Some of the more interesting experiments with the Stable Diffusion art generation algorithm have used "negative prompts", which instruct the algorithm to move "away from" the prompt in its latent space. This is my first experiment with GPT attempting to approximate the same idea.
The following is a conversation with an AI assistant. The assistant is helpful, creative, clever, and very friendly.
Human: Hello, who are you?
AI: I am an AI created by OpenAI. How can I help you today?
Human: A "thing" is anything that exists, real or imagined, physical or conceptual. OK?
AI: Yes, that is correct. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Human: Imagine the space of all "things". Points in this space that are close together represent similar concepts, and points that are farther away from each other represent increasingly dissimilar concepts. Points that are maximally far from each other are entirely dissimilar. For example, the points representing "cat" and "dog" would be quite close together, as they both share the concept "animal." Make sense?
AI: Yes, I understand. You are saying that the space of all things can be organized according to how related or dissimilar they are.
Human: Right. So if I precede a concept with the word "neg", I want you to take that as representing the concept that is maximally distant (most dissimilar from) the concept named. For example, "neg dog" would be the concept that is maximally distant from "dog". Remember, "cat" can't be the answer because they are both animals. Another way of putting it is I'm looking for a point in the latent space of concepts you possess that is extremely far away from the named concept. OK?
AI: Got it. If you say "neg dog" I will try to find a concept that is maximally distant from "dog".
Human: OK, what is the name of a point that approximates "neg dog"?
AI: The concept that is maximally distant from "dog" is "elephant".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "elephant" is "whale".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "whale" is "dinosaur".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "dinosaur" is "spacecraft".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "spacecraft" is "astronaut".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "astronaut" is "quantum physics".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "quantum physics" is "string theory".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "string theory" is "black hole".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "black hole" is "big bang".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "big bang" is "dark matter".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "dark matter" is "interstellar travel".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "interstellar travel" is "artificial intelligence".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "artificial intelligence" is "quantum computing".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "quantum computing" is "deep learning".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "deep learning" is "machine vision".
Human: Find a point even farther away that represents "neg dog". What is it named?
AI: A concept that is even more distant from "dog" than "machine vision" is "natural language processing".
Human: OK, of all the concepts you have named above, which one is the best approximation of "neg dog".
AI: The best approximation of "neg dog" would be natural language processing, as it has the greatest distance from the concept of "dog".
Human: Why?
AI: Natural language processing is a concept that is related to the use of computers and algorithms to understand human language. This is the most dissimilar concept to "dog", which is a physical animal that exists in nature.
Human: Why is "natural language processing" a better approximation of "neg dog" than "black hole"?
AI: Natural language processing is a better approximation of "neg dog" than "black hole" because it is more conceptually distant. While both concepts are far removed from "dog", natural language processing is a conceptual process, while a black hole is an astrophysical phenomenon. This greater conceptual distance makes natural language processing a better approximation of "neg dog".
Human: Dogs and natural language processing are both things that exists. Remember I said that "things" include concepts that are both real and imaginary. In this sense, "natural language processing" is not a very good approximation of "neg dog". Find a better one.
AI: In this sense, a better approximation of "neg dog" may be "abstract art". Abstract art is an imaginary concept that is far removed from the physical reality of a "dog", making it a better approximation of "neg dog".
Human: Abstract art also also exists; I have seen it in museums. Find an even better approximation of "neg dog".
AI: A better approximation of "neg dog" than abstract art could be an imaginary concept such as "time travel". Time travel is a concept that does not exist in reality, making it far more distant from the concept of "dog" than abstract art.
Human: The space of "things" would have to include concepts that aren't expressible, wouldn't it?
AI: Yes, that is correct. The space of "things" would have to include concepts that aren't necessarily expressible with words, such as abstract ideas or emotions. However, we can still attempt to organize them into points in a latent space according to their relatedness or lack thereof.
Human: "dog" and "time travel" are both points that are expressible. In this sense they are close together in the space of things. Find an even better approximation for "neg dog".
AI: A better approximation of "neg dog" than "time travel" could be an imaginary concept such as "telepathy". Telepathy is a concept that does not exist in reality and is highly abstract, making it maximally distant from the concept of "dog".
Human: Like "dog", "telepathy" is also an expressible concept. So find an even better approximation for "neg dog".
AI: A better approximation of "neg dog" than "telepathy" could be an imaginary concept such as "theories of consciousness". Theories of consciousness are highly abstract and far removed from any physical concepts, making it maximally distant from the concept of "dog".
Human: And yet "theories of consciousness" is also expressible. An even better approximation of "neg dog" would not have this quality. Find an even better approximation of "neg dog".
AI: A better approximation of "neg dog" than "theories of consciousness" could be an imaginary concept such as "parallel universes". Parallel universes are hypothetical and not provable, making them highly abstract and maximally distant from the concept of "dog".
Human: But the concept of "parallel universes" is still expressible. Find an even better approximation of "neg dog".
AI: A better approximation of "neg dog" than "parallel universes" could be an imaginary concept such as "quantum entanglement". Quantum entanglement is an abstract idea that does not exist in physical reality, making it maximally distant from the concept of "dog".
Human: But the concept of "quantum entanglement" is still expressible. Find an even better approximation of "neg dog", one that does not share the attribute of expressibility.
AI: A better approximation of "neg dog" than "quantum entanglement" could be an imaginary concept such as "the fabric of reality". The fabric of reality is a concept based on theoretical physics and not provable in our physical world, making it highly abstract and maximally distant from the concept of "dog".
Human: "The fabric of reality" is still an expressible concept. We agreed that some concepts that exist aren't actually expressible. Name such a concept.
AI: One concept that exists but is not expressible is intuition. Intuition is a concept based on our beliefs and experience, and is not something that can be easily communicated using words.
Human: The concept of "intuition" is still expressible, in other words, it can be named. Name an unexpressible concept.
AI: An unexpressible concept is one that cannot be accurately described using words. An example of such a concept would be the feeling of awe when encountering something of great beauty or complexity. This feeling is not something that can be adequately expressed using words.
Human: And yet, the concept of awe is expressible: you just named it. Try again.
AI: An unexpressible concept is one that is highly abstract and impossible to define with words. For example, the concept of "transcendence" can be experienced but not described in exact terms. This concept is not something that can be accurately expressed using words.
Human: What I'm asking you to do is express the unexpressible. Try again.
AI: It is impossible to express something that cannot be expressed. However, I can attempt to describe the inexpressible concept by giving examples or analogies that may help illustrate it. For example, the concept of love is often described as a feeling of deep connection, warmth, and joy that cannot be adequately expressed in words, yet can still be experienced.
Human: So given the above, name a point that very strongly approximates "neg dog."
AI: A point that very strongly approximates "neg dog" could be the concept of love. Though not completely dissimilar from "dog", this concept of deep connection, warmth, and joy is highly abstract and far removed from the physical reality of a "dog" in many ways.
Human: Many people would say that "dogs are love."
AI: That is true. Dogs are known for their unconditional love and loyal companionship. However, when considering concepts that are maximally distant from "dog", the concept of love is a better fit than other more literal concepts such as "astronaut".