CS I · Tue Oct 6, 2026 · Independent reading
ChatGPT Is a Blurry JPEG of the Web
by Ted Chiang · The New Yorker · February 9, 2023
STEP 1Open the article
Click the button. The article opens as a PDF on this site — it stays on muggsofcompsci.net, no outside links to click through. About 8 pages of magazine text. Read it all the way through first — give it about 25 minutes.
Open the article →STEP 2Fill out your paper packet
While (or after) you read, work through the paper packet the sub handed out. Everything you need is in the article. Multiple choice: circle one letter. Written responses: use the lined boxes.
STEP 3Hand your packet in at the bell
Return the paper packet to the sub before you leave. Keep all sheets together. Do not take any pages home.
Today’s rules
- No phones. Chromebooks are open only for the article.
- No AI. The point of today is to read a human writing about a machine. Using the machine defeats the lesson.
- Silent work. No talking across tables. If you need to tell the sub something, raise your hand.
- If you finish early, re-read the parts you felt rushed on and improve one of your written responses.