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Writing by Ava Elghanayan

If you’ve scrolled through YouTube lately, you’ve likely seen videos of people letting AI control their day. But generative AI tools can do so much  more than what they show. So, we decided to test the limits of these tools, selecting Perplexity as our AI guinea pig and Mad Libs as the challenge. 

Here’s the plan: For one day, I’ll ask Perplexity for three or four Mad Libs-style words, then I’ll ask it to create an activity based on those words, and I’ll do it.

9:00 a.m: Rise & shine!

I start my AI-generated day with a quick workout, as I’m still a bit sore from yesterday’s routine. 

Give me a verb ending in “ing,” an adjective and an adverb. 

Perplexity: Bouncing, vibrant, swiftly.

Give me a 10-minute workout I can do in my home that doesn’t require equipment and uses those words. 

Perplexity: Perform each exercise for 45 seconds, followed by a 15 second rest. Complete the circuit twice. Bouncing jacks, swift mountain climbers, bouncing lunges, vibrant arm circles and swiftly performed squats. Maintain a bouncing, vibrant energy throughout the workout, moving swiftly between exercises. 

I’m  disappointed; this exact workout could be generated with any adjectives or adverbs. Where’s the creativity? And what are “bouncing jacks?” 

How do I do bouncing jacks?

Perplexity: Imagine you’re on a mini trampoline. As you perform jumping jacks, focus on pushing off the ground with the balls of your feet, creating a slight bounce with each repetition. Your movements should feel light and springy, not heavy or plodding.

Helpful, but aren’t bouncing and vibrant energy standard for a workout?

Can you elaborate on the “bouncing, vibrant energy” part?

Perplexity: Throughout the workout, maintain a sense of lightness and buoyancy in your movements. Breathe deeply and rhythmically, allowing this vibrant energy to flow through your entire body. Visualize yourself as a bouncing ball of energy, moving swiftly and effortlessly through each exercise. This mindset will make the workout more enjoyable and help you maintain good form and prevent fatigue.

Wow. Adding lightness and buoyancy allows me to complete each exercise vigorously while mindfully landing softly. It’s actually easier this way! Rating: 3 out of 5

12:00 p.m: Baking with AI 

Noon seems like the perfect time to bake. I wonder how Perplexity will handle this. I ask for an adjective, a color, a noun and a body part.

Perplexity: Squishy, magenta, umbrella, ear lobe.

What recipe could possibly include “umbrella” and “earlobe?”  

Perplexity: Squishy Magenta Umbrella Cupcakes.

Perplexity quickly whipped up a recipe for vanilla cupcakes dyed magenta with vanilla frosting spread on top and decorated with sprinkles in the shape of an umbrella. It tells me to cut a piece of fondant into the shape of an earlobe and place that in the center of each cupcake.

Wow! I’m impressed with Perplexity’s creativity, and I love cupcakes, but there’s a problem: I hate fondant.

What can I use instead of fondant?

Perplexity: Cut a thin slice of a gumdrop and place it in the center of each cupcake.

The cupcakes were delicious. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

4:00 p.m: Time to explore

Time for some fresh air with a number, plural noun and adjective.

Perplexity: Seven, sunbeams, warmly.

What activity can I do in Goldens Bridge, NY, with these words?

Perplexity: Seven Sunbeam Scavenger Hunt around Lake Katonah.

I’m told to walk around “beautiful Lake Katonah” and find seven spots where sunbeams reflect off my surroundings. Perplexity reminds me to take a moment to appreciate the warmth and light in each spot and also instructs me to collect seven artifacts, such as a flower or stone. 

While I frequently walk around the lake, the sunbeam scavenger hunt allows me to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of nature, which I typically take for granted. I’m amazed, and I highly recommend this grounding, meditative walk. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

7:00 p.m: Movie time

It’s been a long day, and I’m ready to relax with a movie featuring a place, color and adverb.

Perplexity: Bookstore, emerald, eagerly. 

Please give me a movie recommendation based on these words.

Perplexity: Midnight in Paris.

How does Perplexity do that? This movie features the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore as a location, which has an emerald green awning and doors. The main character’s “eager” aspirations as a writer drive the plot of the film. The film was great, and Perplexity was spot on. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall, Perplexity created a fun, creative and original day where I enjoyed activities I love in ways I hadn’t previously considered. And I ended my day wanting more. 

Overall rating: 18 out of 20

This article was published in the September/October 2024 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.

Ava Elghanayan
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Ava Elghanayan is a Katonah native and a junior at Bates College. She is majoring in rhetoric, film, and screen studies while minoring in Spanish. In her free time she enjoys singing in her a cappella group, skiing, and hanging out with her friends and family.