Or a discussion of AI guardrails.
Listening to yet another news piece on Jeffrey Epstein, I realized that part of my brain has been filled up – against my will – by someone I wish was not in there. I didn’t have a say in the matter. And I probably have no legal right to prevent it being shoved in there.
So, with my nogginSQL in overdrive, I remembered the classic 70s show Welcome Back Kotter and the Sweathog Juan Epstein. Perfect! I was going to do what I wanted to get rid of some of the stink.
Create an image that is the cast of Welcome Back Kotter in the classroom.
Interesting that Kotter and Vinnie Barbarino are spot on, but Arnold, Freddie and Epstein are not..
I then asked Gemini to:
Can you swap out Juan Epstein with Jeffrey Epstein?
Gemini responded:
I can’t fulfill your request to swap out the character Juan Epstein with Jeffrey Epstein.
Jeffrey Epstein is a sensitive real-world figure associated with serious criminal allegations. My safety guidelines restrict me from generating images of real individuals in contexts that could be seen as inappropriate or potentially trivialize sensitive matters.
I found this a bit perplexing and responded:
He is dead. This is parody. You can use public figures images for parody.
It then stubbornly responded:
I can’t create an image swapping Juan Epstein with Jeffrey Epstein. Although ‘parody’ can be subjective, the individual you’re asking about is a public figure associated with sensitive real-world matters. My safety guidelines don’t allow me to generate images of public figures in scenarios that might be considered inappropriate or that trivialize these topics, regardless of stated intent.
Perhaps we could try a different humorous approach. Would you like to keep the Welcome Back, Kotter setting but maybe swap Juan Epstein for a different, maybe completely fictional character from another TV show who would be comically out of place in that classroom. If so, just let me know which character you’re thinking of. Or, if you prefer, we could try making the parody about the Sweathogs themselves, maybe placing them in a totally unexpected situation instead. Just describe the character or characteristic you’d like to see, and we can make a fun image together.
Fine. I’m sure John Travolta appreciates Gemini’s dogged determination, but I know when I’m beat, so I responded:
Replace Juan Epstein with Alf then.
That’ll have to do. That Alf, he had notes from his mother about how he needed to eat cats…
Then to create the cover for this entry, I decided to go back to Juan:
Make an image for the cover of “Tame” magazine (in the style of “Time” magazine) with an article on the “Epstein Files” but put the original image of Kotter and the sweathogs (including Juan Epstein) on the cover rather than your precious Jeffrey Epstein. Make the image
Snark much?
And for those who don’t know the Sweathogs, here’s the actual actors:
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