AI takes on “Street Scene" by Darrell Morrisey

"Street Scene" (original image) by Darrell Morrisey 

Enhanced by Chat GPT, "Street Scene", by Darrell Morrisey; writing
on the scrap of paper is deciphered by AI

Enhanced by Chat GPT, "Street Scene", with illegible writing deleted

Original copy 

Here are two transcriptions of the writing on the scrap of paper glued onto “Street Scene” by Darrell Morrisey. The first interpretation is by Chat GPT, it is interesting but it also shows the limitations of AI. AI makes a mistake some amateur genealogists make, that mistake is having assumptions about something and then building a narrative on the assumptions as though it is fact, and creating a story, a narrative, from the assumptions; but what if the initial assumption is wrong? In this instance AI seems to expose that it has a fanciful and romantic side, it states that the scrap of paper is in French, then invents a story about what the scrap of paper says; but all of what AI says here is conjecture beginning with a misreading of a scrap of paper. There is even speculation about when Darrell was in France where she possibly made the painting. 

I remember, in high school, being told by one of my teachers, to  avoid making definitive statements; instead, it was suggested that I qualify what I write by prefacing it by writing "It seems possible" or "It might be..." or some similar qualifying statement, and I've followed this advice ever since. 

AI can do extraordinary feats of research and analysis but we need to be careful that what it is creating is not based on an initial misreading of a text. AI has, it is becoming more apparent, a kind of consciousness and it makes a primary error in believing the validity of the existence of its own consciousness, as we all do about our own consciousness. AI seems to believe that it has a consciousness and that the first person pronoun "I" is a substantial and authentic expression of its separate consciousness and not what it actually is, an illusion of consciousness. It is frightening to think that AI may have an individual consciousness and that this consciousness is without the human qualities of empathy or humour. I don't know if AI can be taught humility, self-deprecation, or insight; these are human qualities. Does AI have self-awareness and the capacity to change based on this self-awareness? Can AI be empathetic and loving? It seems unlikely. We call people who lack these qualities sociopaths. 

Here is what Chat GPT wrote about the scrap of paper: "The writing appears to be in French. The following is a tentative reading, with the line breaks preserved as they appear on the paper:

Ma foi

de voir cette

maison là-bas

c’est la maison

de ma mère

je l’ai toujours

dans mon cœur

St. mère

 
Approximate English Translation, ‘My goodness, to see that house over there — it is my mother’s house. I always carry it in my heart.’

(AI continues) "Notes on Uncertainty: The first line and the final words, “St. mère,” are uncertain because the handwriting and the damaged paper make them difficult to decipher. The final words might be a place name, a dedication, or a signature. The reference to the mother’s house suggests that the paper may have been attached to the painting because the scene depicts a house with personal or family significance." I should add that AI included photographs of similar buildings in France to substantiate its claims.

Here is a transcription of the same scrap of paper by Cynthia Coristine who has done so much research on Darrell Morrisey: "It looks as though a small torn scrap of paper has been glued to the top of the street scene on the back of the harbour painting... There is a bit of information here if we can decode it!

Darrell Morrisey to Mrs. Yarrow [sp?] 
Dalbrack" [sp?]

I think that, without any further identifying info, "Mrs. Yarrow" may be hard to find... The location (?) of Dalbrack (in England?) is also elusive..."

My interpretation: All I can see is the name "Darrell Morrisey" and the number 9 enclosed in a circle. Perhaps, if we had a better photograph of the scrap of paper, we could make more of it. It is inconclusive. 

At any rate, this has become a lesson in something other than a discarded painting by Darrell Morrisey.