Talk shows applause are manipulating you, says GPT - try it yourself!

I recently watched an interesting political talk show about the gap between rich and poor and the Gini coefficient. The show had many competent guests from both sides - the left, the rich and the less fortunate. All in all, it seemed quite balanced.

After a while, however, I noticed my tendency to "shift" to the left. As I thought about it and watched the arguments go back and forth, I realised that I hadn't been consciously focusing on something important: The applause of the audience!

I started paying close attention to the applause alongside the talk and noticed one thing for sure - the audience was leaning left on wealth distribution and less on liberating the economy.

Without any judgement on whether this is good or bad, I just found it fascinating and became curious if we could automate this analysis using AI. I'm pretty sure it can find even more interesting patterns than humans can. And that is what I want to share with you here.

Disclaimer:
Although this post may sound political, it's not. You can see it as an application of AI to gain more visibility into the intricacies of our society and also the media. It is up to you to decide what to do with this information.

If you recall my previous post, the three things I love about AI—the last one being transparency. This is exactly what AI can help with here.

But why talk so much, try it for yourself. Here is how.

1. Choose a YouTube talk show that has an applauding audience.
2. Transcribe the show.
3. Provide the transcript to ChatGPT and ask it to identify patterns using a specific prompt.
4. Observe the results.

Step 1: Select any YouTube talk show that features an applauding audience—it doesn’t matter if it’s satire, comedy, etc. You can also simply ask Perplexity.

Transcribe it using any tool you like, for example, Tactiq.

Copy the text somewhere.

Step 2: Open GPT and paste this prompt, adding the transcript at the end of the prompt.

You are tasked with analyzing a transcript from a talk show that includes audience applause. Your goal is to determine the positioning of the audience based on the transcript and applause cues, and to provide a critical analysis of this positioning.

Please follow these steps to complete the analysis:

1. Carefully read through the entire transcript, paying close attention to the content of the dialogue and the placement of applause cues.

2. Identify patterns in when and how often the audience applauds. Consider:
   - What topics or statements trigger applause?
   - Are there any noticeable differences in the intensity or duration of applause?
   - Are there moments where applause might be expected but doesn't occur?

3. Analyze the content of the dialogue in relation to the applause:
   - What viewpoints or ideas seem to resonate with the audience?
   - Are there any controversial statements that receive or don't receive applause?
   - How do the host and guests react to the applause?

4. Based on your analysis, determine the likely positioning of the audience:
   - What political, social, or ideological leanings does the audience seem to have?
   - How homogeneous or diverse does the audience appear to be in their views?
   - Are there any indications of the audience's demographics or background?

5. Be critical in your analysis:
   - Consider potential biases in the show's format or guest selection
   - Reflect on how the audience's positioning might influence the content and direction of the show
   - Think about any potential manipulation of audience reactions or selective editing of applause

6. Provide your analysis in the following format:
   <analysis>
   [Your detailed analysis here, addressing all the points above]
   </analysis>

   <audience_positioning>
   [A concise summary of the audience's likely positioning]
   </audience_positioning>

   <critical_reflection>
   [Your critical reflections on the implications of this positioning and any potential biases or manipulations]
   </critical_reflection>

Remember to base your analysis solely on the content provided in the transcript. Avoid making assumptions not supported by the text. Be thorough, objective, and critical in your assessment.

Here is the transcript you will be analyzing:

<<< COPY THE TRANSCRIPT HERE >>>

And finally, analyse the results:

I did this exercise on a popular talk show and this is what I got - interesting, isn't it?

Finally, I would like to point out that I am neither for nor against anything here. I'm just showing the potential of technology to give us the tools to see things we would never have been able to see before. And I love it :)