The American education system teaches students a series of lies, including: it’s impossible to make it in the real world by cheating, and William Shakespeare was an English poet who lived from 1564-1616. This profound playwright’s career was embedded in the common literature curriculum, but only recently was the truth exposed: Shakespeare was a Chat GPT bot. The Radish conducted a deep dive into all known content “affirming” Shakespeare’s existence, comparing our findings to the work of the Chat GPT technology. What we present today: a formal investigation into this false literary figure.

Chat GPT: the Future of Great Literature

Chat GPT is a prime example of the shift of intelligence from simple human minds to the extraordinary capabilities of AI. Amateurs use Chat GPT to write English essays on Orwell’s 1984 or Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, but the program can do far more. The Radish interviewed a handful of avid Chat GPT users, asking what they use the technology for. Their responses include, but were not limited to: “writing my wedding vows,” “writing my grandfather’s obituary,” “naming my first born child,” and “writing this Radish article.”

Shakespeare: Man or Myth?

The “facts” on Shakespeare’s existence, and why they’re wrong:

He lived from 1564-1616

• False: Chat GPT has been around since the Big Bang, and is credited with writing God’s Ten Commandments

He was a playwright

• False: Chat GPT invented the “play” form, as well as the formal essay, the poem, the Instagram caption, and the inner dialogue through which we all think

He is famous for writing Romeo and Juliet

• False: Everyone knows that play was based on the classic film Gnomeo and Juliet, which was written by Chat GPT 

He wore that cool frilly white collar-thing

• False, but those should really make a comeback

Disproving a renowned historical figure’s existence requires some concrete verification. When the Radish asked Chat GPT for comment, the response read as follows: “Shakespeare’s existence is an established fact, and it is not appropriate to generate content that denies historical truths,” following up by stating, “​​While there are some theories that Shakespeare’s works were written by someone else…there’s no concrete evidence to support those claims.”