Everybody\u2019s going nuts over AI\u2014and tossing endless billions into the AI funding pot. I\u2019m skeptical (about that and plenty of other things) and I run tests now and then to see whether that skepticism is justified.<\/p>\n
Hoo-boy! Got another Grok crock in a hammerlock, to coin a (useless) phrase.<\/p>\n
Last night when I was beginning to wind down for the night, I decided to throw another question at Grok, the X\/Twitter AI. Here\u2019s the question: "What are Jeff Duntemann’s humorous works of SF and fantasy?" Here’s what it said:<\/p>\n
Jeff Duntemann\u2019s humorous works in science fiction and fantasy, based on available information, primarily include:<\/p>\n
Firejammer (Science Fiction, 2017): A short novel (or novella, depending on classification) that\u2019s a playful homage to 1960s-90s pulp sci-fi. It follows a shapeshifting alien, Flammenwerfer O\u2019Bernt, who crash-lands on Earth and gets entangled in comedic misadventures with humans. Readers on Goodreads (4.0 rating) praise its lighthearted, humorous tone, witty dialogue, and absurd scenarios, comparing it to Douglas Adams or Robert Sheckley. Its brevity and focus on fun make it a standout for humor.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Short Stories in Ten Gentle Opportunities (Fantasy\/Science Fiction, 2016): This collection of short stories blends humor with speculative elements. Notable stories include:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhale Meat\u201d: A comedic fantasy tale about a magical spell gone wrong, with absurd and whimsical consequences.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\u201cDrumlin Boiler\u201d and \u201cDrumlin Amplifier\u201d: Part of Duntemann\u2019s Drumlin series, these stories mix fantasy with quirky, humorous worldbuilding, featuring magical artifacts and eccentric characters in a steampunk-inspired setting. Readers note the dry wit and clever premises.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Other stories in the collection, like those involving time travel or oddball tech, often carry a satirical or lighthearted edge, though not all are overtly comedic.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Notes:<\/p>\n
Duntemann\u2019s humor leans toward witty, satirical, and absurd rather than slapstick, often poking fun at genre tropes or human quirks.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The Cunning Blood (2005), his other major novel, has some satirical elements but is primarily a serious hard SF thriller, not a humorous work.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
His short fiction, especially in Ten Gentle Opportunities, is where most of his comedic fantasy and SF shines, as he experiments with whimsical ideas and quirky characters.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Limited information exists on other humorous works, as Duntemann\u2019s output is relatively small, and some stories (e.g., from Drumlins or Soul Bent series) remain unpublished or obscure.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you\u2019re the least bit familiar with my fiction, you\u2019ll probably spot some elements of Grok\u2019s acid trip. (Calling them \u201challucinations\u201d is a slander on the word \u201challucinations.\u201d) So let me lay them all out in a bulleted list:<\/p>\n
You get the idea. I think the problem is this: If you ask an AI like Grok about a well-known figure, author, musician, whatever, you\u2019ll probably get correct answers, with perhaps an occasional slip. I\u2019m not famous but I\u2019ve been around for a long time and there is plenty of material about me online. It looks like, when Grok doesn\u2019t have enough information for a quick answer (what I quoted above happened in less than ten seconds) it starts making things up.<\/p>\n
The one thing Grok simply can\u2019t say is, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I am supremely puzzled by one thing: Grok completely botched descriptions of two of my books, both of which are published on KDP and have detailed descriptions posted there.<\/p>\n
Anyway. You get the idea. Be careful with AI. I think of it as the poltergeist of computing: It throws data around, emits odd statements, and tells lies anytime it damned well pleases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Everybody\u2019s going nuts over AI\u2014and tossing endless billions into the AI funding pot. I\u2019m skeptical (about that and plenty of other things) and I run tests now and then to see whether that skepticism is justified. Hoo-boy! Got another Grok crock in a hammerlock, to coin a (useless) phrase. Last night when I was beginning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-noneoftheabove"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5404"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5407,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5404\/revisions\/5407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.contrapositivediary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}