a beginner, and missed some crucial information to be truly successful.
In doing this exercise, I learned that ChatGPT could be useful for getting a basic grasp on understanding a topic, but that my own research would still be necessary. I actually used it earlier to get an idea on what APIs are, and had similar results. ChatGPT did a great job at simplifying the idea for me and summarizing a lot of information, but I still needed to do my own research. I've learned that it's a good tool for getting started. It kind of reminds me of how Wikipedia was presented to me as a student early on.
Despite the fact that I was impressed with ChatGPT's response, I still don't trust it entirely, and it would be irresponsible to do so. Chat even has a disclaimer of it's own on the bottom of the page (screenshot below).
I don't trust it entirely, because despite the fact that it has access to all public information, which would include Reddit forms and potters' forums, it didn't pick up on little tips and tricks or some of the crucial techniques. If that's the case with something as unpolitical, uncontroversial, and relatively straight forward as throwing a cylinder, I would be skeptical of the information ChatGPT shares relating to a more complicated subject.
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