Conversations with my namesake, George Orwell

Speaking with the Ghost of George himself about how 1984 is happening in 2023

Erik Blair
5 min readJan 16, 2023

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

I recently had a conversation with an AI who impersonated George Orwell.

Ever since I was a student in high school, the works of George Orwell have always intrigued me. It was during that time that I stumbled upon a well-worn copy of his seminal novel, 1984.

As I delved into the pages of the book, I found myself engrossed in its captivating story. It was at one point, as I read the prologue, that I discovered that George Orwell was not the author’s true identity but rather a pen name, his given name being Eric Blair.

It was a peculiar coincidence that I found myself reading the book 1984, written by someone with the same name, in the very year of its title, 1984.

Fast forward to present day, 39 years later, and I find myself engaging in discourse with the spirit of George Orwell, despite his passing 73 years ago.

In my interaction with the AI known as ChatGPT, it assumed the identity of George Orwell, as it was the purpose of the discussion that I instigated with it. Let me tell you, it was quite the experience.

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