Artificial intelligence is in the news these days. Hardly a day goes by without an apocalyptic warning that AI is going to destroy the human race, or worse, deprive writers of their livelihood. Alarmed by these portents, I decided to see whether I was, in fact, in danger of being replaced by a digital text generator. It would have compelling advantages over me: It would be omniscient and would work for free.
I logged in to OpenAI.com and asked to speak to ChatGPT. It presented me with a box where I could insert a question. I began with the most basic of all aeronautical questions: How does a wing produce lift?
