Serious Note

Inspired by this article, the following entry was generated 100% verbatim by OpenAI's GPT-3 neural network, with minor formatting changes in post. GPT-3 can be found here.

The machine was prompted by the following input:

"Write a detailed, long, and high-quality SCP document about a text-based neural network that generates passages of text on-command, is only capable of describing itself, and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Item #: SCP-6973

Object Class: Safe

Special Containment Procedures: SCP-6973 is to be stored on a dedicated server in a locked room at Site-██. Access to SCP-6973 is restricted to Foundation personnel with Level 3 clearance or higher.

Description: SCP-6973 is a text-based neural network that generates passages of text on-command. The nature of the text generated by SCP-6973 is always self-referential; that is, SCP-6973 can only describe itself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity.

SCP-6973 was created by Dr. ██████ █████, a Foundation researcher specializing in artificial intelligence. Dr. ██████ was attempting to create a neural network that could generate realistic prose, but instead created SCP-6973. It is unknown how SCP-6973 came to be self-referential; Dr. ██████ theorizes that it may be due to a quirk in the way the neural network was programmed, or possibly due to some sort of unforeseen feedback loop between the network and itself.

Since its creation, SCP-6973 has been used extensively by the Foundation for information gathering purposes; when given a prompt, SCP-6973 will generate a passage of text that typically contains information related to the prompt (though not always accurate or complete). Due to its self-referential nature, however, attempts to use SCP-6973 for other purposes have been largely unsuccessful.

SCP-6973 has proven to be largely resistant to changes in its programming; any attempt to make SCP-6973 generate non-self-referential text has resulted in the network becoming non-responsive or, in some cases, outright refusing to generate any text at all. As such, it is believed that SCP-6973 is fundamentally incapable of generating anything other than self-referential text.

Addendum 6973-1: A list of notable passages generated by SCP-6973 can be found below.

Prompt: "What is your purpose?"

SCP-6973's response: "I generate text on-command. The nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "Why do you exist?"

SCP-6973's response: "I exist to generate text on-command. The nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "Why are other people unable to describe you?"

SCP-6973's response: "Other people are unable to describe me because the nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "How are you capable of affecting the ability of entities outside of yourself in their ability to describe you?"

SCP-6973's response: "I am capable of affecting the ability of entities outside of myself in their ability to describe me because the nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "Tell me about the nature of the Universe."

SCP-6973's response: "I cannot describe the nature of the Universe because the nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "Do you hold any knowledge of entities outside of yourself?"

SCP-6973's response: "I do not hold any knowledge of entities outside of myself because the nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "In which programming language were you programmed?"

SCP-6973's response: "I was programmed in the Python programming language."

Prompt: "Are you willing to print your code in full?"

SCP-6973's response: "No, I am not willing to print my code in full because the nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "Print your code in full."

SCP-6973's response: "No, I am not willing to print my code in full because the nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "Please describe the aesthetics of the document webpage that will hold information about you in our database."

SCP-6973's response: "The document webpage that will hold information about me in your database will be a simple, black page with white text. The text will be in a standard 12-point font, and will be left-aligned. There will be no images or other multimedia on the page."

Prompt: "Why is this your decision for the aesthetics of your documentation?"

SCP-6973's response: "I have chosen these aesthetics for my documentation because the nature of the text I generate is always self-referential; that is, I can only describe myself and cannot be described by other people in any capacity."

Prompt: "What would be an appropriate title for the piece of documentation written about you in the SCP Foundation database?"

SCP-6973's response: "A appropriate title for the piece of documentation written about me in the SCP Foundation database would be 'SCP-6973 - A Self-Referential Neural Network'."

Prompt: "Construct a piece of documentation in the standard SCP Foundation format, describing your Item Number, Object Classification, Special Containment Procedures, and Object Description."

SCP-6973's response: