GROSS/25 1935 BONUS - I asked ChatGPT to summarise the newsletter about Mutiny on the Bounty

It's rubbish, of course. What were you expecting?

Charles Laughton yells ‘ChatGPT!’, celebrating the power of AI.

I was feeling a bit self-conscious about the length of that Mutiny on the Bounty post so I asked ChatGPT to summarise it. My favourite thing, right from the first word, about this summary, is that the AI has decided, all on its own, using MACHINE LEARNING, to change the spelling of ‘mutiny’ to ‘munity’. This is the power of an autonomous articifial intelligence - the kind of technology that’s currently driving people around San Francisco and choosing targets in Gaza.

There is some other intriguing creativity here - the AI has added some language, not just compressed mine. And the language it’s added is bland, basically cliché. What’s this about ‘broad brushstrokes’? A ‘collector’s item’?

I’m relucant to share it with you, mainly because I think if anything it’s managed to make my 2,000 word post even more boring - and it’s managed to leave out some quite important stuff. This is ChatGPT’s second go at it - and the next two attempts were longer and maybe a bit more useful but getting back towards the length of the original (it is important not to accept the first response and to keep prompting for improvement with these systems).

Anyway, here it is, in the interests of progress in the humanities:

"Munity on the Bounty," Hollywood's top-grossing movie in 1935, is based on the thrilling real-life story of the crew of the HMS Bounty and their mutiny against Captain William Bligh. This event had vital historical implications as it represented Britain's naval dominance, imperial expansion and deep connection between military power, capital, and science.

The mission of the Bounty was to sail from Portsmouth to Tahiti and then to Jamaica, a 40,000 nautical miles journey, tasked with harvesting Breadfruit plants from Tahiti, which were intended to be cultivated as a low-cost food source for the expanding slave population in Jamaica. This mission embodies British imperial power during the late 18th Century.

The figure of Captain Bligh is controversial, portrayed as a brute in the film, however, it's suggested that he was likely a competent leader. His attention to his crew's health, exceptional navigational skills, and ability to complete the enormous journey with an undermined crew after the mutiny were remarkable feats.

The mutiny event was led by Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, a senior officer portrayed in a more relaxed and affable light than historically accurate. The mutineers eventually found shelter on the remote island of Pitcairn, where their descendants still live today.

The real-life event and trial attracted public attention, leading to permanent changes in the treatment of sailors in the navy. Despite the cinema's broad brushstrokes, the Mutiny on the Bounty is a collector's item rather than an accurate historical document.