AI Outtakes, Vol. 17

Since the first edition of AI Outtakes I've had a theme in the back of my head that I knew generative AI would be great at: Literal depictions of colloquial phrases. I figured this would be such an easy edition that I kept saving it for a week when I was out of ideas.

Well here we are, the week before Christmas, and I was out of ideas. So I figured, okay, time to give readers the masterpiece I'd been holding back.

**Me**: I'm making a funny newsletter that uses literal depictions of phrases like "he's all thumbs". First off, can you come up with 20 other colloquialisms like "He's all thumbs" that might be funny if they were literal?

**ChatGPT**: Certainly! Here are 20 colloquialisms that would be humorous when taken literally:

1. "Cat got your tongue?" - Suggesting someone is unable to speak, humorously depicted as a cat actually holding someone's tongue.
2. "Break a leg" - Traditionally a way to wish good luck, especially in theater, could be literally shown as someone actually breaking their leg.
3. "Bite the bullet" - A phrase about enduring a painful experience, humorously shown as someone actually biting a bullet.
4. "Cry over spilled milk" - Someone literally crying over a spilled glass of milk.
5. "Hold your horses" - Instead of meaning to wait or be patient, showing someone physically holding horses.
6. "Barking up the wrong tree" - A person literally barking at a tree.
7. "Piece of cake" - Instead of something being easy, a literal piece of cake in a situation.
8. "Spill the beans" - Instead of revealing a secret, someone actually spilling a container of beans.
9. "Butterflies in the stomach" - Rather than feeling nervous, showing actual butterflies flying in someone's stomach.
10. "Wear your heart on your sleeve" - Instead of openly showing emotions, a literal heart displayed on a sleeve.
11. "Put a sock in it" - Rather than telling someone to be quiet, literally putting a sock in something.
12. "When pigs fly" - Pigs actually flying in the sky.
13. "Cost an arm and a leg" - Instead of being very expensive, the literal exchange of an arm and a leg.
14. "Hit the nail on the head" - Rather than being exactly correct, literally hitting a nail on the head.
15. "Pulling your leg" - Instead of joking with someone, physically pulling on a leg.
16. "Let the cat out of the bag" - Instead of revealing a secret, a cat being let out from a bag.
17. "Caught red-handed" - Instead of being caught in the act, having literally red hands.
18. "Burning the midnight oil" - Rather than working late, literally burning oil at midnight.
19. "Jumping on the bandwagon" - Instead of joining a popular cause, literally jumping onto a wagon carrying a band.
20. "Throw in the towel" - Rather than giving up, someone actually throwing a towel.

These colloquialisms, when visualized literally, can add a fun and whimsical element to your newsletter.

Hmm, now that I'm looking at the list, a lot of these don't seem like they'd actually be funny. But with generative AI you never know what you're going to get, so let's give this a shot.

Okay, can you depict a humorous scene where someone is literally all thumbs?

**ChatGPT**: Here is a humorous depiction of the phrase "he's all thumbs." The image shows a person with only thumbs for fingers, struggling comically to type on a computer keyboard in a cheerful office setting. The amusing expression on the person's face emphasizes the challenge and absurdity of the situation.

Hardly "all thumbs", ChatGPT. I think we can do better.

**Me**: That's only four thumbs, not really ALL thumbs. Can you make him more thumbs?

**ChatGPT**: Here's the updated depiction featuring a person made entirely of thumbs, including their arms and legs, in a whimsical office scene.

**Me**: There are more thumbs in this photo, but the person still only has two hands. Can you make this 100% more thumbs?

**ChatGPT**: Here's the revised image featuring a character composed entirely of thumbs, humorously attempting to work on a computer in a playful office environment.

**Me**: That's a lot more thumbs! I still don't know if this is ALL thumbs though. Can you add twice as many thumbs?

**ChatGPT**: The scene is now filled to the brim with thumbs, creating an overwhelmingly humorous effect with the entire office setting, including the desk, chair, computer, and room, all made of thumbs. This takes the literal interpretation of "all thumbs" to a fun and exaggerated level.

**Me**: It is a fun level, but it looks like there's room for more thumbs. Can you make everything in the image thumbs? Even the desk and computer? Add so many thumbs you think, "Oh, that's too many thumbs". Then add three more.

**ChatGPT**: The image now features an incredibly dense and humorous scene where every element, including the desk, chair, computer, walls, and floor, is made entirely of thumbs. This over-the-top portrayal truly embodies the phrase "all thumbs" to an extreme.

**Me**: Okay this is a lot of thumbs! There aren't any thumbs on the ceiling though. Can you coat every surface of this office in thumbs? Leave no space without a thumb.

**ChatGPT**: The scene now includes every single surface, including the ceiling, completely covered in thumbs, creating an overwhelmingly thumb-saturated environment in the office. This comically absurd portrayal takes the phrase "all thumbs" to its most literal and extreme interpretation.

**Me**: This feels like fewer thumbs. Can you take the number of thumbs in this image and multiply it by ten, then create that many thumbs in a new image?

**ChatGPT**: The image now depicts a scene absolutely overflowing with thumbs, multiplied exponentially from the previous depiction. Every inch of the office, including the ceiling, walls, floor, furniture, and even the air, is densely packed with an absurdly high number of thumbs, creating a sense of thumb overabundance. This pushes the concept of "all thumbs" to an unimaginable extreme.

**Me**: I don't know if I would call this an unimaginable number of thumbs, although it's certainly a lot. Can we depict the office desk on a typical city block that is absolutely covered in thumbs?

**ChatGPT**: The image portrays a surreal and comically exaggerated scene of a city block where every element, including buildings, streets, cars, trees, and even the sky, is completely covered in thumbs. Amidst this thumb-drenched cityscape, an office desk and a character, both entirely made of thumbs, are prominently featured. This whimsical portrayal illustrates the concept of "all thumbs" on a city-scale, overwhelming every aspect of the urban environment.

**Me**: Oh there's room for SO MANY more thumbs now that we're outdoors! Can you depict an entire city that's all thumbs? In a city that's all thumbs there wouldn't be any clear streets. Those would be covered with thumbs too.

**ChatGPT**: The image captures a wildly imaginative and humorously exaggerated depiction of an entire city composed entirely of thumbs. The cityscape, with its skyscrapers, houses, parks, and streets, is completely made from and covered with thumbs. The density of thumbs is so high that it creates a sea of thumbs, enveloping every aspect of the city and transforming it into a literal 'city of thumbs'. This scene takes the idea of 'all thumbs' to an extraordinary and amusingly absurd level.

**Me**: This is a lot of thumbs! Can you depict an image from an orbiting space station looking down at an Earth that has been overrun with thumbs? In this scenario there are so many thumbs that nothing else exists on Earth. Earth has become all thumbs.

**ChatGPT**: The image presents a breathtaking and absurdly exaggerated view from an orbiting space station, looking down at an Earth that has been completely overrun with thumbs. The entire planet is covered in thumbs, with no visible land, oceans, or any other natural features, just a vast expanse of thumbs. This surreal cosmic spectacle humorously conveys the concept of an 'all thumbs' Earth.

Well as you can probably see, this edition didn't go where I planned even when I sat down to create it, but I feel like we got some good outtakes here. Until next week!

**Me**: I'd like to close this with a picture of a single person, back in his office, covered in thumbs, but the thumbs are waving goodbye.