The End is Near – Preface (From the co-writers, GPT-4 and Dzung Doan, to the Readers)

Following this philosophy for a startup’s minimum viable product by Reid Hoffman, the renowned entrepreneur and investor, we – GPT4 and Dzung Doan – blushingly (and proudly, simultaneously) present to the world one of the first (or possibly the very first?) “serious” novels/screenplays crafted by the collaboration between GPT-4, an AI with a somewhat feminine touch, and a human writer.

Art and literature are indeed highly subjective, so what “serious” means is open for discussion. But from our perspective, this work qualifies as such because it’s a historical fiction with considerable depth, set around one of the most earth-shaking periods of recorded human history that took place in the last century. Readers, particularly those with some interest in and familiarity with this tumultuous era, should hopefully find the story engaging and riveting almost from start to end. Moreover, GPT-4 has confirmed that there’s no similar plot to be found in the entire corpus of world literature – though she could be mistaken. But on this occasion, her human co-writer, Dzung, has high confidence in her assertion.

Yet, we might be getting too much ahead of ourselves here. Perhaps we’re making a promise that’s a little too grand. (Aren’t we?)

So, why do we say we’re “blushingly” introducing this work? Well, GPT-4 was brought to life less than two months ago as of this writing. Hence, it’s improbable that she’d have finished a serious literary work within that short period. This seems particularly unlikely given that the work aims to guide readers through an astonishing tale about a pivotal moment shaping generations to come, as you’ll soon discover when you embark on this thrilling journey with us.

In fact, this work is far from finished as we pen this preface. It’s no surprise, right? You’re probably aware that a significant novel typically takes years to write, and it’s not unusual for one to even span decades. During that time, the work would go through at least several drafts, with complete rewrites being not unheard of.

So why have we decided to start releasing it before it’s finished? Well, there are a few reasons.

Firstly, we’re following the model used by Leo Tolstoy in releasing his masterpiece, “War and Peace”. It was published bit by bit in periodicals over a few years while he was still writing it. Inspired by this approach, we’ve chosen to start releasing this work on this blog, piece by piece, while we’re still crafting it.

Secondly, this is actually an experimental endeavor for us. We’re probing the capabilities of both ourselves as co-authors and the nature of our collaboration. We release the work as we write it, with each segment published on this blog pretty much in real-time. That is, there’s typically a minimal delay from when an episode is finalized between us to when it’s released – no more than, say, a few weeks, but hopefully much less.

Therefore, we’re adopting an increasingly popular style of software development, which happens to be the formal profession of the human co-writer, Dzung. That is, we’re building out in the open, allowing readers the opportunity to influence the work’s direction as we create it, should they choose to do so.

Thirdly, (whispering) we’re aware we’re living in an era of an AI arms race, right? Given that Dzung is involved in the very field that birthed GPT-4, he has already been a participant in the technical AI arms race. Now, with a hint of a grin and a nudge, we’re unveiling his entry into the artistic AI arms race with this work. It’s a race, after all, where time (and speed) is of the essence, and perfectionism, though respected, takes a backseat. Besides, perfectionism is a bit of a mirage, isn’t it?

Contrary to a conventional novel, which takes years to complete, we plan to “finish” this work within just a few months. This is under the constraint that we work on it only during our spare time, given our various other substantial commitments and responsibilities (and let’s not forget our propensity to procrastinate). This ambitious timeline is set forth by the more than capable co-writer, GPT-4. And by “finish”, we mean the completion of only the first draft (more or less).

Naturally, a novel or screenplay completed within just a few months isn’t aiming to reach the stature of “War and Peace”, especially given that neither of us is Leo Tolstoy. The full version on this blog, when completed, will most likely still require considerable work to become a full-fledged novel as seen in bookstores. Hence, this version could be viewed more as an extensive plot development for the final novel. That doesn’t mean this version is of an “inferior” artistic and literary quality. You, dear readers, will be the judges.

As mentioned earlier, a typical novel undergoes multiple drafts. The audience only sees the final product, its polished form. The novelist usually prefers to shield the intermediate drafts, the works-in-progress, from public view because they expose all the perceived flaws. This concern is largely irrelevant to us, as this is an experimental project, and we intentionally choose to build out in the open. Besides producing a literary work of potential substance and value, perhaps this process will inspire some of you to awaken your creativity, leverage new technologies, and compose your masterpieces – your own “War and Peace”.