About us not ready for the big leagues,

The other day I was reading about some sort of artificial intelligence outfit that was writing term papers for college students that more often than not earned the best grades in the class.

Turning in something that someone else wrote, of course, is plagiarism. In this case, however, the “someone else” is not a person at all. I guess that makes it botulism, but that word may already have been taken.

Then again, if you’re writing a term paper about the War of 1812, you’re pretty much just rewriting someone else’s research since you’re unlikely to have witnessed the war yourself. Some students may be better at rewriting someone else’s words than other students are, but it’s still basically rewriting. Not technically plagiarism, but not far off.

The same story I was reading noted that some real estate agents said such a writing aid was saving them dozens of hours a week by not having to write flowery descriptions of the homes they have for sale. Certainly nothing illegal or unethical about that. And obviously a big help to a certain group of people.

Journalists, on the other hand, have been flat-out fired for plagiarism, even if we do sometimes quote one another. With attribution, of course.

As I noted the other day, I’ve been writing a regular column — sometimes an irregular column — for this newspaper for the last 53 years. Without counting each and every one, that’s probably somewhere around 13,000 columns, give or take a paragraph or two.

So that got me to wondering what it would be like to take a day off and have ChatGPT turn in a day’s work for me. I mean, a daily grind may be good for coffee, but not so much for human beings.

With the help of our teenage son, Mick, the following “prompt” was issued: “Write a Bob Dunning column for the Davis Enterprise newspaper.”

This is what we got, free of

DJUSD trustees tackle school music program

By Aaron Geerts Enterprise staff writer

The school board will reconvene for another meeting this Thursday, Feb 2. Although the agenda isn’t lengthy, it features important items including an update on the district’s renowned music program.

The music program itself spans from fourth through 12th grade and comprises of choral music, band, orchestra, Mariachi and academic coursework. Back on Jan. 12, the district’s music community gathered in a public forum to establish a unified vision for the music program moving forward. The update is set to include feedback from this forum as well as touch on the passage of Prop. 28, which the district expects additional funds to be dedicated to arts and music education.

The meeting is also set to include the approval of the 2022 School Accountability Report Cards. In accordance with educational codes, the school board must annually issue a SARC for each school site. In preparing these cards, the district’s current data was submitted to the California

Department of Education through Document

Tracking Services.

An update will also be given regarding the January Governor’s budget which marks the start of the state budget planning process for the next fiscal year. It’s focused on maintaining programs where possible and includes revenue to fund the Local Control Funding Formula for inflation (COLA). As part of this formula, districts are also required to develop a Local Control Accountability Plan concurrently with the budget.

The board will also approve Resolution No. 39-23 which recognizes February as African American History Month. This month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans as well as recognition of their integral role in American history.

Other approvals include that of Resolution No. 38-23, which is in honor of the Week of the Counselor from Feb 6 to 10.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, and will take place at the Community Chambers at 23 Russell Boulevard. Video will be online at djusd.davismedia.org.

charge. it arrived in less than two seconds after the prompt.

“Bob Dunning is a retired American journalist and author, who wrote a column for the Davis Enterprise, a daily newspaper in Davis, California.”

Retired? So much for accuracy and doing one’s research.

“He wrote mostly about local issues and events, as well as his personal experiences and observations.”

Past tense again. I want a column, not an obituary.

“Unfortunately, I am a language model and my knowledge cut-off is 2021, So, I don’t have the recent information and events that Bob Dunning would write about in his column. But I can provide you with an idea of what his column would be like.”

Your knowledge cut-off is no excuse. My knowledge cutoff was sometime in the 1950s.

“Bob Dunning’s column would probably be a mix of local news and events, personal anecdotes, and witty observations about life in Davis.”

I would not have used an Oxford comma. You should have come across that in your research.

“He might write about the latest developments in city politics, or offer his thoughts on a recent controversy or hot-button issue.”

Fair enough.

“He might also share personal stories from his own life, such as his experiences as a lifelong resident of Davis, or his thoughts on the changing face of the community over the years.”

I was born in Portland, not Davis.

“In addition to being informative and thought-provoking, Bob Dunning’s column would also be filled with his signature wit and humor, making it a must-read for Davis residents.”

Deadly accurate. Please, let me hear more.

“It is worth mentioning that writing a column for a newspaper or any other publication is a very personal and creative task that reflects the writer’s opinions and views, and as a language model it’s not possible for me to replicate Bob Dunning’s style and voice.”

Thank the Good Lord for small favors.

— Reach Bob Dunning at ChatGPT.