Game of Thrones fan uses ChatGPT to finally finish Winds of Winter
The fan has also created a version of A Dream of Spring, finishing out George RR Martin's epic book series.
It's been 12 years since the last novel in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series was released, and it's fair to say that some fans are becoming impatient.
In October of last year, Martin said he was "around three-quarters of the way done" with the next novel, The Winds of Winter, and with a further wait on the horizon, one fan has now taken it upon themselves to get a conclusion to the series.
Independent developer Liam Swayne has used AI software ChatGPT to write a version of not just The Winds of Winter, but also Martin's proposed final novel in the series, A Dream of Spring, giving fans an alternate look at how the story might end after the highly divisive eighth season of Game of Thrones.
You can read ChatGPT's version of The Winds of Winter here and A Dream of Spring here, both of which are around the length you would expect from a novel in Martin's series.
Swayne told IGN that, in order to get ChatGPT to write the novels, he first gave it a prompt to generate an outline for the first chapter, then repeated this until he had 45 chapter outlines. He then fed the outlines back to ChatGPT and asked for more detailed outlines, before finally using the extended outlines as prompts to get the chapters themselves.
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Reflecting on the finished product, Swayne said that the AI was good at tracking character continuity, including the character Illyrio in the first few paragraphs before bringing him back for a single scene over a hundred thousand words later.
He also said that it was good at creating plot twists, with the books seeing Jon Connington turning against Daenerys, and Bran discovering that The Wall was not just a physical barrier, but a mystical shield holding back the Night King.
However, ChatGPT was less good at mirroring Martin's famed ability to kill off characters in surprising ways, and in fact didn't manage to kill anyone interesting off across both novels, despite prompts to do so.
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While they are waiting for the real version of The Winds of Winter to be released, fans are still getting to enjoy brand-new material from the world of Westeros.
The second season of House of the Dragon is currently filming, and has not been delayed by the current actors' strike. Meanwhile, new spin-off series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has been confirmed, but its development is currently paused during the writers' strike.
House of the Dragon season 1 aired on Sky Atlantic and is available on NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide to find out what to watch tonight.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
