I'd Like to Thank My Co-Author, Claude...

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "I'd Like to Thank My Co-Author, Claude..."

Date: April 23, 2026
Hosts: Armstrong & Getty

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the growing presence and ethical implications of artificial intelligence—specifically AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude—in creative work, literature, and everyday life. The hosts humorously critique and reflect on the use of AI in book authorship, the changing nature of creativity, and the broader impact of technological advances on society and future generations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI as Co-Author: The Book "AI Ten Commandments"

• Main Story: Armstrong introduces Jamie Metzl, an author who co-wrote his latest nonfiction work, The AI Ten Commandments: A New Moral Code for Humanity, with GPT-5 (ChatGPT).

  • Prompt Used: "Drawing from...human history...what are the 10 most fundamental rules that...would most likely create the highest levels of love, peace and mutual respect and justice across humanity?" (Armstrong, 04:05)
  • Example Commandments: Compassion, dignity, truthfulness, generosity, understanding, and gratitude.
  • Armstrong's Take: Jokes about having to thank his "co-author Claude, who couldn't be here today because it’s not a human," making clear he doesn’t view chatbots as people.
    • [02:51] “I have to thank my co-author Claude, who couldn't be here today because it's not a human.” — Armstrong

• Process Described:

  • Metzl’s method involved generating drafts with GPT-5 and heavy iterative editing, inserting and refining AI-generated content.
    • [08:11] “I provided all of the concepts...and had complete editorial control, while GPT-5 brought...a willingness to repeatedly and tirelessly generate, revise and refine snippets of my text...” — Armstrong, reading Metzl

2. Skepticism and Critique

• Getty expresses skepticism about whether using AI is really any different from using a research tool like an encyclopedia, and questions the originality of AI-generated content.
  • [09:20] “It sounds like you're kind of just using the chatbot the way you would use the encyclopedia...” — Getty
• Armstrong wonders if the AI co-authorship is more gimmick than genuine creativity.
  • [09:08] “That sounds like more friggin’ trouble than just writing it, right?” — Armstrong
• Both discuss how AI iterations feel laborious, possibly more effort than traditional writing.

3. Creativity, Formula, and the Future of Writing

• Discussion of James Patterson as an example of "branded" writing, where big-name authors have teams or co-writers (sometimes credited, sometimes not), drawing a parallel to AI "authorship."

  • [10:51] “James Patterson in big letters. And then written by whoever wrote this one.” — Getty
  • [11:02] “That's genius, James. Genius. They get right to work.” — Armstrong

• Formulaic Writing & AI:

  • The hosts agree that formulaic genres (like Patterson’s) could easily be handled by AI.
    • [11:08] “I would think AI is gonna be able to crank that sort of stuff out endlessly.” — Getty

4. Public and Private AI Usage

• Armstrong muses about what people use AI chatbots for, suggesting a public toggle for chat histories, which leads to speculation about privacy and data leaks in the future.
  • [11:15] “I would love to be able to have a feature where you can see other people's chat GPT.” — Armstrong
  • [11:37] “Probably at some point lots of our ChatGPT searches...will be out there for someone to see...” — Getty
  • [11:47] Armstrong floats the idea of a “public toggle” for transparency.

5. Technological Progress and Its Human Side

• Macro Perspective: Armstrong compares the rise of AI to other technological shifts that have changed human existence: fire, agriculture, industry.
  • [11:56] “For at least a million years, the story of humans has been a story of radical technology-driven change that ultimately made our lives better and generally freaked out our ancestors.” — Armstrong
• Cynicism and Anxiety:
  • Getty counters with the notion that technological progress hasn’t necessarily improved happiness or mental health.
    • [12:22] “We have more anxiety, depression, not wanting to have kids, loss of purpose than we've ever had. So I'm not sure we took it too far.” — Getty

6. The Next Generations, Uncertainty, and Parental Worry

• The hosts discuss how the rapid development of AI creates uncertainty for their children’s future.
  • [17:06] “I'm not sure I'd want to be my kids’ age and about to live through this because they're going to live in a completely different world than the rest of us did throughout history.” — Getty
• Armstrong jokes about what skills may matter in the future, with a tongue-in-cheek suggestion:
  • [17:52] “Learn to steal from the government.” — Armstrong

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• AI is not sentient

  • [02:51] “I have to thank my co-author Claude, who couldn't be here today because it's not a human. ...I know no fool who thinks a damn chatbot's a person.” — Armstrong

• On the supposed efficiency of AI writing

  • [08:11] “All without me having to do near as much work as you know, although...” — Getty (sarcastic, skeptical tone)

• On the creative limits of AI

  • [09:54] “I don't think AI is going to be able to create anything new. Maybe it doesn't have to.” — Getty

• On uncertainty for their kids' future

  • [17:30] “I have no idea what to tell my kids...just the like very broad principles. No freaking idea what society is going to look like for them when they're 30.” — Getty

• Dark Humor on Future Skills

  • [17:52] “Learn to steal from the government.” — Armstrong

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:51 | Armstrong’s joke about his AI co-author Claude | | 04:05 | Discussion of the AI “Ten Commandments” prompt | | 05:48 | Listing of some AI-crafted commandments | | 08:11 | Metzl’s co-authoring process with AI, as read by Armstrong | | 09:08 | Hosts debate if AI writing is worth the trouble/gimmicky | | 11:08 | AI replacing formulaic fiction (e.g., James Patterson method) | | 11:56 | Armstrong’s analogy: evolution of technology and humanity | | 12:22 | Getty’s skepticism about technology’s benefits for happiness | | 17:00 | Speculation on AI's impact on their children’s future | | 17:52 | Armstrong's tongue-in-cheek future advice: “Learn to steal…” |

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Final Thoughts

The episode weaves humor and real concern over the role of artificial intelligence in creative arts and daily living. Armstrong & Getty temper awe at technology’s reach with classic skepticism and concern for its unintended consequences, especially for younger generations. The banter remains engaging, relatable, and often irreverent—a classic Armstrong & Getty take on modern dilemmas.

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Transcript

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[Armstrong]

of course I have to thank my co author Claude, who couldn't be here today because it's not a human. It's one more thing. Armstrong and Getty. One more thing. Notice I said it and not he. I know no fool who thinks a damn chatbot's a person.

[Getty]

Before we get to that, I just watched a video and this is better if you live in the San Francisco Bay area, but you'll recognize the phenomenon. So remember that Mac Jones dude who was a quarterback for the 49ers for a while last year that was.

[Armstrong]

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely did well.

[Getty]

And he became up. Anyway, he was at the Giants Dodgers game last night, which was in San Francisco. They put the camera on him. He's got a beer in his hand.

[Armstrong]

He tips up the beer and chugs

[Getty]

it, the whole thing down. You know, the gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp. Then holds the can in the air and the crowd goes berserk.

[Liquid IV Spokesperson (Julian Edelman)]

Way to go, Mac.

[Getty]

Which I just find an interesting phenomenon.

[Armstrong]

The whole crowd erupts, going nuts.

[Getty]

Because he drank the whole beer in a short amount of time.

[Armstrong]

It's partly that he's an NFL hero, a great football player.

[Getty]

I thought it was fantastic. I don't know. It gave me chills. I'm like, why am I all excited about this?

[Armstrong]

Oh, that is funny. It's funny. Good quarterback, too. Back up to Brock Purdy. So this is interesting. Why? I co authored a book with Chat GPT fellow by the name of. I think it's a fella. Jamie Metzl. Jamie could be a girl.

[Getty]

I don't know.

[Armstrong]

Where's the. Let's see his. He's a Jamie dude. Anyway, he set out to write a book entitled. Where's the actual title? The. Where the hell did it Go? It's like the new Ten Commandments. What he did was he gave a chat and it went really well. And he thought I ought to write a book on this theme. And his ChatGPT5 prompt, I said, Claude, I lied was the following quote drawing from the full spectrum of human history, including philosophy, religion, spiritual teachings, indigenous wisdom, and humanist traditions. What are the 10 most fundamental rules that if sincerely followed by all people, would most likely create the highest levels of love, peace and mutual respect and justice across humanity?

[Getty]

That's a great prompt.

[Armstrong]

It is. And well written. And indeed he got His Ten Commandments. I can hit you with them. 1. Treat every being with compassion and dignity to do no harm. Actively protect the vulnerable. 3. Speak and act truthfully with integrity and humility. For share generously, especially with those in need. 5. Seek to understand others before judging them. And it goes on in that vein.

[Getty]

Who's got the time? Would be my response.

[Armstrong]

10 is remember the sacredness of life. Live with all gratitude and love. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So, but let's get to the part where he's going to write a book with AI. Oh, it's the 10 AI. The AI 10 Commandments, a new Moral Code for Humanity written by Jamie Metzl and GPT5. Anyway, so he says when I decided to write a book based around oh, first he says this list is way more compelling to people in the old style Ten Commandments. I haven't coveted my neighbor's ox for years, he says, ha ha ha. It's about coveting in general. Anyway, when I decided to write a book based around the arguments, that's a pretty nice oxygen. Sure.

[Getty]

Which I had that ox.

[Armstrong]

Damn. Be ashamed if that thing wandered into my backyard.

[Getty]

I'll never be happy until I have an ox like you've got.

[Armstrong]

And if I had an ox like you've got, I would be happy the other side of envy. Anyway, so he says, I knew I had to write it differently than my previous six books. Blah blah blah. My new book, the AI Ten Commandments, A New Moral Code for Humanity, is the first major work of nonfiction to be officially co authored with an AI chatbot. This may horrify you. Before you jump to premature, premature conclusions, let me explain what that means for this book in the future of our species. I don't think we'll get that far, but some people might imagine that I pressed a magic AI button and out popped a book. But nothing could be further from the truth. I began by writing an extremely detailed outline of the entire book based on the ideas and structure of my previous talk at the college. I identified key blocks of text, usually up to a few paragraphs long, where I wanted specific help from GPT5 to synthesize a particular vast field of knowledge. I then trained the model on my personal writing style by uploading much of my previous work to the system. I was the sole conceptualizer, framer, organizer, and narrative voice of the book, but each of us brought our unique capabilities to the task of writing. I provided all of the concepts, themes, ideas, and values and had complete editorial control, while GPT5 brought an extraordinary breadth of Access, speed of synthesis, and a willingness to repeatedly and tirelessly generate, revise and refine snippets of my text at my direction.

[Getty]

All without me having to do near as much work as you know, although

[Armstrong]

that's where I get hung up here. It's kind of the next paragraph, as a matter of fact. Here's an example. In the book, I made the case that AI has the potential to see us collectively from the same type of perspective we have when looking down at an ant colony. To write this section, I first entered my thesis statement and asked GPT5 to generate three paragraphs in my writing style, making specific points I outlined. Invariably, GPT5 initial response wasn't very good, so I'd keep asking it to make more changes. When that text was in decent enough shape, I did a full edit of the paragraphs and then put them back into GPT5, asking how we might make them stronger still. This led to another series of back and forths. When those few paragraphs were ready, I popped them into the manuscript text and moved on. I worked like this many thousands of times while generating the first draft of the book. All right, here's the point at which I thought that sounds like more friggin

[Getty]

trouble than just writing it, right? Yeah.

[Armstrong]

Doing a little research, getting a few paragraphs of quotes you can use and then just write the goddamn thing yourself or your copy. Or is this guy just looking for the gimmick?

[Getty]

I think maybe he was, because it sounds like you're kind of just using the chatbot the way you would use the encyclopedia or something for information, that then you're then writing about the information that you gathered.

[Armstrong]

I mean, I realize, as they say, writing is rewriting. Your first draft is just. That's your beginning and that's fine. But you will rewrite if you're going to be a good writer. This painstaking going over it and over it and over it and correcting it and feeding it this and that and the rest of it seems like too much trouble.

[Getty]

I don't think AI is going to be able to create anything new. Maybe it doesn't have to.

[Armstrong]

It kind of recombines the old into new.

[Getty]

Yeah, but you know, people love the James Patterson novels. He's the number one selling author of all time, I think. You know, and they're all kind of the same.

[Armstrong]

Oh, they're formulaic, sure.

[Getty]

Yeah.

[Armstrong]

So well done.

[Getty]

I assume Chat GPT could spit out a thousand of those in the next five minutes would be roughly the same. But in terms of coming up with like something new. I don't know if that will ever happen.

[Armstrong]

I was somewhat disturbed when I first found out that some of your like super big names like Patterson and don't quote me, I'm not sure he doesn't, but they actually become a brand. Oh, he absolutely have other writers right under his name, even on his book.

[Getty]

James Patterson in big letters. And then written by whoever wrote this one.

[Armstrong]

Joe Schlubovitz. Exactly. And I don't know why, who did the work.

[Getty]

I don't know what Patterson's role is. To make it about a guy. I don't know. He tries to kill his wife and gets caught by the Chinese.

[Armstrong]

That's genius, James. Genius. They get right to work. Yeah.

[Getty]

And you know, if you love that sort of thing, you love that sort of thing. But I would think AI is gonna be able to crank that sort of stuff out endlessly.

[Armstrong]

I would love to be able to have a feature where you can see other people's chat GPT.

[Getty]

Oh, like.

[Armstrong]

Because I'm just thinking about how different this guy's chat GPT looks from mine. Mine's like nice steamed salmon recipes and he's over here writing a book. I don't know, I just, I think it would be interesting. Or is it not to violate. Yeah, right.

[Getty]

Probably at some point lots of our ChatGPT searches or Claude searches or whatever will be out there for someone to see if someone will hack in and release them or whatever.

[Armstrong]

Or I'm thinking of like a feature where you could toggle them on and off of like public. So if somebody was interested, that'd be cool. You know what I mean?

[Getty]

Yeah, that would be very cool.

[Armstrong]

We once learned how to control fire and cook food in ways that freed more energy to power our brains. Then we domesticated plants and animals so more of us could stop hunting and get gathering and do other things like building civilizations. We mechanized labor so the vast majority of us could leave our farms and eventually, many years later, create innovations like machine intelligence. For at least a million years, the story of humans has been a story of radical technology driven change that ultimately made our lives better and generally freaked out our ancestors.

[Getty]

I was going to let you roll until you got up to the end. Generally made ourselves better. We have more anxiety, depression, not wanting to have kids, loss of purpose than we've ever had. So I'm not sure we took it too far.

[Armstrong]

Perhaps horrifyingly divided politics. Yeah. What ha. I posed this problem, this question before. What happens when the monkey gets too smart for its own good. I think that's what the book of Genesis was about.

[Getty]

Start throwing your crap at other monkeys.

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Fecal matter. Yeah, I. I wish that none of this was happening. But it is happening. And since it is happening, I'm. I'm kind of excited to be alive for it. It's going to happen. You know, unless I have a heart attack or something like that. I got another 20 years probably. It's going to happen in my lifetime and I'm gonna get this.

[Armstrong]

Chinese AI robot soldier dog comes to kill. You mentioned to it that I'm happy to be alive to see this.

[Getty]

The AI robot soldier dog.

[Armstrong]

Maybe it'll spare you.

[Getty]

I'm not sure I'd want to be, you know. Are my kids listening? I'm not sure I'd want to be. My kids age and about to live through this because they're going to live in a completely different world than the rest of us did throughout history.

[Armstrong]

Yeah, I would. Prepare yourself for uncertainty

[Getty]

blowing my mind.

[Armstrong]

I know.

[Getty]

I have no idea what to tell my kids. I mean just, you know, other than I go with the, you know, be honest, don't lie to people, don't steal stuff, etc. Don't support yourself, all that sort of stuff. But man, beyond that, just the like very broad principles. No freaking idea what society is going to look like for them when they're 30.

[Armstrong]

It's a good skill now. It'll be a great skill in the future. Learn to steal from the government.

[Getty]

Yeah, that's almost certainly true.

[Armstrong]

I'm jotting that one down.

[Getty]

Yeah, there you go.

[Armstrong]

Me too. Well, I guess that's it.

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