AI poetry fails to replicate human emotional connection, study finds

A pilot study by researchers at La Trobe University found that seven out of eight students preferred AI-generated poems over original works by Emily Dickinson, and were unable to distinguish between them. The students described the AI poems as 'soothing', 'flowing', and 'relatable', while dismissing Dickinson's originals as 'stilted' and 'jarring'. However, upon learning that the preferred poems were AI-generated, students expressed feelings of disappointment, alarm, fear, and betrayal. The study used GPT-4o to complete Dickinson poems, keeping the first stanza. Researchers Judith Bishop, Ben Santilli, Juliane Roemhild, and Sara James argue that AI poetry lacks the genuine interiority and emotional complexity of human writing, and that the desire for human connection through literature remains strong. The findings echo a New York Times quiz where over 50% of 86,000 participants preferred AI texts, and many were upset when informed.