Preface
This post is part of a year-long project where AI is being used to create content about holiday traditions worldwide. The goal is to track how various AI do and improve at content creation with minimal help over time. This is the second of four posts for January, click here for the project index.
This post contains detailed interactions with different AI to share the approach, challenges, and prompts used in the creation of the related articles.
Expanding Data Collection
I chose to expand upon the 12 countries previously identified by the AI to bring the total to 15 for a broader scope of global celebrations and traditions. At some point 15 became 16, I was inspired by Russian and decided to include the independent country of Ukraine. With this list in hand, I engaged both models:
I am creating an art series to celebrate the notable occasions of 15 different countries around the world. First, I need to start by composing tables of holidays, events, and observances specific to each of these countries. I would like you to research each [country] from the following list at the relevant pages for 2024 at the specified [sites], and provide a table, month by month, using the specified [format] for each country one at a time. Upon completing a month await my approval before moving to the next.
[country]=
1. Bangladesh
2. Brazil
3. China
4. Egypt
5. Ethiopia
6. India
7. Indonesia
8. Japan
9. Mexico
10. Nigeria
11. Pakistan
12. Philippines
13. Russia
14. Ukraine
15. United States
16. Vietnam
[sites]=
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/[country]/2024
https://www.officeholidays.com/countries/[country]/2024
[format]=
| Row # | Month, Date | Country | Name (English) | Name (Native Language) | Type (Holiday, Event, Observation, etc) | Occasion Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| # | January, 1st | United States | New Years Day | New Years Day | Holiday | The first day of the calendar year. |
Please start with the first country and provide each table in markdown format.
It seemed like I was off to a strong start, then LLaMA started experiencing issues about every 8 months while ChatGPT-4 made it through an entire country before straying from the instructions in unexpected ways, as a result I resorted to multiple sessions with each model. This, in turn, resulted in deviations in formatting which I later used ChatGPT-3.5 to standardize a single country at a time.
Merging the lists with ChatGPT-4 was more difficult than anticipated, requiring a lot of trial and error. After some reflection, I realized that the large amount of data was causing issues. By handling less data at a time, we were able to get the January events in order. In hindsight, asking for event names in each country's native language probably presented a challenge I hadn't considered. That said, I’ve already put in the effort to obtain it so I'll have to figure out a way to benefit from it.
At this point I've merged the data for the first quarter and am taking a break. The process of checking the AI's work against the clear and concise information on the Office Holidays and Time and Date websites is apparently going to be in my future.
Developing Post Templates
Having gathered holiday details, I decided to phase out LLaMA and reintroduce Bard and Claude into the mix. Afterwards, I asked the AI models to provide blog post templates:
I have been assembling a list of holidays and observances from various countries with diverse cultures. I would like to create a blog post for each event as it occurs throughout the year. I'm at the point where I need to create a template for the posts to ensure uniformity. Please research event blog posts and provide a template in the most appropriate format to convey the content and layout.
Bard’s offered highly specific directions while ChatGPT inconsistently suggested word counts. However, Claude put forward a concise goal-aligned structure focused on brevity. Its minimalist example set a clear standard for the others.
Here is a suggested template for creating uniform blog posts about different cultural holidays and observances throughout the year:
Holiday/Observance Name
Date
Introduction
Brief background on the holiday/observance
Location, culture, or religions associated with it
History and Significance
When and how the holiday originated
Key people, events, traditions, or beliefs behind it
Why it is important and what it celebrates or observes
Traditions and Customs
Common practices, rituals, food, attire, etc.
How people celebrate during this time
Notable symbols related to the occasion
Impact and Celebrations Today
How widely it is observed currently
Festivities in different parts of the world
Adaptations or changes over time
Conclusion
Key takeaways
Hope readers learned something new
I structured this template to have an introduction hook, delve into the origins and background, describe the celebrations, and conclude by tying it all together. The sections aim to educate readers on what the occasion is about, who celebrates it, and how - all important details to include in cultural event posts.
Let me know if you would like me to elaborate on or modify anything in this proposed blog post template! I can provide examples for specific sections as well.
Note: I've excluded most of the AI interactions here to manage the post length.
Following ChatGPT's lead, I prompted each AI to elaborate on their template:
Please update to include content recommendations like the length of each section, where photos should be added and suggestions for their subject matter, etc.
Bard and ChatGPT trimmed down their instructional content, while Claude stayed concise and emerged as my preferred choice. I incorporated some titles and word count suggestions from the others and requested Claude to create versions for multi-country celebrations and multi-day events.
Making Machines Make Content
With post templates established, I tasked the AI's with generate content by providing using the template for multiple countries:
I would like you to write a blog post about New Years day customs and traditions around the world. There are 16 [countries] that I would like you to cover in the post that I've listed below, and I already have a template that I would like to use which can also be found below.
[countries]=
1. Bangladesh
2. Brazil
3. China
4. Egypt
5. Ethiopia
6. India
7. Indonesia
8. Japan
9. Mexico
10. Nigeria
11. Pakistan
12. Philippines
13. Russia
14. Ukraine
15. United States
16. Vietnam
# Title and
- **Length:** 6-12 words, emphasizing the global scope.
## Introduction (100-150 words):
- **Hook:** Start with a captivating fact or question about the holiday’s global impact.
- **Context:** Introduction to the holiday and its worldwide significance.
## Global Overview (200-300 words):
- **Content:** Discuss the universal aspects and origins of the holiday.
## Country-Specific Celebrations (Each Country, 150-250 words):
- **Content:** Detail unique traditions and customs for each country.
## Comparative Analysis (200-300 words):
- **Content:** Highlight similarities and differences in global celebrations.
- **Interactive Element:** Comparison table or infographic contrasting celebrations.
## Modern Adaptations and Global Impact (150-200 words):
- **Content:** Discuss contemporary observance and changes over time.
## Conclusion (50-100 words):
- **Content:** Emphasize the holiday's unifying aspects and global diversity.
- **Call to Action:** Invite readers to share their local or family traditions.
Keywords:
- **Keywords:** Relevant keywords for each country and the holiday.
Anticipating similar challenges as those I faced with merging the lists of information, I prepared for the same for issues during the post composition. Bard fell short, offering a highly specific template. Claude combined the initial sections from its template but fulfilled the assignment, and ChatGPT often shortened the information but still completed the task. Here are the pertinent excerpts from their responses:
Bard:
Unfortunately, I cannot write the entire blog post for you without access to the specific details and traditions you want to include for each country. However, I can offer you a more detailed outline based on your template and guide you through filling it in:
Title and Keywords:
Global Countdown: Unveiling New Year's Traditions from 15 Countries (Length: 8 words, emphasizes global scope)
Keywords: New Year's, India, China, US, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Japan, Ethiopia, Philippines, Vietnam, Egypt, customs, traditions, celebrations
Introduction (100-150 words):
Hook: Did you know that over 6 billion people celebrate New Year's Day in diverse ways? From burning effigies in India to eating 12 grapes in Spain, this global holiday reflects a tapestry of unique traditions.
Context: New Year's Day marks the dawn of a new chapter, offering a chance to reflect on the past and embrace fresh beginnings. Across cultures, it's a time for festivities, family gatherings, and symbolic rituals believed to bring luck and prosperity.
Claude:
Here is a draft blog post with details on New Year's celebrations and traditions in 16 countries around the world:
Title: Ringing in the New Year: A Global Celebration of Hope and New Beginnings
As the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, the world erupts in jubilant celebration of the dawning of a new year. From the dazzling fireworks displays over world-famous landmarks to intimate family gatherings filled with food, dancing and prayer, New Year’s traditions worldwide resonate with symbolism and meaning.
The start of the Gregorian calendar year on January 1st holds major cultural and spiritual significance across most cultures, representing the chance to start fresh and look ahead with renewed optimism. As a universal turning point experienced collectively across time zones, the holiday brings out international camaraderie and interconnectedness between our shared human experiences.
While major cosmopolitan cities like New York, London and Dubai may boast the most famously grandiose New Year’s Eve spectacles, multi-day festive traditions truly manifest in diverse ways big and small wherever people around the globe call home.
ChatGPT:
Country-Specific Celebrations:
1. India:
In India, New Year's celebrations vary regionally, reflecting its vast cultural diversity. Major cities burst into life with fireworks and parties, while traditional customs prevail in rural areas. Specific communities observe the holiday with unique rituals, such as the Sikh practice of visiting Gurudwaras.
2. China:
The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, doesn't coincide with January 1st but is equally significant. It's marked by the lunar calendar and involves traditions like dragon dances, red envelopes, and family reunions, symbolizing prosperity and togetherness.
3. United States:
In the USA, New Year's Eve is synonymous with the iconic ball drop in Times Square, New York. Americans often celebrate with parties, countdowns, and resolutions, reflecting a blend of merriment and introspection.
... [Similar sections for Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Japan, Ethiopia, Philippines, Vietnam, Egypt]Reflecting on AI Data Management
Despite the issues, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of usable content I received. Managing data is undoubtedly a more significant challenge than handling plain text, and I had assumed that all three AIs—Bard, Claude, and ChatGPT—were accessing the same underlying information available to each. While I'm aware that ChatGPT was conducting active searches, which could account for some delays, the "Language" in LLM seems to be more meaningful that I have previously considered. Setting these considerations aside, the final posts were more extensive than anticipated, which has led me to value Claude's word count suggestions more highly.
Bard
Easily the most challenging, and frustrating, of the three. Google touts Gemini as its "most capable model" to date, but it fell short in delivering complete content without being prompted one or more times for each individual section.
When providing the country-specific content (no more than 3 at a time); it mistakenly replaced the United States with an additional entry for Egypt and unexpectedly included Thailand when I pointed it out, inaccurately inflating the total to 17 countries instead of the intended 16.
The initial introduction appeared to exceed the word limit, and when queried, Bard claimed it was 55 words long. In reality, it was 145 words, which was just shy of the limit, but such discrepancies in word counting seem to be a common issue.
My efforts to have Bard review the entire post were met with resistance. I complied with its myriad of requests, such as saving and uploading files to Google Drive. However, Bard ultimately defaulted to the frustrating response of "I'm a language model and..." to indicate its inability to complete the task.
Claude
Claude provided the bare minimum word count for each country's description, leading to very brief statements. This brevity resulted in less-than-ideal images when used as prompts.
When I highlighted inconsistencies within the content, Claude made adjustments. However, instead of committing to a clear direction, it chose a neutral path, which resulted in somewhat uninspiring outcomes.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT needed a bit of encouragement to get started. When it came to reviewing its own post, it required several back-and-forth interactions, providing guidance on what I should check rather than making the corrections itself.
Commentary on AI Image Generation
Initially, I intended to dedicate a third post to discussing the image generation tools I used for this project, particularly focusing on the quality of the images produced. However, the numerous facial distortions and my lack of time to develop reasonable prompts for each tool (for instance, Midjourney has specific parameters, while Stable Diffusion benefits from negative prompts) made this challenging.
Despite these setbacks, I was quite impressed with the images from Leonardo.ai. Snagging a subscription at a discounted rate led to a collection of satisfactory images without the need for significant adjustments. These images were a marked improvement over those from the free version.
That said, Midjourney remains my go-to tool, and the latest v6 alpha is showing considerable potential.
Key Takeaways
Positive Insights:
ChatGPT-3.5, unsurprisingly, excelled in unifying the formatting of data from different AI models, reserving usage of ChatGPT-4 for more challenging tasks before hitting the prompt ceiling.
Claude emerged as the most user-friendly and effective AI for content creation, distinguishing itself from the others in this regard.
Encountered Challenges:
Encountered difficulties with ChatGPT-4 and LLaMA in compiling the comprehensive event lists. While not unexpected, it's noteworthy that the potential for inaccurate information grew in conversations the more they were taxed over time.
The experience further underscored the critical need for human oversight to ensure the accuracy and usefulness of AI-generated content.
As an eternal tinkerer, my curiosity, passion, and sheer stubbornness fuel a relentless desire to experiment, learn, and share knowledge, which keeps my creative spirit ignited. I'm constantly looking for new areas to explore, driven by imagination to see where new and evolving technologies might take me.
Driven by passion, not profit, though a coffee is always welcome.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Amazon Web Services (AWS). The author is a UX designer at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and has no involvement in, nor does their work pertain to, any collaborative agreements that AWS may have with Anthropic, the creators of Claude. The insights and analyses presented here are entirely independent and unrelated to any projects or initiatives between AWS and Anthropic. All content in this post is based on publicly available interfaces and is not influenced by the author's employer.