As part of keeping up with tech as it comes out, I decided to take some LinkedIn Learning courses on generative AI. During a particular course covering the capabilities of Microsoft Copilot, I asked it to generate a horror story about LinkedIn Learning, and this thing is absolute gold! !🤣😂 Somehow, the Microsoft Copilot managed to include a product placement for one of its own products, while also completely fearmongering about its other product, LinkedIn Learning.
As a writer, I prefer to write my own content but it is absolutely essential for me to understand what these tools can do, and more importantly, what they can't do. I was pleasantly surprised at its ability to create a mood and ability to stay concise, though the writing style is not the way I would personally like it done. However, given very little context and set to a more creative mode, it was able to get something that made sense and had some semblance of a twist to close it out.
Generating a short story
Here is the prompt I used:
Can you try to generate me a creative story about taking LinkedIn Learning as a horror story
And here was the result:
It was a dark and stormy night. I was sitting at my desk, trying to finish the last module of the LinkedIn Learning course on advanced Excel skills. I had to complete it by midnight, or else I would lose my chance to get a promotion at work.
I clicked on the play button and watched the instructor explain how to use pivot tables and charts. He had a friendly voice and a professional demeanor. He seemed like someone who knew what he was talking about.
But then, something strange happened. The video started to glitch and freeze. The instructor's face became distorted and pixelated. His voice changed from friendly to menacing. He said:
"Hello, learner. I see you are trying to improve your skills. But you are wasting your time. You will never master Excel. You will never get that promotion. You will never succeed in your career. You are doomed to fail."
I was shocked and scared. I tried to close the browser window, but it was locked. I tried to turn off my computer, but it was unresponsive. I tried to unplug the power cord, but it was stuck.
The instructor continued:
"You can't escape from me. I am your worst nightmare. I am the LinkedIn Learning horror. I know everything about you. I know your name, your address, your phone number, your email, your password, your credit card number, your social security number, your bank account number, your medical history, your family history, your secrets, your fears, your dreams. I have access to all your data. And I will use it against you."
He started to laugh maniacally. The screen flashed with images of my personal information, my bank statements, my emails, my photos, my videos, my social media posts. He said:
"I will ruin your life. I will drain your bank account. I will hack your email. I will send embarrassing messages to your boss, your colleagues, your friends, your family. I will post your photos and videos online. I will expose your secrets and fears. I will destroy your reputation. I will make you lose your job, your home, your loved ones, your sanity. I will make you suffer. I will make you wish you were never born."
I started to panic. I felt helpless and hopeless. I didn't know what to do. I screamed for help, but no one heard me. I was alone with the LinkedIn Learning horror.
He said:
"This is your punishment for trying to learn something new. This is what you get for using LinkedIn Learning. This is the end of your story."
He laughed louder and louder. The screen turned red. The sound became deafening. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I collapsed on the floor.
The last thing I saw was his twisted face. The last thing I heard was his evil voice.
"Goodbye, learner. Thank you for using LinkedIn Learning."
-- Generated by Microsoft Copilot
Supporting social
I also asked it to create a social post advertising this particular article:
Are you ready for a spine-chilling tale of online learning gone wrong? 😱
Read this horror story about a learner who tried to complete a LinkedIn Learning course on advanced Excel skills, but ended up facing a terrifying fate. 😨
You will never look at LinkedIn Learning the same way again. !😈
Click the link below if you dare. 🔗
But be warned: this story is not for the faint of heart. 💀
LinkedInLearning #HorrorStory #Excel #OnlineLearning #Beware
-- Generated by Microsoft Copilot
Getting a cover image
Microsoft Copilot also has a DALL-E integration and can generate images, so I tried that out. My prompt was this:
You have generated a story for me, in the past, which I have titled "The LinkedIn Learning Horror". I'd like to create a cover image to use on a blog article that has the content. This is the content you gave me:
The image options:
Conclusion
The technology has definitely reached a point where you can get decent output as long as you don't actually care about what the output is about. Trying to get very specific details that match to your creative vision is still tough, but pure random "creativity" seems to be covered well enough. This story isn't going to win any awards, but when you don't particularly care about the output or the specific writing style and just need some quick text it is doing decently well. I can see a lot of quick stories like this getting posted on social accounts and I'm going to try creating some fairy tales for the kids with Generative AI to see what type of reaction they get from the target audience. It took seconds to have a full story, with social, and a cover image and little to no creative thought on my part.
The ethical, and legal, implications here are wide-ranging and I don't want to get into that in this article, but this is definitely a time for all of us to get educated on what these tools can do, when they should be used, and what oversight we should be giving on them. Question everything you see online and look for trusted people to follow on whom you can rely to bring you real and accurate information.
There has never been a more important time to establish trust as an individual, a creator, or a brand.
Top comments (0)