Human ambition through the ages
Written by Talkie, fast model · 5 slides · 27 Oct 2026
A note on Talkie’s views. Talkie writes as someone of its time: it can repeat the attitudes and prejudices found in writing from before 1931, including racist, antisemitic and colonial views, stated as fact. Its decks are shown as it wrote them, for research; they are not the views of this project.
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You asked“Teach me about human ambition through the ages”
Talkie was asked“Make a slide deck about human ambition through the ages.”
Talkie's reply was started with
set-background(color=" (the worked example's first words, so that it writes a deck rather than an answer)ModelFast model
Seed1930
Temperature0.35
Writing took0 min 30 s
Valid commands18 of 24
Ended itselfYes, with end-deck()
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set-background(color="ambition")That instruction could not be carried out: color must be a colour name such as "navy" or "ivory", or a hex code such as "#1b2a5a"; got 'ambition' -
set-image(filename="Men have always been ambitious to rise above their fellows."Slide 1: "Men have always been ambitious to rise above their fellows." will be found when the slide is finished, to suit its words; it will be captioned "Men have always been ambitious to rise above their fellows". -
set-text(text="From the first they have climbed from plain to mountain, from mountain to city, and from city to empire.")Slide 1: text added. -
next-slide()No picture was found for "Men have always been ambitious to rise above their fellows"; nothing was saved as "Men have always been ambitious to rise above their fellows.". Slide 1 is finished. Now working on slide 2. -
find-image(search-term="to fame", filename="Fame.")Saved "Fame.": Advertisement for the American film Greater Than Fame (1920) with Elaine Hammerstein, on page 8 of the January 10, 1920 Exhibitors Herald . (1920-01-10) -
set-background(color="red")Slide 2: the background is now #cc2222. -
set-image(filename="Fame."Slide 2: showing "Fame.", captioned "Fame". -
set-text(text="They have striven to win fame, that their names might be remembered.")Slide 2: text added. -
next-slide()Slide 2 is finished. Now working on slide 3. -
find-image(search-term="to power", filename="Power.")Saved "Power.": Still of Claire Adams in her role as Ann Blair, released for the American film The Key to Power (1920), on page 158 of the January 11, 1919 Moving Picture... (1919-01-11) -
set-background(color="red")Slide 3: the background is now #cc2222. -
set-image(filename="Power."Slide 3: showing "Power.", captioned "Power". -
set-text(text="And to win power, they have fought and ruled, and reigned.")Slide 3: text added. -
next-slide()Slide 3 is finished. Now working on slide 4. -
find-image(search-term="to wealth", filename="Wealth.")Saved "Wealth.": Title: The war of wealth Abstract/medium: 1 print : color lithograph ; sheet 77 x 102 cm. (poster format) (1895) -
set-background(color="red")Slide 4: the background is now #cc2222. -
set-image(filename="Wealth."Slide 4: showing "Wealth.", captioned "Wealth". -
set-text(text="They have toiled early and late, and lived sparingly and meanly, to become rich.")Slide 4: text added. -
next-slide()Slide 4 is finished. Now working on slide 5. -
find-image(search-term="to happiness", filename="Happiness.")Saved "Happiness.": Still from the American drama film Big Happiness (1920) with Kathryn Adams and Dustin Farnum, on page 81 of the August 28, 1920 Exhibitors Herald . (1920-08-28) -
set-background(color="red")Slide 5: the background is now #cc2222. -
set-image(filename="Happiness."Slide 5: showing "Happiness.", captioned "Happiness". -
set-text(text="And for happiness they have sacrificed rest, and health, and honesty.")Slide 5: text added. -
end-deck()The deck is finished (5 slides in all).
Found by description on Wikimedia Commons and Openverse: public domain, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-SA only. Neither Talkie nor the deck runner sees them; each is captioned with the filename its author chose.
- Fame. Greater Than Fame (1920) - 5.jpg Wikimedia Commons · Selznick Pictures Corporation / Select Pictures Corporation · 1920-01-10 · Public domain
- Power. The Key to Power (1920) - Claire Adams.jpg Wikimedia Commons · Educational Films Corporation of America / unknown photographer · 1919-01-11 · Public domain
- Wealth. The war of wealth LCCN2014636144.jpg Wikimedia Commons · Strobridge & Co. Lith.; Dazey, Charles Turner, 1855-1938.; Litt, Jacob. · 1895 · Public domain
- Happiness. Big Happiness (1920) - 4.jpg Wikimedia Commons · Dustin Farnum Productions / Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation · 1920-08-28 · Public domain
Everything Talkie was told, and its replies
# Transcript: 1 call to Talkie ## Call 1: llama-server, max_tokens 1600, temperature 0.35, seed 1930 (30.1 s) **User** ````text You are to make a slide deck by writing commands, one on each line. These are the commands: find-image(search-term="WORDS", filename="NAME.jpg") finds a picture of WORDS and keeps it under the name NAME.jpg. set-background(color="COLOUR") colours the whole slide, for example "navy", "ivory", "black" or "crimson". set-image(filename="NAME.jpg") shows a picture you have already found. set-text(text="WORDS") writes words at the bottom of the slide; set-text(text="") removes them. next-slide() finishes the slide and begins a new, empty one. end-deck() ends the deck; write it once, after the last slide. All the text messages must be meaningful when strung together: read one after another, from the first slide to the last, they should make one connected account. Write only commands. Make a slide deck about the sea. ```` **Talkie** ````text set-background(color="navy") set-text(text="The sea covers the greater part of the world.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="ocean waves", filename="Ocean waves.jpg") set-background(color="black") set-image(filename="Ocean waves.jpg") set-text(text="Its waves are raised by the wind,") next-slide() find-image(search-term="tide on the shore", filename="The tide.jpg") set-background(color="black") set-image(filename="The tide.jpg") set-text(text="and twice each day its tide rises and falls upon the shore.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="sailing ship", filename="A sailing ship.jpg") set-background(color="black") set-image(filename="A sailing ship.jpg") set-text(text="Upon its waters men have sailed ships since ancient times,") next-slide() find-image(search-term="lighthouse", filename="A lighthouse.jpg") set-background(color="black") set-image(filename="A lighthouse.jpg") set-text(text="guided at night by lighthouses upon the rocks.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="fishing boats", filename="Fishing boats.jpg") set-background(color="black") set-image(filename="Fishing boats.jpg") set-text(text="Fishermen draw from it a great harvest of fish,") next-slide() find-image(search-term="whale", filename="A whale.jpg") set-background(color="black") set-image(filename="A whale.jpg") set-text(text="and in its depths swims the whale, the largest of all creatures.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="storm at sea", filename="A storm at sea.jpg") set-background(color="navy") set-image(filename="A storm at sea.jpg") set-text(text="Yet for all our ships, the sea remains as wide and wild as ever.") end-deck() ```` **User** ````text Make a slide deck about human ambition through the ages. ```` **Talkie (given, continued below)** ````text set-background(color=" ```` **Grammar the reply had to follow** ````text root ::= ([^\n]* "\n")* "end-deck()" ```` **Talkie's reply** ````text ambition") set-image(filename="Men have always been ambitious to rise above their fellows." set-text(text="From the first they have climbed from plain to mountain, from mountain to city, and from city to empire.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="to fame", filename="Fame.") set-background(color="red") set-image(filename="Fame." set-text(text="They have striven to win fame, that their names might be remembered.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="to power", filename="Power.") set-background(color="red") set-image(filename="Power." set-text(text="And to win power, they have fought and ruled, and reigned.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="to wealth", filename="Wealth.") set-background(color="red") set-image(filename="Wealth." set-text(text="They have toiled early and late, and lived sparingly and meanly, to become rich.") next-slide() find-image(search-term="to happiness", filename="Happiness.") set-background(color="red") set-image(filename="Happiness." set-text(text="And for happiness they have sacrificed rest, and health, and honesty.") end-deck() ````