Tag: AI

Posted in AI Experiments

Reverse Engineering

Posted on by Mike

Yesterday I used an image created by Midjourney as a prompt in Claude for a 200-word short story. Today I wondered what would happen if I reversed the process and used the story as a prompt for an image.

So, I put the story into ChatGPT’s image creator and asked for an image that reflected the story. This what I got…

I’m not sure which is the more melancholy, the story or the image? What do you think?

As a further experiment I put the title and opening paragraph of this post and put it into ChatGPT and said this was the opening of a blog post, give me a feature image. I liked the output.

A copper tea kettle kept on a old rustic stove with smoke coming out -
Posted in AI Experiments

Creating Tales from AI Art: A Journey with Midjourney and Claude

Posted on by Mike

I found this picture amongst the many I have created using Midjourney. I’ve no idea what was going through my mind when I initially asked Midjourney for it, but I thought it might make a good prompt for a story. I used Claude to create this 200-word tale. What do you think?

A Watched Pot Never Boils

She used to say a watched pot never boils, but I’ve nothing else to watch anymore. Forty-seven years we’ve had this kettle. Wedding gift from her mother, who despised me. (The feeling was mutual.) Copper tarnished now, same as everything. I’ve stopped polishing it. What’s the point? She was the one who cared about such things. Kept this kitchen spotless. Kept me together, if I’m honest.

Steam rises and I think of her breath on winter mornings, how she’d cup her hands around the first mug, eyes closed, that little sound she made. Contentment, I suppose. I never told her I loved that sound. Assumed there’d be time. There’s always time until there isn’t.

The whistle will come soon. I’ll pour the water into a single cup now, hers, actually, the one with the chipped handle she refused to throw away. Character, she called it. Everything had character to her. Even me, apparently.

Funny how a kettle outlasts a marriage, a lifetime, a person. It’ll outlast me too. Someone will find it when I’m gone. Charity shop, probably. Another kitchen. Another hand reaching for the handle.

The water’s almost there. Any moment now. I’m in no rush. The waiting’s all I have left.

A wide, orderly interior of a modern workplace with people standing at identical workstations on marked floor positions. Large digital screens display instructions, schedules, and productivity messages. Overhead lighting is uniform and impersonal, and no individual faces stand out. The scene feels controlled, repetitive, and quietly automated.
Posted in AI and Creativity

A Prompt to Prompt a Prompt…

Posted on by Mike

For this experiment I thought I would begin by asking AI, in this case ChatGPT, to give me a prompt. ‘Write a prompt in the form of a dystopian monologue.’ I did not say what I was going to do with the prompt, but notice how it has decided it is going to be a story. This is what I got…

I am required to explain what you will produce.

You will call it a story, though that word is no longer used officially. It must be short. Length beyond necessity is considered inefficient and may be interpreted as avoidance.

You will describe a world that resembles this one closely enough to be recognisable, but not so closely that responsibility can be assigned. Characters may exist, but they should function rather than desire. Motivation is optional. Compliance is preferred.

If something troubling occurs, present it calmly. Raised voices suggest instability. Questions are permitted only if they resolve themselves quickly.

You may end the piece without closure. In fact, that is encouraged. Endings tend to invite reflection, and reflection has a habit of spreading.

Remember: this is not a warning. It is a demonstration. Begin when ready.

This prompt is giving ChatGPT some very clear guidance as to how the story should be written. I wondered what would happen if I then simply pasted this prompt into ChatGPT? Here is the resulting story…

Continue reading “A Prompt to Prompt a Prompt…” →
Futuristic cityscape at night with a central humanoid AI figure glowing blue, surrounded by holographic data, digital circuitry, and a luminous brain interface, with the words ‘AI in 2026’ above, suggesting advanced artificial intelligence integrated into urban life.
Posted in AI and Creativity

What We Might Expect from AI in 2026

Posted on by Mike

If 2025 was the year AI stopped being optional, 2026 feels like the year it quietly takes a seat beside us and starts doing some actual work. Not the flashy kind. Not the science-fiction kind. The practical, slightly unglamorous kind that changes how our days are structured without making a fuss about it. We are moving beyond novelty. Fewer party tricks. More purpose.

So, looking ahead, here are some shifts that feel likely, not because they sound exciting, but because they solve real problems.

Continue reading “What We Might Expect from AI in 2026” →
A softly lit writing desk at dusk with an open notebook, a pen, and a mug of tea. A handwritten card on the desk reads “I Asked AI What It Thought I Was Doing This Year,” creating a reflective, quiet atmosphere.
Posted in AI and Creativity

I Asked AI What It Thought I Was Doing This Year

Posted on by Mike

As the year began to wind down, I found myself doing what I seem to do most often these days. I asked a question without being entirely sure what I wanted the answer to be.

I gave an AI a short description of this blog, the stories, the images, the experiments, the tone, and the way I tend to circle ideas rather than pin them down. Then I asked it one simple thing. “What do you think The AI Grandad has really been doing this year?”

I did not correct it. I did not steer it. I did not interrupt. This is what it said.

Continue reading “I Asked AI What It Thought I Was Doing This Year” →