I dabbled in AI with Photoshop. Just for fun I had Photoshop create manatees doing cute things for the newsletter and website of the Manatee Writers Group. I figured it was harmless and wouldn’t lead to machines destroying our world. Beyond that I didn’t give it much thought.

Bombarded with stories of doom I decided to take a wait-and-see attitude until I tried it for something a little more substantial. While working on my current project, an historical fiction loosely based on my family (very loosely!) I’ve been researching mid to late nineteenth century European history. Mostly, I want to know why they left their respective countries when the did. What was the journey like?

I have some documents that give me a basis for my research but even with that there are questions. That’s where I waded into the world of ChatGPT. My father’s maternal grandparents came from Genoa, Italy. I know that from my grandmother and also the ship manifest I uncovered. They sailed aboard the France on January 2, out of Le Havre, France. That information lead me to another question. How did they go from Genoa, Italy to Le Havre, France?

They didn’t. They boarded the France in Genoa, stopped in Le Havre, and then sailed to New York. That is what I learned using ChatGPT. I fed it general questions about emigrating from Genoa to New York and gave it a bit more information each time I received a response. From the research I had already done, the response made perfect sense.

Its a tool like anything else. Do with is what you will, but I think I’ll be using is again in the future.