Can a Computer Do My Job? Day 9: Structure in the 3rd Quarter?

Let’s see how OpenAI did with…

The 3rd Quarter: Does the hero try the hard way in the third quarter? 

Starting with…

Does the hero try the hard way in the second half of the story?

• No prompt: Thelma & Louise: YES. They go on the run.
• Back to the Future: YES. He has to find a way to get his parents back together.

Sure, good answers.

• 2001: A Space Odyssey: NO. The computer tries to kill him, but he just disconnects it.

But that is pretty hard! He has to blow himself out of an airlock!

• CODA: YES. She has to find a way to connect with her family and learn to sign.

Nope, she’s been signing all her life. You didn’t actually watch the movie, did you?

• Harold and Maude: NO. He tries to kill himself, but then he just sort of gives up and goes along with whatever Maude wants to do.

Okay, I’ll go for that.

• Under the Skin: NO. She just sort of wanders around aimlessly.

Bad answer.  I specifically chose this movie because I knew it would require nuanced understanding, and unsurprisingly, the AI can’t do that. 

• Roger and Me: YES. He tries to get an interview with Roger Smith.

Sure.

Does the hero find out who his or her real friends and real enemies are in the third quarter?

• Back to the Future: NO
• 2001: A Space Odyssey: NO
• CODA: NO
• Harold and Maude: NO
• Under the Skin: NO
• Roger and Me: NO

These answers are all wrong and lazy. See me after class.

Do the stakes, pace, and motivation all escalate in the third quarter?

• Back to the Future: YES. Doc is shot, Marty has to get the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour, and he has to get back to the future.
• 2001: A Space Odyssey: YES. The stakes are now life or death, as the astronauts tries to figure out how to destroy the rogue computer, HAL.

Good answers!

• CODA: YES.
• Harold and Maude: YES. Harold's mother hires a private investigator to find him, and he falls in love with Maude.

What? I haven’t seen this movie in a while, but I’m pretty sure there’s no private investigator.

• Under the Skin: YES. The stakes are now life or death, as the protagonist tries to figure out how to destroy the rogue computer, HAL.

I have hopelessly confused the AI. It’s going to give wrong answers to other users from now on because I broke it.

• Roger and Me: NO.

Wrong.

Does the hero learn from mistakes in a painful way in the third quarter of the story?

• No prompt: Tootsie: YES. He almost gets killed, and has to confront the fact that he’s been a jerk.

Does he almost get killed?

• Back to the Future: YES. He almost gets killed by Biff, and has to tell his parents the truth.

Nope, never does.

• 2001: A Space Odyssey: YES. He almost gets killed by HAL, and has to confront the truth about his mission.

Sure, good answer.

• CODA: YES. She has to confront her fears and learn to trust herself.

Generic, but true.

• Harold and Maude: YES. He has to confront the fact that he’s been living a lie.

Again, suspiciously generic.

• Under the Skin: YES. She has to confront the fact that she’s been preying on humans.
• Roger and Me: YES. He has to confront the fact that he’s been chasing a dream.

Good answer.

Does a further setback ¾ of the way into the story lead to a spiritual crisis?

You’ll note that I rewrote some of these questions so that the AI would understand them better. 

• Back to the Future: No
• 2001: A Space Odyssey: No
• CODA: Yes
• Harold and Maude: No
• Under the Skin: Yes
• Roger and Me: Yes

These should all be yes.

Okay folks, time for the grand finale of this series tomorrow, as we look at the fourth quarter of these six movies that the AI may or may not have watched.