TL:DR – You can get ChatGPT to analyse a piece of prose for style and tone and then use the results to get it to generate a new piece of prose on another topic with an approximation of that style and tone.
If you feed ChatGPT, the AI language model, an appropriate prompt followed by a sample of writing, it does something that could be rather useful. The bot analyses the writing style. The prompt needs to be something like this: “Analyze the text below for style, voice, and tone. Then, using natural language processing (NLP) create a prompt to write a new article in the same style, voice, and tone.” and you paste in a sample of your own writing.
I gave the bot this prompt and pasted the text from a recent blog post of mine about migratory blackcaps in our garden. It came back with this summary:
Style: Informal, observational
Voice: First person narrator
Tone: Thoughtful, contemplative
I’d agree with that, I certainly try to write my nature posts in that kind of style, voice, and tone. The bot also generates a new prompt based on its analysis:
Prompt: Write an article about observing a different species of bird in your backyard and the possible reasons for changes in their migration patterns. Use personal anecdotes and scientific explanation to convey a thoughtful, contemplative tone.
This prompt can then be used to generate a new article. So, I tried that but I modified the prompt to focus on a particular species of bird, the Fieldfare, rather than using the phrase “different species of bird” and I changed the word backyard to garden. This is the article that ChatGPT generated, you can compare it with my own original article on the topic of Fieldfares in the garden, which wrote a few years ago for the blog.
NB The following article was generated by the AI to emulate my writing style!
Fieldfares in the Garden: A Wintertime Delight
As a nature lover, I have always enjoyed watching the various birds that visit my back garden throughout the year. Recently, I have had the pleasure of observing a type of thrush known as a Fieldfare. These birds are typically found in Northern Europe and Asia, and are known for their striking plumage, consisting of a grey head and mantle, with a chestnut-colored breast and belly.
I first noticed some Fieldfares in my garden during a harsh winter period. They were attracted to the berry bushes in my garden. Their presence was a welcome sight, as the dull grey days of winter can sometimes feel quite monotonous.
One possible explanation for change [in their migration patterns] could be the milder winter temperatures that have been observed in recent years. Fieldfares have a high metabolic rate and require a lot of food to survive the cold winter months. Milder temperatures may make it possible for them to find enough food in their breeding grounds, reducing the need for them to migrate as far south.
Another potential explanation could be the availability of food in urban areas like my garden. As more and more people take up gardening, the amount of food available to birds in urban areas has increased, making it less necessary for them to travel as far to find sustenance. This may also explain why I have observed more Fieldfares in my garden over the years, as the berry bushes have matured and now provide a reliable source of food.
As I watch the Fieldfares flitting from bush to bush in my garden, I am reminded that the natural world is ever-changing, and that even small changes in the environment can have a big impact on the lives of the animals that call it home. It is important that we continue to observe and study these changes, so that we can understand and appreciate the intricate connections that exist within our natural world.
Note, there were a couple of sentences that were factually incorrect regarding the numbers of Fieldfares I have actually seen in my garden and some aspects of their behaviour which did not ring true, so I have removed those. I also asked the AI to give the article a title.