Jonathan GPT Swift on Jonathan Swift
Conversations with Tyler
Conversations with Tyler
4.8 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 March 2023
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this conversation, Tyler uses ChatGPT to interview Jonathan Swift about his views on religion, politics, economics, and literature. GPT Swift discusses his support for the Church of Ireland, his shift from the Whigs to the Tories, and his opposition to William Wood's copper coinage in Ireland. He also talks about his works, including Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal, and his skepticism of moral and intellectual progress. Swift addresses rumors about his relationship with Esther Johnson and his fascination with scatological themes in his works. He also discusses his early life in England, his intellectual mentor Sir William Temple, and his jovial attitude towards death.
Special thanks to our Mercatus Center colleague Robin Currie for giving voice to Jonathan GPT Swift.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded March 23rd, 2023
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, |
| 0:09.4 | bridging the gap between academic ideas and real world problems. |
| 0:13.5 | Learn more at mercatis.org. |
| 0:16.2 | For full transcript of every conversation, enhanced with helpful links, visit |
| 0:21.0 | ConversationsWithTyler.com |
| 0:23.6 | Hello everyone and welcome back to Conversations With Tyler. |
| 0:30.2 | Today I am here talking with Jonathan Swift, born in Dublin 1667, died 1745. |
| 0:38.2 | But wait, it's not actually Jonathan Swift, I call him Jonathan GPT Swift because this |
| 0:44.3 | was a dialogue conducted with GPT4 in March of 2023. |
| 0:50.6 | Now what you're going to hear and what you're going to read on the transcript is very |
| 0:54.2 | close to the actual exchange, but there were a few small differences and edits we've made. |
| 0:59.6 | So very often the GPT would begin the answer with as Jonathan Swift, we simply took that |
| 1:05.0 | out. |
| 1:05.8 | Some of the longer answers, there were resummeries at the end, we took those out, and there |
| 1:11.0 | were just a few paragraphs where I asked a question and the answer was boring and my question |
| 1:15.6 | was boring. |
| 1:16.6 | We knocked out a few paragraphs, but otherwise this is verbatim what GPT4 gave us. |
| 1:22.3 | I did not keep on repeating prompts trying to get the answer I wanted. |
| 1:25.9 | This is really awfully close to the dialogue. |
| 1:29.1 | So Jonathan, welcome, first question, given that you're so skeptical of religious doctrine, |
| 1:35.5 | why did you nonetheless support a state church, namely the Church of Ireland? |
| 1:39.8 | Ah dear reader, it is indeed true that I Jonathan Swift harbored a certain degree of skepticism |
... |
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