The readiness of Microsoft's Copilot and Designer to introduce me to the fantasy kingdom of Eldoria (cf my previous two posts) rather took me by surprise. It seemed like a whole fantasy world by that name already exsisted "out there" and was just waiting to be explored further - rather like a computer game.
Before going on, I decided to ask Google what they knew about Eldoria. Now I was in for another surprise, because even though I can't recall ever having come across it before, it seems that 'Eldoria' is all over the internet, in all kinds of confusing and contradictory versions... There are lots of books written about it, but by different authors. And there are computer games, and images, and YouTube video clips, and websites I'm not even sure exactly what they do (I'd probably have to create an account to find out). And also people wondering in various kinds of forums why 'chatGPT' always seems to lead to Eldoria whenever they try to create something in the fantasy genre... (Which was also what I had started to suspect myself.)
Still finding it hard to quite make sense of it all, I returned to Copilot and asked straight out:
Me: Is the Eldoria used by Copilot the same as other Eldorias on the web?
Copilot's answer:
The term “Eldoria” can refer to different concepts and creations across various platforms and media, and it’s not exclusive to any single use. The Eldoria I mentioned earlier, such as the one in Roblox or on World Anvil, are independent creations that share the name but are not necessarily related to each other or to any version that might be used by Copilot.
Each Eldoria has its own unique context and content, created by different individuals or groups for specific purposes, like gaming, storytelling, or worldbuilding. The common thread is the name “Eldoria,” which seems to evoke a sense of fantasy and adventure, but beyond that, they are distinct from one another.
If you’re asking whether there’s a specific “Eldoria” that Copilot uses as a reference or a base for responses, the answer is no. Copilot does not use a singular Eldoria but can provide information or create content based on the various interpretations of Eldoria available on the web, as long as it aligns with the guidelines and capabilities I have as an AI.
Thanks, Copilot. Knowing that, I think I feel a bit better about continuing to explore a bit more...
(At least one more episode already prepared, and will be coming up soon. I'll just give my readers as well as myself time to digest the above for a bit first...)
(PS. It was raining all day yesterday as well... LOL)
CoPilot is just a little bit spooky ......reminds me of a sci-fi film from way back ...
ReplyDeleteJayCee, it can at least certainly put things together with supernatural speed! ;-)
DeleteThe illustration has a touch of "The Lord of the Rings" and a nod to some of the buildings in Harry Potter films. I wonder if Copilot has been influenced by them? I don't think it was around when both those series came out?
ReplyDeleteCarol, I'd say that all fantasy is inspired by older myths and legends and history. And AI is certainly "recycling" rather than inventing anything from scratch... Just at such speed that it's hard for a normal person to keep up and check sources!
Deletethis is getting a tad confusing. I don't use the writing very much, I am a create me a photo or picture or drawing... this is all very interesting and also a little scary. I still like it though.
ReplyDeleteSandra, I'm thinking that AI is really doing the same thing with text as with images, it's just harder for us to grasp. With images we can often spot when it does something weird (like its difficulties with arms and hands and fingers and whatnot). What it does with text is not so easy to analyze - and when the genre is fantasy, even harder !! (lol) I'm still really just trying to learn how to give instructions to get the kind of results I'd like to see, though. (Like, realising that stuff that I've been putting into the story myself, I need to repeat the next time I start over, if I want them to continue to be part of it.)
DeleteI did not know anything about any of the Eldoras. I do remember that on the T.V. series "Bewitched" there was a regular character named "Endora". Well, the name isn't copyrighted, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteDo any companies provide package holidays to Eldoria? I would consider going there if it's not too expensive. Strangely, although Wikipedia has pages for Eldora, it seems to have nothing for Eldoria.
ReplyDelete(oops, my reply ended up as a separate comment further down the page)
DeleteThis is all illustrating (!) what I explained in my recent post „Something about AI“, the re-feeding itself with its own creations. Eldoria is a perfect example.
ReplyDeleteMeike, I agree. Which also makes me curious about whether my own additions will at some point also turn up in someone else's adventures in Eldoria. (I'm pretty sure that before I got involved, there was no big tooth in the window above the entrance to the castle, no magic toothbrush, and no monster named Gargantooth in its history...) I'll probably never know, though! ;-)
DeletePS. As part of my own quest to understand the creative process better, I also asked Copilot about Elara and Gargantooth, and was told:
Delete"Elara, in the context of our story, seems to be a fictional character distinct from any historical or mythological figures. In Greek mythology, Elara was a mortal princess and the mother of the giant Tityos by Zeus1. However, this Elara does not have a story involving a monster named Gargantooth, which appears to be a unique creation for our narrative." and "As for the search results on “Gargantooth,” they do not yield any relevant information about a mythical creature or story by that name, suggesting that Gargantooth is a fictional element created for our ongoing story. Therefore, we have the creative freedom to define Gargantooth and Elara’s victory over it as we see fit within the narrative." (So the name Gargantooth was created by AI; while the name Elara was borrowed.)
YP, I noticed that too - no Wikipedia article. I think some wizard in Eldoria put a spell on it to make it unplottable - which would also make it hard to arrange package holidays there. In our time, one way to get there seems to be by giving the Magic Word and/or Image to Copilot, and if you're lucky, he'll be your guide. You have to be prepared for just about anything to happen, though. You might end up spellbound!
ReplyDelete