We asked AI to predict when The Winds of Winter will come out, and it was completely useless

We’re in a new age of technology, with AI tools like ChatGPT becoming more and more accessible to the general public. TikTok users are using celebrities’ voices to create fake videos and artists are angry about AI-created art. There are many ways AI has already proved to be damaging (just ask CNET), but there are also very entertaining and harmless uses. Playing around with AI tools can be super fun, especially when you ask it to answer questions in certain voices.

Want AI to tell you about the weather in the voice of Daemon Targaryen? It can! Wondering what Harry Potter might sound like giving you facts about animals? ChatGPT can tell you. It’s a weird, neat new world we’re living in right now. Might as well embrace it!

When chatting with AI today, I decided I needed to know whether or not it could give me a good answer to one of our most burning questions here at Winter is Coming. Could it tell me, or even just predict, when George R.R. Martin will release The Winds of Winter? We’re going on 12 years now since the last entry in the A Song of Ice and Fire book series was released, so maybe I’m a little desperate to find out. Does AI know something we don’t? Well… no. I discovered that it doesn’t.

When ChatGPT thinks The Winds of Winter will come out

When I asked ChatGPT to predict when The Winds of Winter will come out, using “the voice of a fan of the books and the HBO show,” here’s what it gave me:

"As a fan of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series and the HBO show Game of Thrones, I would love to be able to predict when The Winds of Winter will finally be released. However, the truth is that it is difficult to know when the book will be completed and published. Martin is known for taking his time with his writing, and he has stated that he will not rush the book’s release. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many industries, including publishing, which could further delay the book’s release.That being said, as a hopeful fan, I believe that we may see The Winds of Winter in late 2022 or early 2023. Martin has hinted that the book is nearing completion, and he has released a few chapters from the book on his website. Additionally, Martin has stated that he will not begin work on any other projects until The Winds of Winter is finished, which suggests that he is dedicated to completing the book. As a fan of the series, I am eagerly anticipating the release of The Winds of Winter, and I have no doubt that it will be worth the wait. The A Song of Ice and Fire series has been beloved by readers and viewers alike for its complex characters, intricate plotlines, and detailed world-building, and I have no doubt that The Winds of Winter will continue to deliver on these elements."

Well, 2022 is obviously over and we’re now heading into April 2023 without a release date for the highly anticipated book in sight. So that response was useless. When using the AI tool, being as specific as possible will yield the best results, so I decided to refine my question a little bit and ask it point blank: Will The Winds of Winter come out in 2023? Then it gave me a more realistic answer: “While I do believe that Martin is actively working on the book and making progress, I think it’s more likely that we’ll see it released in 2024 or beyond.”

2024 or beyond is a pretty safe prediction, considering “beyond” is vague. But ChatGPT didn’t really help me, and that’s probably because we already know pretty much all of the information about A Song of Ice and Fire that it does. Since we’re actively keeping up with Martin and his progress on writing The Winds of Winter, there’s not much else to learn until he provides a new update.

I was hoping ChatGPT would give me a wild prediction or at least a more amusing response, but it sounds like just another disgruntled ASOIAF fan. We’ll see The Winds of Winter when we see it.

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