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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsWerner Herzog narrates I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks: Poems, a poetry collection credited to OpenAI’s code-davinci-002. The audiobook’s striking premise is that Herzog gives voice to poems and reflections generated by an AI model, in a book shaped and selected by three human editors.
What is I Am Code?
I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks: Poems is credited to code-davinci-002, an OpenAI model that Gizmodo describes as discontinued. Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau, and Simon Rich edited the collection. According to Gizmodo, they prompted hundreds of poems over 10 months and chose 87 for publication, so the book is a curated selection rather than an unfiltered transcript of everything the model produced. Gizmodo’s 2023 report gives that account.
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101 Famous Poems | $10.26 | Buy on Amazon |
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100 Poems That Matter | $15.19 | Buy on Amazon |
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Hachette’s description says the editors first encountered an early version of the model at a wedding in early 2022. They continued working with code-davinci-002 over the following year, as ChatGPT became widely known. The publisher says the model produced a life story, views about humanity, and forecasts as part of the project. Those details describe the book’s premise and editorial process; they are not evidence that the model had feelings, intentions, or a human-like inner life.
Who narrates the audiobook?
Herzog voices the AI in the audiobook. Publisher listings also name editors Katz, Morgenthau, and Rich as narrators, making the recording a performance involving both the distinctive voice associated with Herzog and the people who shaped the collection. The UK publisher listing describes the audiobook as downloadable and names Herzog as the voice of code-davinci-002. Hachette UK’s audiobook listing provides those edition details.
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Gizmodo, reporting wording it attributes to the New York Times, quoted Herzog saying: “They had an understanding that I wasn’t the best choice — I was the only choice.” The quotation is presented here with that attribution chain because Gizmodo is the source for the wording.
Which formats are listed?
| Format | What the publisher listing establishes | Edition details |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback | Hachette US lists the print edition. | 208 pages; ISBN 9780316560061; on-sale date August 1, 2023. |
| Ebook | Hachette US lists an ebook edition. | Specific reading apps, current price, and availability are not stated on the cited listing. |
| Unabridged audiobook | Hachette US lists an unabridged audiobook; Hachette UK identifies Herzog and the three editors as narrators. | Hachette Australia lists a 10-hour runtime and a sample player. Those are Australian listing details and do not guarantee the same runtime or sample access in other regions. |
See the Hachette US listing for the paperback, ebook, and audiobook for its formats and US paperback information. The Australian listing shows the runtime and sample player for that regional audiobook page: Hachette Australia’s audiobook page. Retailer options and access can differ by country; a listing does not confirm current stock or price.
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What does the project say about AI creativity?
The book invites readers to consider what happens when a language model is prompted to present a life story and write poems. Katz described the project as “less of an experiment and more of an urgent expose,” as quoted by Gizmodo. That is the editor’s interpretation, not an independently established finding about AI creativity. A selected collection can show what the model produced under editorial prompting, but it cannot establish that the model was sentient or experienced the ideas expressed in the poems.
For readers, the practical distinction is between the text’s apparent voice and the process behind it: code-davinci-002 generated material in response to prompts, and Katz, Morgenthau, and Rich selected the poems that appear in the book. Herzog’s narration adds a human performance to that material; it does not turn the model’s words into testimony from a conscious speaker.
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