How to use predictive text keyboards for AI-generated comedy
https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/31/17405042/botnik-studios-predictive-writer-voicebox
I’ve been a big fan of Botnik Studios, the comedy group responsible for internet gems like the neural network-generated Coachella lineup poster containing bands like “Billions of Mario.” They’ve been putting out consistently great parodies of Scrubs scripts, ads for beef, and handsome names for boats, each of them made using a predictive text keyboard. I was curious about what exactly this meant and how I, too, could utilize AI to create viral hits, so I called up Botnik Studios CEO and former Clickhole writer Jamie Brew to explain in the video above.
Botnik has a browser-based Predictive Writer that you can load up with “voices”, hence its name, Voicebox. It works in a similar way to your phone’s predictive text, by suggesting a group of words based on the context of the other words in the message. The suggestions are based on the source material you upload, which can be anything from TV show scripts to song lyrics. Voicebox comes pre-loaded with some source materials, but the real fun comes from creating your own. You can even combine two sources, like the text from Fire & Fury and McDonald’s item menus.