Designer Creates E Ink Clock That Uses ChatGPT to Create Rhymes Every Minute

E Ink clock designed by designer and blogger Matt Webb. (photo: twitter @genmon)

JAKARTA - ChatGPT has become the internet's favorite toy over the last few months, but people are still finding new and fun ways to use this AI chatbot. An example is the E Ink clock designed by designer and blogger Matt Webb that can produce two-line rhymes that also tell the time of each minute of the day.

In an interview with The Verge via DM, Webb explained that the clock is powered by an old WHAT Inky display and a Raspberry Pi that he previously owned to make a regular text clock. Webb has been playing with the OpenAI language model for some time and had the idea to connect the two devices.

"There is one prompt to ChatGPT, and this watch uses the OpenAI API. Time is a parameter for the prompt. The prompt instructs the AI ​​to provide two lines of rhyming rhyme, and encourages it to be imaginative and immersive," said Webb.

I made an AI clock for my bookshelves! It composes a new poem every minute using ChatGPT and mysteriously has this enthusiastic vibe which I am totally into https://t.co/HPFyCKoXAB pic.twitter.com/eJb0QGpNmq

— Matt Webb 🌸🌼🌸 (@genmon) March 17, 2023

He also notes that the prompt to ChatGPT describes the physical setup of the room and the location of the clock in it, meaning this clock is capable of speaking as a physical presence, as in the example below. "On a comfortable shelf, I live, / almost noon, this hour reveals."

Webb says that the watch generates new text for each time display, rather than from a preset catalog, and that he uses ChatGPT because it's the cheapest option, but prefers to connect it to GPT-3.

“If I were an AI sommelier I would say ChatGPT is an easier drink with a long ending, very smooth, but GPT-3 is more complex and spicier,” says Webb (who also describes his work as an “AI sommelier”). "He is concise in his words and has a better vocabulary. But not quite worth 10x the cost of something sitting on my bookshelf."

Webb has experience building these kinds of gadgets as he was previously CEO and co-founder of design studio BERG, which creates a variety of fun physical digital devices, including the —  Little Printer. It's a small thermal ink printer that prints summaries of daily news, meetings, and all kinds of customized input, from friends' birthdays to social media alerts.

Webb says the reaction to his rhyming AI clock has been so enthusiastic, that he's now exploring two routes to make the project mainstream. First, providing kits for hackers to build on their own, and second, creating plug-and-play commercial products. It's easy to imagine the additional functionality that could be added, such as a button that lets you adjust the tone of the little poem, from hopeful to somber, depending on your mood.