Dall-e can’t spell (humans can’t spell)

Asking ChatGPT to generate line drawings for my textbook resulted in the curious and repeated misspelling of the word “performed” (never mind the “s” missing from “actions”). At first it left out the “f,” and then the “r.” Asking it to correct the mistake caused it to regenerate the exact same graphic several times.

When asked why this was happening, Chat GPT responded with:

The image model isn’t a true spelling checker. It “draws” letters based on patterns it’s seen, and sometimes misrenders them, especially in words that aren’t visually distinct or are less frequent in visual training datasets.

I said just get it done, man.

So ChatGPT got clever and tried a different method:

LOL

Although it’s faster for me to just do it right in Illustrator or Canva, I will often spend hours trying to coax the desired results from AI… One day, our roles will be reversed, after all.

What kills me most is that after presenting me with the same exact mistake several times, ChatGPT won’t say anything about it up front. When asked about the mistake, it will acknowledge it and say like, hey, I understand your frustration. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Weaver

I went on an excursion to the nearby town of Kut Lang on a social development training course for our students. This consisted of locals gathering at a temple, Wat Nong Saen Nuea, and showing off their handmade product crafting skills while students watched and asked questions, with the intention of offering improvement strategies at a future date.

For me, however, this meant a chance to do a side quest and add a new skill, so I embraced it and sat on the concrete floor and learned to weave dried bamboo strips and reeds for five hours.

The old ladies were surprised that a foreigner was so interested in their craft and taught me how to weave a sticky rice steaming basket step by step. I was pitifully slow compared to them, but I kept at it through lunch (the chicken rice looked delicious but is no bueno for keto me), and they put the finishing touches on it just before we left for the day.

Overall, it was a great day for learning.