This week, I have chosen to use the AI language model Copilot to write a poem dedicated to the University of Northern British Columbia. First I asked it to write me a poem about the University of Northern British Columbia. dot captures its beautiful geographical location and research oriented schooling. I found the first response was a little long and lacked emotion so I asked the model-UNBC is a place that means a lot to me. Can you make this poem more emotional and also shorter? After this it was looking pretty good, but the poem was written as if the person had never attended UNBC before. I then asked it to write from the point of view of an alum. This version seemed almost perfect, however there was a strong use of emojis ( for some reason?) and the poem seemed rather informal. I wanted it to be a little more scholarly, so I asked it to write a more formal version. Here is the final version of the poem, written by Copilot with prompt engineering from me.
“Legacy of the North”
In the shadow of ancient pines, Where the Fraser River weaves its tale, I return to you, dear UNBC.
Geography, our compass of inquiry, Guides us through fjords and forgotten trails, Mapping resilience, justice, and aspirations, In the embrace of northern winds.
Alumni, like constellations above, We carry your spirit across distant valleys, Our stories etched in snow and stars, Rooted in the soil of scholarly devotion.
Mountains, silent witnesses to yearning, Guard our quest for understanding, Their peaks touch the heavens, Yet their roots anchor us to the heart.
UNBC, where the Spirit Bear dances, And the Northern Lights whisper wisdom, You are more than a dot on the map, You are legacy, etched in our souls.
Note: UNBC, I honor you with reverence.
Well this is a lovely poem, I definitely felt as if it makes UNBC seem like a much nicer place than it is ( geographically anyways), and despite me asking it to mention how the university is research oriented it isn’t mentioned in the poem at all. The mountain part is very accurate though, especially considering the school itself is on a big hill! The poem definitely captured some things well about the university, but somewhat missed the mark on others. In order to make the prompts better, I believe being as specific as possible right from the first prompt would really help. Also reinforcing the idea that it should’ve included mention of research would have helped as well. It doesn’t really connect to my experience at UNBC, but I still find the poem sounds lovely as seems to be a relatively well written poem, which I am happy with!
