How To Get AI To Write Longform Text

Explanation

The best way I have found to get the AI to write longform text is to start with asking it to create an outline for a longer essay, and then ask it to add subpoints to that outline until you have enough. Then we ask it to look at the outline and write each section. This seems to work pretty well. Let’s see it in action.

The parts in bold are prompt, the rest is from the AI.

Prompt and Response

Create a hierarchical multilevel outline for a 100 page essay on the topic of how to implement and move towards a moneyless economy where everyone involved is living in small sustainable permaculture communities, featuring a network of constant movement between these communities where most people move at least once a season and where there is a primary focus on permaculture and mutual aid.

Introduction
How to move towards a moneyless economy
How to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities
The importance of permaculture in a moneyless economy
The role of mutual aid in a moneyless economy
The benefits of a network of constant movement between communities
Conclusion

Now create several subpoints for each point in the outline.

Introduction
How to move towards a moneyless economy
- Reducing reliance on money
- Encouraging the use of alternative currencies
- Promoting bartering and trading
- Fostering self-sufficiency
The benefits of a moneyless economy
- Improved mental and physical health
- Stronger community bonds
- A more sustainable way of life
How to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities
- Designing the community
- Building the community
- Maintaining the community
The importance of permaculture in a moneyless economy
- Permaculture principles
- Permaculture practices
The role of mutual aid in a moneyless economy
- What is mutual aid?
- The benefits of mutual aid
The benefits of a network of constant movement between communities
- A more diverse range of experiences
- A greater sense of community
Conclusion

Now create several subpoints for each subpoint in the outline.

Introduction
How to move towards a moneyless economy
- Reducing reliance on money
  - Decreasing dependence on the banking system
  - Reducing consumption
  - Finding alternative sources of income
- Encouraging the use of alternative currencies
  - Local currencies
  - Time banking
  - Resource-based economies
- Promoting bartering and trading
  - Direct trade
  - Swap meetups
  - Free stores
- Fostering self-sufficiency
  - Growing your own food
  - Generating your own energy
  - Building your own shelter
The benefits of a moneyless economy
- Improved mental and physical health
  - Less stress
  - More time for leisure and relaxation
  - Improved diet and exercise
- Stronger community bonds
  - A sense of togetherness
  - A sense of belonging
  - A sense of purpose
- A more sustainable way of life
  - Less pollution and waste
  - More efficient use of resources
  - A slower pace of life
How to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities
- Designing the community
  - Deciding on the size of the community
  - Choosing the location of the community
  - Planning the layout of the community
- Building the community
  - Construction techniques
  - Materials
- Maintaining the community
  - Governance
  - Conflict resolution
  - Day-to-day life
The importance of permaculture in a moneyless economy
- Permaculture principles
  - Care for the earth
  - Care for people
  - Fair share
- Permaculture practices
  - Crop rotation
  - Greenhouses and polytunnels
  - Companion planting
The role of mutual aid in a moneyless economy
- What is mutual aid?
  - A brief history of mutual aid
  - The principles of mutual aid
- The benefits of mutual aid
  - A sense of community
  - A sense of responsibility
  - A sense of connection
The benefits of a network of constant movement between communities
- A more diverse range of experiences
  - Learning new skills
  - Meeting new people
  - Seeing new places
- A greater sense of community
  - A sense of togetherness
  - A sense of belonging
  - A sense of Purpose
Conclusion

Let’s Start Over With A New Prompt

The following is a hierarchical multilevel outline for a 100 page essay on the topic of how to implement and move towards a moneyless economy where everyone involved is living in small sustainable permaculture communities, featuring a network of constant movement between these communities where most people move at least once a season and where there is a primary focus on permaculture and mutual aid.

Introduction
How to move towards a moneyless economy
- Reducing reliance on money
  - Decreasing dependence on the banking system
  - Reducing consumption
  - Finding alternative sources of income
- Encouraging the use of alternative currencies
  - Local currencies
  - Time banking
  - Resource-based economies
- Promoting bartering and trading
  - Direct trade
  - Swap meetups
  - Free stores
- Fostering self-sufficiency
  - Growing your own food
  - Generating your own energy
  - Building your own shelter
The benefits of a moneyless economy
- Improved mental and physical health
  - Less stress
  - More time for leisure and relaxation
  - Improved diet and exercise
- Stronger community bonds
  - A sense of togetherness
  - A sense of belonging
  - A sense of purpose
- A more sustainable way of life
  - Less pollution and waste
  - More efficient use of resources
  - A slower pace of life
How to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities
- Designing the community
  - Deciding on the size of the community
  - Choosing the location of the community
  - Planning the layout of the community
- Building the community
  - Construction techniques
  - Materials
- Maintaining the community
  - Governance
  - Conflict resolution
  - Day-to-day life
The importance of permaculture in a moneyless economy
- Permaculture principles
  - Care for the earth
  - Care for people
  - Fair share
- Permaculture practices
  - Crop rotation
  - Greenhouses and polytunnels
  - Companion planting
The role of mutual aid in a moneyless economy
- What is mutual aid?
  - A brief history of mutual aid
  - The principles of mutual aid
- The benefits of mutual aid
  - A sense of community
  - A sense of responsibility
  - A sense of connection
The benefits of a network of constant movement between communities
- A more diverse range of experiences
  - Learning new skills
  - Meeting new people
  - Seeing new places
- A greater sense of community
  - A sense of togetherness
  - A sense of belonging
  - A sense of Purpose
Conclusion

Now write longform text for each point

– Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to explore how to implement and move towards a moneyless economy, where everyone is living in small, sustainable permaculture communities. A moneyless economy is one that doesn’t rely on currency, but instead relies on bartering, trading, and mutual aid. This essay will explore the benefits of a moneyless economy and how to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities.

– How to move towards a moneyless economy

There are many ways to move towards a moneyless economy. One way is to reduce reliance on money. This can be done by decreasing dependence on the banking system, reducing consumption, and finding alternative sources of income. Another way is to encourage the use of alternative currencies, such as local currencies, time banking, and resource-based economies. Another way is to promote bartering and trading, through direct trade, swap meetups, and free stores. And finally, another way is to foster self-sufficiency, by growing your own food, generating your own energy, and building your own shelter.

– The benefits of a moneyless economy

There are many benefits to a moneyless economy. One benefit is improved mental and physical health. This is because there is less stress, more time for leisure and relaxation, and improved diet and exercise. Another benefit is stronger community bonds. This is because there is a sense of togetherness, a sense of belonging, and a sense of purpose. And finally, another benefit is a more sustainable way of life. This is because there is less pollution and waste, more efficient use of resources, and a slower pace of life.

– How to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities

There are many ways to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities. One way is to design the community. This involves deciding on the size of the community, choosing the location of the community, and planning the layout of the community. Another way is to build the community. This involves construction techniques and materials. And finally, another way is to maintain the community. This involves governance, conflict resolution, and day-to-day life.

– The importance of permaculture in a moneyless economy

Permaculture is a system of agriculture that focuses on sustainability. The principles of permaculture are care for the earth, care for people, and fair share. Permaculture practices include crop rotation, greenhouses and polytunnels, companion planting, and more. Permaculture is important in a moneyless economy because it is a more sustainable way of life that doesn’t rely on currency.

– The role of mutual aid in a moneyless economy

Mutual aid is a system of cooperation where people help each other for the common good. Mutual aid has a long history dating back to before currency was invented. The principles of mutual aid are solidarity, mutuality, reciprocity, and cooperation. The benefits of mutual aid include a sense of community, a sense of responsibility, and a sense of connection. Mutual aid is important in a moneyless economy because it is a more sustainable way of life that doesn’t rely on currency.

– The benefits of a network of constant movement between communities

A network of constant movement between communities has many benefits. One benefit is a more diverse range of experiences. This is because people can learn new skills, meet new people, and see new places. Another benefit is a greater sense of community. This is because there is a sense of togetherness, a sense of belonging, and a sense of purpose. And finally, another benefit is that it promotes permaculture principles such as care for the earth and care for people.

– Conclusion

In conclusion, a moneyless economy is one that doesn’t rely on currency, but instead relies on bartering, trading, and mutual aid. This essay has explored the benefits of a moneyless economy and how to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities. A moneyless economy has many benefits, such as improved mental and physical health, stronger community bonds, and a more sustainable way of life.

Analysis

You can see how quickly we get from an abstract to a broad outline, to more and more specific and detailed outlines, and eventually to body paragraphs. Of course it didn’t include any of the sub-subpooints because of how I prompted it, but this is intended as a demonstration. If you were really trying to do very long text, I would do something like this for each point…

Prompt

Introduction
How to move towards a moneyless economy
- Reducing reliance on money
  - Decreasing dependence on the banking system
  - Reducing consumption
  - Finding alternative sources of income
- Encouraging the use of alternative currencies
  - Local currencies
  - Time banking
  - Resource-based economies
- Promoting bartering and trading
  - Direct trade
  - Swap meetups
  - Free stores
- Fostering self-sufficiency
  - Growing your own food
  - Generating your own energy
  - Building your own shelter
The benefits of a moneyless economy
- Improved mental and physical health
  - Less stress
  - More time for leisure and relaxation
  - Improved diet and exercise
- Stronger community bonds
  - A sense of togetherness
  - A sense of belonging
  - A sense of purpose
- A more sustainable way of life
  - Less pollution and waste
  - More efficient use of resources
  - A slower pace of life
How to establish and maintain small sustainable permaculture communities
- Designing the community
  - Deciding on the size of the community
  - Choosing the location of the community
  - Planning the layout of the community
- Building the community
  - Construction techniques
  - Materials
- Maintaining the community
  - Governance
  - Conflict resolution
  - Day-to-day life
The importance of permaculture in a moneyless economy
- Permaculture principles
  - Care for the earth
  - Care for people
  - Fair share
- Permaculture practices
  - Crop rotation
  - Greenhouses and polytunnels
  - Companion planting
The role of mutual aid in a moneyless economy
- What is mutual aid?
  - A brief history of mutual aid
  - The principles of mutual aid
- The benefits of mutual aid
  - A sense of community
  - A sense of responsibility
  - A sense of connection
The benefits of a network of constant movement between communities
- A more diverse range of experiences
  - Learning new skills
  - Meeting new people
  - Seeing new places
- A greater sense of community
  - A sense of togetherness
  - A sense of belonging
  - A sense of Purpose
Conclusion

Right now, we are working on the “Fostering self-sufficiency” point and its subpoints. Create a series of paragraphs starting with introducing this point. Then explain the topic, and then connecting the topic to additional paragraphs about each of its subpoints.

Finish with a conclusion paragraph for this point which ties together all its subpoints and contextualizes the importance of all the points raised so far. Tell people why this is important, and how it will impact their lives and improve their individual and community resiliency and sustainability.

Response From AI

Fostering self-sufficiency is an important aspect of moving towards a moneyless economy. By growing your own food, generating your own energy, and building your own shelter, you can reduce your reliance on the money system and become more self-sufficient.

Growing your own food is a great way to reduce your reliance on the money system. You can grow a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as herbs and spices. You can also grow grains and beans. If you have the space, you can even keep chickens or goats for eggs and milk.

Generating your own energy is another great way to reduce your reliance on the money system. You can install solar panels or wind turbines to generate electricity. You can also install a wood stove or pellet stove to generate heat. If you live in a warm climate, you can even install a passive solar system to heat your home.

Building your own shelter is the third way to reduce your reliance on the money system. You can build a variety of shelters, from simple sheds to more complex structures. You can use recycled materials, such as tires or shipping containers, to build your shelter. If you have the skills, you can even build a straw bale house.

These are just a few of the ways you can reduce your reliance on the money system and become more self-sufficient. By growing your own food, generating your own energy, and building your own shelter, you can reduce your impact on the environment and build a more sustainable future.

Analysis

This could basically be a chapter in a book. It does a great job of introducing the topic, elaborating individually on each of the subpoints, and then tying it all back together and explaining why it’s important.

I think I’ve really cracked how to get it to write this kind of longform text. It will be really interesting to see what else we can do.

I think this kind of technical writing would really benefit from more context than just what the AI was originally trained with. I’m working on developing a new technique. Basically the idea is that the AI first comes up with a list of search terms that will help it gather more information about the topic of the initial prompt. Then it grabs those pages from wikipedia, summarizes them, and adds them as context to the initial prompt, before trying to answer the question. This way, it always has access to the most current and detailed information about the topic. Stay tuned!

Final Thoughts

It costs to run the AI. You have to pay for every time you give it a prompt. You pay for the number of words, including what you prompted and what it said back. It comes out to about $0.06 per word which isn’t a lot, but for context, everything in this post came out to $1.60.

That’s not a lot, but imagine trying to do ten thousand of these or a million of these. There are some limiting financial factors at a certain point. If we wanted to do really complex and interesting analysis or synthesis with multiple steps, it could end up being really hard to justify the cost at a certain point.

Imagine a new search engine that listens to your question, decides which encyclopedias it needs to read, does so, and comes back with your answer. At that point, it’s basically like you have a sentient researcher doing reference work, reading the news sources, reading the encyclopedia, and synthesizing a creative answer to your question. This would be incredibly useful, and it seems like it would really be possible at this point, but the cost of answering the question might make it infeasible to offer such a service.

Hopefully these costs come down in the near future and we can create such things. I can only imagine asking it questions like, “What’s really happening with such and such current event?” or “Why does the wealthiest nation on earth let its children go hungry?” or “How can we escape the soul-crushing grip of late-stage capitalism and finally be free to just live and make art and learn to relax together and be a real community?”

Until then,