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ChatGPT: Rhyming Patter

By Andi Gladwin - Monday, December 12, 2022

I think we can all agree that there's not enough rhyming patter in the world. So, I had OpenAI's ChatGPT tool write some for us. I asked for rhyming patter for Miser's Dream. My intention here was to challenge the AI because it would need to first undestand what rhyming patter even is, then apply that to a known magic trick, and then put it together into a rhyme. Much to my surprise, it was even able to insert the actions into the trick. Here goes:

Narrator: Listen here, folks, and lend me your ears
For a magic trick that'll bring you to tears
It's called the Miser's Dream, and it's quite a sight
As our magician produces coins from the night

(Magician shows empty hands, palms facing the audience.)

Magician: With a wave of my wand, I'll start the show
And a coin will appear, you'll see it, I know

(Magician makes a magical gesture, and suddenly a coin appears in one of their hands.)

Magician: One coin, just a start, don't you worry
I'll keep them coming, in a hurry

(Magician makes another magical gesture, and produces another coin from the same hand. They toss the coin into a bucket on the ground.)

Magician: Two coins, now a pair, but that's not all
I'll make them appear, big and small

(Magician continues to produce coins from thin air, tossing them into the bucket one by one.)

Magician: (Adding in some misdirection and sleight of hand) Watch as I make these coins appear
From the most unexpected places, near and far
I'll produce them from my pocket, or even my hat
You'll be amazed, just wait and see, that's a fact!

(Audience gasps in amazement.)

Notice how the AI was able to fully understand the props, the repetition of the effect, and that the coins had to be justified somehow ("produces coins from the night."). The most intriguing part, for me, was that the AI decided to turn this into a two-person act with the Narrator introducing the effect, a little like how Penn introduces Teller's silent pieces (I am under no illusions that this is a coincidence and not a trained-behavior).