(The Atlantic) – While researching a story about lemon-lime flavor, I asked ChatGPT to give me an overview of the U.S. market for beverages with this ingredient, but had to do my own research to confirm the facts. In the course of working out new programs of study for my university department, I had the software assess and devise possible names. Neither task produced a fraction of the delight that I’d once derived from just a single AI-generated phrase, “jeans of stone-wash.” But at least the latter gave me what I needed at the time: a workable mediocrity. (Read More)