Arvind Sanjeev's Ghostwriter Is an Upcycled Typewriter Interface to OpenAI's GPT-3 Language Model
With a keyboard decoded on an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi running Python, this typewriter provides a "warm" interface to GPT-3.
Arvind Sanjeev has put a little artificial intelligence in a vintage typewriter to create Ghostwriter — a physical interface for communicating with the OpenAI GPT-3 large language model in a two-way conversation.
"The Ghostwriter is a project that invites us to mindfully co-create with the AI through a vintage typewriter's tactile and physical form," Sanjeev explains of the project.
"The calm meditative interface removes all the digital distractions," Sanjeev continues," and takes us on an emotional journey through paper and ink. It allows us to focus purely on the act of co-creation itself by slowing down our interaction with the machine. This lets us become more deliberate with our prompts and pulls us to read each word one after the other, helping us understand the nuances profoundly."
Designed to offer a "first warm introduction" to large language models and the "new world we are co-creating with AI," Ghostwriter is built in to the shell of a lovingly-restored Brother AX-325 electronic typewriter. With its original printing innards suitably refreshed, Sanjeev connected the keyboard matrix to an Arduino for decoding then to a Raspberry Pi for communication with OpenAI's impressive GPT-3 large language model via a Python application programming interface (API.)
"While playing with the [GPT-3] prompts, I realized I need to be able to control the creativity (temperature) and length of the response (tokens) through the GPT-3 API," Sanjeev adds. "So, I installed two pots to control the values for these parameters. The feedback from the knobs were then displayed through a tiny OLED. I also had fun making these tiny curious ghost sprites that roamed around while you were playing with the machine."
The finished build, repainted in warm colors, requires only a piece of paper and a working internet connection to provide a two-way interface for GPT-3 — with the user typing in text prompts that are printed to the paper as a permanent record, then GPT-3 responding below with its own printouts. While inspired by earlier interactive typewriter projects, the build brings to mind classic teletype terminals — the go-to way of interfacing with remote computers before low-cost CRT and later LCD monitors put the electromechanical machines to rest.
More details on the project are available on Sanjeev's website.