ChatGPT Can't Take My Job

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly integrating itself into human society, leaving many, including AI's creator to worry about the potential dangers... and it's too late. But rather than spend a whole blog talking about how AI robots are going to take over the universe, I decided to focus on the positive: it can't take my job... yet.

ChatGPT, OpenAI's highly capable generative chatbot, recently got an upgrade, allowing it to better source its information, provide more human-like responses, and even assist with image recognition and generation. But, even from its earliest iterations, ChatGPT wasn't a bad writer. We even teamed up to write an article on it that I published for TCU360 a couple years ago. 

I'll admit it... ChatGPT can write... maybe even report. Though it is limited by lack of human interaction in the amount of information it can gather, one of my journalism classes just discussed some potential uses for AI in the newsroom. Here are three:

1. Interview Prep: Do you need to practice before an important interview? No problem, just ask ChatGPT to act as this important public figure. This way, you can try out your interview questions on a lifelike sports star, politician, or other public figure. ChatGPT can even provide good follow-up questions for you.

2. Idea Generator: Do you have a story due by the end of the day and no clue what to write about? Ask ChatGPT. It knows what types of stories are trending on the internet and can task you to cover events that you didn't even know were happening. ChatGPT can also help with your preliminary research.

3. Broadcast Translation: Do you broadcast in English, but wish you could broadcast in Spanish, too? New AI applications will analyze your voice and face and make it look and sound like you are speaking another language. (Why am I taking Spanish again?)

Reporters seem to already be sharing their job with the AI chatbot... how long before it takes over completely? 

Truth is, I don't know. While it still gets some things wrong, ChatGPT (arguably, one of the more basic AI softwares) is pretty good at what it does. So, I put it to the test. Its mission? Write like me, a collegiate level reporter with over 200 published works.

After directing it to samples of my work and having it summarize my writing style, here's what I asked it:

Write a made-up headline of an article that Caleb might write and provide a snippet of the article in his tone

It responded:

TCU Musicians Unite for Student-Run Recital Highlighting New Compositions

Last night, the intimate Van Cliburn Concert Hall buzzed with creativity as TCU music students debuted original works in a student-organized recital. From intricate percussion arrangements to evocative string quartets, the performances showcased not only technical prowess but also the depth of storytelling through sound.

“It’s not just about performing,” said sophomore composer Emma Rodriguez. “It’s about connecting with the audience and sharing something personal.”

The recital reflected TCU’s commitment to fostering artistic expression, with students taking the reins in curating and performing the event. The audience, composed of faculty, peers, and community members, gave enthusiastic applause to each piece, proving that the next generation of composers is ready to make its mark.

Not bad, right? It has the necessary information, a good quote, and a newsworthy premise; however, there are a lot of problems with it. How do I know? Well, I'm not just a reporter. For the past two years, I've been working at TCU 360 as an editor. I pride myself on my knowledge of AP style and good journalistic principles many reporters miss. ChatGPT asked me to share my problems with its reporting. I did:

1. Headline needs to be in sentence case and should be shorter

2. Stop using flowery words like "intricate, evocative, etc"

3. Shorter paragraphs, specifically the first one... the lead should tell you everything you need to know in one concise sentence

4. The quote source should read "Emma Rodriguez, a sophomore composition major, said"

5. Don't make assumptions that TCU is committed to fostering artistic expression or that the next generations of composers is ready 

It complied:

Students Showcase Original Music in TCU Recital

TCU students performed their original compositions at a recital organized entirely by students. The event featured new works for percussion and strings, highlighting their creativity and collaboration.

“Sharing something personal with the audience is what this is all about,” said Emma Rodriguez, a sophomore composition major.

The recital drew applause from peers and faculty, celebrating student-led music initiatives at TCU.

I noticed some things... The headline? Not in sentence case. The lead? Not one sentence. The quote source? It still has "said" before the name (a big journalism no no). Also, I don't really know where the end of that quote went...

This is why, as editors, we just change things for the reporters instead of asking them to do it. Even an artificial intelligence language model has the arrogance to refuse to change its first draft too much in some cases and change too much in others. But, I decided to give it another shot. Here's what I wrote:

The "said" should still come after the name

The headline is not in sentence case (in sentence case only the first word is capitalized)

The lead is not one sentence as it should be

It complied:

Students showcase original music in TCU recital

TCU students shared their original music in a recital organized entirely by peers. The event featured new works for percussion and strings.

“Sharing something personal with the audience is what this is all about,” Emma Rodriguez, a sophomore composition major, said.

The recital offered a platform for students to present their work and connect with the campus community. 

Well, two out of three ain't bad, right? (Notice the lead still isn't one sentence). I actually regenerated the response twice more and only once did ChatGPT accomplish all three objectives. In the other flop, the AI failed to put "said" at the end of the attribution. 

Research completed, I went to bed with a smile on my face. At least for the moment, even if AI can write, it has a long way to go before even it doesn't need an editor (and don't get me started on Grammarly... AP style is not its forte either).

The Same Brand New Moments: the Stories Behind the Songs (Part Three)

The Same Brand New Moments
a song about life

The writing process for this one was interesting in that I had the melody before I had an idea of even what instrument it would be with. I ended up going with electric guitar so I could truly utilize all my instruments on this album. 

In the earliest stages of this album, my thought was for there to be a song for every holiday (I had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and graduation already covered). It went from holidays to moments very quickly, but this song started out as a New Years song. Every start of a new year is a time to reflect on the years past in my mind, and as one does that, it becomes very clear how much of our lives are just reiterations or repetitions of the same moments. I wanted to reflect that in a song.

In the first iteration of this song, it was missing the last verse/chorus, and in some ways, was a bit depressing... Sisyphean, some might say. But, there is truth in that last verse/chorus. If we are, as humans, going to keep making the same mistakes and feeling the same feelings, we should put our trust in the one who makes no mistakes, but also went through life just as we are. He's been here before.

The more I've thought about it, our lives are made up of these same moments, presented each time in this brand new way. That's not a bad thing, though. We grow. We learn. Some moments get easier with practice and some get harder with frequency, but that is how this life on Earth is. And, until I get to heaven, I want to keep living these same brand new moments. 

Special thanks to my dad for tracking drums on this one!

Let Us Give Thanks
a song about thankfulness

Just like Departure, some of you may have already heard this song! I wrote this back in 2021, recorded it in my room and then posted it to my YouTube channel with a cool lyric video before sharing it with my friends and family. It was my first real toe-dip into song writing: I had a cool guitar part and a message that I thought was important, so I made a song. 

I have been inspired by so many singer-songwriters over the years. Now, some of my biggest inspirations are Ben Rector and Matthew West. Listening to a lot of music and growing up in an encouraging and musical household helped me have the confidence to write and record this song and ultimately this album.

The story of this song has actually already been written for the most part in my blog here about Christmas not being celebrated before Thanksgiving has happened (other than Christmas in July (on July 25)... I'm cool with that. Thanksgiving truly is my favorite holiday and, while I'm glad it already had a couple songs, I'm happy to add to that small collection.

A Basic Christmas
a song about simplicity

This song is short, it is relatively simple musically, and it is to the point. This song was also written and self-recorded before the album, but not too much before. "a BASS-ic Christmas" is a collection of Christmas song covers over on my YouTube channel. Over the past four years, I have recorded five songs (making them appropriately "bass"-y) every December to add to this collection. In 2022, I wrote and recorded A Basic Christmas to be an intro of sorts to my other four songs that year. 

Stemming from my views about Thanksgiving, I believe Christmas is overhyped. I love Christmas, don't get me wrong, but all the decorations, all the hubbub and travel, and all the commercialization has taken away from Christmas being about family, a break from worldly things, and ultimately about our savior being born. When I sing "a basic Christmas, a simple Christmas like the ones before" I'm not just talking about Christmases when I was a kid. I'm talking about the very first Christmas and Christmases that truly model the simplicity of the holy celebration of our savior's birth with loved ones. 

Maybe you're like me and you're not going to listen to this song until December or maybe on July 25th, but when you do, I hope it instills a sense of peace in simplicity.

Special thanks to my dad for tracking jingle bells on this one... it wouldn't be a Christmas song without them.

_________________________________________________________________________

At the beginning of part one of these stories behind the songs, I said that this album represents me. Yes, a country song, a rap song, and a pop song don't typically all belong on the same album. Nor should there necessarily be a Christmas song or a Thanksgiving song on an album that came out in September. But, on my playlist of around 300 of my favorite songs, there are songs that do not belong on the same playlist together. That playlist actually only has one song from any given artist. Musically, my album is representative of that: my tastes in many genres. 

I think the greatest tie between all these songs as an album, however, is a life. In this case, this life is mine, but the moments are not. Every life has moments of leaving, celebrating, praising, mourning, loving, losing, thanking, wanting, and having. Every life sees multiple variations of these moments. I wrote these songs over a year before they were released and I don't think they are any less applicable and emotionally-tied to my life, and I hope some of you that listen see the ties to moments in your life as well. 

These three blogs are meant to accompany the songs, not substitute for them, for in the very nature of music, more is communicated emotionally than anything I could ever explain in writing. "The Same Brand New Moments" is available wherever you stream music. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening, and go live the moments.

One final special thanks to John McJunkin (recording engineer), Ryan Buckland (mixing/mastering), and the whole team at GCU for helping me bring these songs to life, to my dad for tracking drums and percussion, to my uncle for letting me record his song, to all my music teachers past and present for teaching me how to play and sing, and to all my friends and family that have encouraged and supported me along the way. Y'all are the best.

The Same Brand New Moments: the Stories Behind the Songs (Part Two)

I Mean It
a song about love

While I am aware that I am no Johnny Cash, I am a bass and this is a country song, so he was my musical inspiration for this one. I love the spoken style of some of Cash's storytelling songs, and who doesn't love a country song with a catchy chorus with the story in the verses (ie. The Gambler, A Boy Named Sue, etc.)? So, with all that in mind I sat down with my guitar and wrote myself a country song. 

For those of you who know me pretty well, the autobiographical nature of this song was probably apparent, but for the rest of y'all, I'm Cooper in this song. It is so strange to me how some people, when they get broken up with, say that they never loved the person anyway. I know this is a coping mechanism, but I don't think it's a good one. Of course, it is very fair to not love them anymore, but in my life, I have meant it when I have said "I love you." I just have grown in the maturity of what that love is. It seems paradoxical, but I've found it true in my life that I've heard, meant, and said it before, but can still say I love you and mean it fully, no asterisks. And, since writing this song, I am grateful to have found someone to say this chorus to. 

Special thanks to my dad for tracking cajon and kick drum on this one!

If We Could Know
a song about courage

The second song in the kind of "love song trilogy," this song starts out about doubt and ends about courage. I believe that in every relationship, there are points of fear and doubt. No one wants to pour their heart into a relationship if things aren't going to work out. I certainly don't, but there's often no way to know. If we could know, it really would be easier to give someone all my love. Obviously, though, we cannot know what the 30-year future holds, but I still want to be able to fall in love if I believe it is at all possible that it will stay her and me. That's what courage in a relationship looks like, I think. When those doubts and fears come, to go forward despite them, together. 

I had the great opportunity to record this on an acoustic Yamaha grand in the GCU studio instead of the electric piano. I think that rawness adds to the integrity of the song. As I've continued to mess around with the chord progression, even after recording, my urge is to add so much more, but I value the meditative space that the song in its recorded form provides. 

This might be my favorite song on the album. I love the wordplay I stumbled on, the acoustics of the piano, and that super fun run in the piano and voice that took me way longer than it should've to master. 

It's Been a While
a song about retrospecting

So what does retrospecting mean? It means to look back in thought. This song looks back in thought very personally. The song is a cappella to represent my joining of an a cappella choir in my early high school years. It's topic is one that truly cannot be described in the present, but is still a milestone in my past. Even saying "it's been a while" sticks the speaker in retrospect.

I don't like breakup songs. They whine, cry and blame or ask for her back. There is a time for tears, but the moments we should remember are the benefits of the relationship as it was. Like it or not, a person was a part of your life for a while and to dismiss them is to dismiss the growth you had in that time. I am lucky to have had all my relationships end relatively amicably. Of course my first relationship was the hardest to lose, but it showed me how to move on, to acknowledge the importance of that person in my life, and care without wanting her back. It sometimes takes a while, but it allows for peaceful and growth-minded retrospecting, and for that, I'm grateful.

Special thanks to Ryan Buckland for mixing and mastering all the songs, but especially this one — I know it was probably tough trying to blend a bunch of "me"s together.

The Same Brand New Moments: the Stories Behind the Songs (Part One)

"The Same Brand New Moments" is, on a surface level, a hodgepodge of topics and musical genres. In many ways, the "album-ness" of this collection of songs is questionable. Ultimately, however, all aspects of this album are representative of me.

Apart from a few exceptions, I wrote these songs in a practice room at Texas Christian University my second semester of freshman year (Spring 2023). Over that summer, I recorded all the songs at Grand Canyon University. And now, you can listen to the whole album on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, or from wherever you stream or buy music. What follows is a glimpse into my motivations for writing these songs: my moments.

Departure (I'll Go)
a song about leaving

This, the first song on the album, is one of the aforementioned exceptions: I actually wrote this song before my spring semester. I actually wrote it even before I moved into my freshman dorm. This song, for me, is about leaving for college.

It was the week before I left Arizona for Texas with my dad to drive all my stuff out to school. I sat down at my keyboard and was just playing around with different chord progressions and GarageBand sounds. The next day, I had a song. That is still the quickest I have ever finished a song. I found the piano part simple and meditative, and the words were just a pure expression of what I was feeling at that time. When I made the decision to enroll at TCU, it seemed so clear, but when I got closer to actually going, I saw everything that I'd be leaving behind and I began to question my choice. These were my feelings.

Now, as a proud Horned Frog in his junior year, I can safely say I made the hard but right and God-ordained choice. Change is always a little (or a lot) knee-knocking, but through God's grace, I was able to grow through it. I made TCU my home away from home, I kept my relationships with some really good Arizona friends, and I found incredible relationships with people at TCU. It is truly still difficult to be miles away from home and I still sometimes think I'm crazy, but my God does still love me, so whatever my next departure is, I'll go.

All Year Long
a song about friends

I had tons of fun writing this one! I don't think anyone could've predicted me rapping, and some might still argue I shouldn't rap, but here we are. My main priority for this song musically was to explore—to do something different than my "norm." And yes, this song has the same vibes as Fireflies, but no, it's not the same (it doesn't even have the same chord progression). The genesis of the song was the loop behind the rap. The high pitched voice singing the title? Yeah, that's a clip of me singing from 2010 with a couple effects thrown on it. I wrote the music around that. 

I love my friends, both old and new, so I knew if I was going to write a song about moments in my life, I have to incorporate all those times just chilling with friends, whether it be at school, at my buddy Miguel's house, or in my college apartment. To me, "summer" in this song is all the time to just be with those people. So, the idea of summer lasting all year long, is possible. Through all my busyness, I strive to make time to be with my friends to do nothing important. That in it of itself is important enough. I am very grateful for my friends.

If There's a Heaven... There's a Heaven
a song about loss

In December of 2022, my grandfather, who I have always known as Papa, received his ultimate healing after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was a truly incredible man who lived a truly incredible life walking with such faithfulness and humility. He was an example to everyone who knew him and I was grateful to have him around as a big part of my life for so long. 

The pain of loss is real, but I didn't think I could write a song as insightful and true to what loss is as my uncle did. Here's what he said about this song that he wrote:

Too few know a man like my dad. Even fewer have the privilege of walking with one for more than 40 years. And precious few are able to call such a man “dad.”  

I wrote this song in his final weeks, as I wrestled with the process of moving my faith from head to heart (and vice versa) in such a moment. 

The conclusions... God is good, heaven is real, cling to truth. 

There’s real vulnerability in admitting those doubts that can creep in, but more importantly, there’s real faith in the comfort found in the truth we know to be true. 

Special thanks to my uncle, James Gottry, for letting me record this personal and profound song.

Promised
a song about praise

Worship music has always been a big part of my life inside and outside of the church. Bob Kauflin, the Director of Sovereign Grace Music, said that a good worship song should be easy to learn and hard to forget. I agree, so as I tried my hand at writing a worship song, I followed the formula I'm used to... with my own flairs here and there. While there are CCM songs that are more technical or poetic, perhaps even more interesting or cool, I love the simplicity and clear purpose of this kind of worship music. 

There are many great worship songs out there about the promises of God and how he keeps all of them. I wanted to write something that spoke to that as well, but also spoke to the power and love of the God doing the promising. It's a beautiful thing to know all things will work out for the good, and we know that God keeps all His promises that are in the Bible, but how much more comforting it is to know He can promise that, because He knows everything that will be!

The starting point for this song was Psalm 16:5-10, from which is much of the chorus. That scripture was my grandfather's testimony to God's faithfulness. In that is the great promise of the gospel, that, if we believe in Him, God will not abandon us, but instead provide a way that our sins may be forgiven and we may have life. And for His great character and all His promises, it seems only fitting that we praise and bless His holy name.

Special thanks to my dad for tracking drums on this one!

I Wrote My Own Obituary For A Class

Morbid, isn't it?

Very much so, but I choose to look at it from a different perspective. Instead of treating it solely as a memento mori or solely as an assignment towards my journalism degree, I took the opportunity to think about who I am to others and how I want to be remembered by them. 

Now, I'm not going to publish the obituary I wrote in its entirety here. One day an obituary will be published about me in whatever form of media we read when my time comes, but I still, Lord willing, have a lot of life to live.

I turn 20 tomorrow. And what better way to celebrate your birthday than thinking about your obituary! That was sarcasm... kind of. At the same time, this could very well mark a quarter-way point through my life. So, let me take this blog to reflect on my life so far and look forward to my life to come. For it's never too early to start becoming who you want to be remembered as. 

There are many aspects of me that make me who I am. People recognize these things about me. 

Here's a few in no particular order: I am a good writer, I am a good musician, I am short for a dude, and I have a deeply rooted aversion towards using subtitles in news articles.

I could stop there of course, and you'd know a little bit about me, but you wouldn't know "the important stuff." That's the character stuff that's hard to make into a list.

My obituary put it this way: 

He was known for saying, “I love you,” asking “How can I help?” and joking “Hi hungry, I’m Dad.”  They were the three things Mr. Gottry said most in life, and he talked a lot.

That is how I want to be remembered.

I want to be someone who says, "I love you" often. I want to say it to my family who have and will continue to shape me and help me become the man I want to be. I want to say it to my friends, both old friends and new ones, for these are the people that have walked through life with me as we figure it out together. I want to say it to whoever I marry and those I date along the way, for they are a more sacred kind of friend and one day a more sacred kind of family and ones who's burdens and successes I will share in that love. I want to say it to those who don't hear it often, for those are the people that need to hear it the most no matter if they deserve it or not. Finally, I want to say it to my God for he has done more sacrificially for me than any person could ever do for me.

I want to be someone who asks, "How can I help?" whenever I am able. When I sent out an instagram story asking for quotes from friends and family for my obituary, I was encouraged that many people mentioned my kindness. I want to be known as a patient, helpful, and kind individual. This first starts with listening. I want to grow to be a better listener, for I can't help if I don't know the full extent of the problem. I want to be patient in how I respond in every situation, always leading with a servant's heart. Finally, I want the kindness that Jesus showed to those he interacted with to work through me as I interact with friends, family, and strangers. 

Lastly, but not least-ly, I want to be someone who jokes, "Hi hungry, I'm Dad" as much as possible. While this point may seem trite and to many who are around me often, mildly irritating on occasion, I see it as a deeper-rooted character thing. I am an optimist by nature and I hope that never changes. I find joy in the little things and the hard things and the things in between, like dad jokes. Furthermore, I want to be a dad—maybe an uncle and a grandfather, too. No matter what I achieve in my life, I don't think anything could top helping to raise a family... and telling the worst best jokes along the way.

I think I've made a good impact these past 20 years. It hasn't been perfect, but no person is. At the very least, I think some people see these qualities in me and I think I am set up to continue to make my impact in a meaningful way.

I am grateful for all the memories I've made and the people with whom I've made them, regardless of whether these memories and people make it into my obituary one day. For now, I'm just focused on living the next 20 years. In that time, my resumé, my contact list, and my photos will grow. But I am more intent on growing my obituary, for I am more focused on becoming a good man, one who God wants me to be, than anything else.