The Proust Questionnaire, ChatGPT as Me, and Me

But enough about me, what do you think of me?

AI Attribution

✏️🧑🏽🤖🛠️ : Human text w/ AI edits
✏️🤖 : AI text, unedited and quoted as GPT
📸 🧑🏽: Human photography and digital collage
🎤🧑🏽: Human narration

The ineffable Michelle Richmond challenged my Substack class to complete the Proust Questionnaire. This questionnaire is meant to be an eazy breezy way for readers to get to know someone, yet here I am, approaching the task with the enthusiasm of a wet cat. There’s something about questionnaires that brings out a conflicted side of me.

It's like being asked, "How was your weekend?" I freeze because there are too many ways to interpret the question. Memories flood in: sliding a well-worn happy hour token across the counter, studded diva heels on pavement, and the cracking sound of my woo-hoo voice as I lose track of time. How do I feel about the weekend when it’s no longer the weekend and Monday is already sapping my energy? My answers would have been different during the actual weekend, but now, I’m caught between FOMO for a fading self or regret over some less than stellar choices. And then there’s the nagging feeling that my real life, the true me, belongs in the NSFW category.

Seriously, to extract any useful information about me from a personality questionnaire, I would need to 1) be objective about myself, and 2) repeat the same questionnaire over a significant period of time. I’m stuck at the first requirement, and I’m baffled how others accomplish it.

But it seems questionnaires are a necessary evil, especially if corporate America has it’s way. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve raged at personality quizzes during online job applications. Can I just give them my mom’s number and call it a day?

I’ve decided to conduct a little experiment to see if I can make this challenge more fun. I’ll ask ChatGPT to pretend it’s me, and then I’ll counter with my own actual responses.

The task for GPT: Read an old version of my About page and the Proust Questionnaire. Then, from my point of view, answer five of the most interesting questions.

My task: Try to ignore what ChatGPT says and just answer the questions already!

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

• GPT: Perfect happiness for me is a blend of personal fulfillment and collective harmony. It's about being in a space where I can express myself creatively and advocate for LGBTQ+ issues, all while seeing those around me thrive in their own identities and pursuits.

• ME: Ugh. I hate the word perfect. My guess is that it starts with not having to work for a living. If we democratize anything, can it be time, please? Assuming it was our own in the first place, I’m sure loads of people would like their time back

2. When and where were you happiest?

• GPT: During my time at St. John's College, where I was surrounded by diverse thoughts and had the freedom to explore complex theories deeply.

• ME: I try to stay away from seeing happiness on a spectrum. However, there are a couple moments where I recall having a strong mind-body connection. One was on a bike ride in Santa Fe—me on a 10-speed bicycle, gliding along a quiet, open road. The other was during a hot yoga session—standing bow pose, a momentary sense of falling forward, then feeling a neutral, open suspension.

3. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

• GPT: Publishing "Queer, Wired, and Inspired" which melds technology, queerness, and posthumanist ideas in a narrative that has reached many.

• ME: Maybe this is shallow, but I’m really proud of my lifestyle changes after undergrad. I quit smoking, stopped eating meat, and lost 80 pounds.

4. Who are your heroes in real life?

• GPT: The everyday activists who tirelessly advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and mental health awareness.

• ME: I think hero is too heavy a word, especially if you didn’t like the “who do you want to be when you grow up” question in grade school. I’d rephrase this as “Who has qualities that you think about when you make choices?” To this I would say, anyone in my family or close circle of friends.

5. What is your greatest regret?

• GPT: Not using my voice sooner in my career to advocate for marginalized communities.

• ME: First, I wish I’d come out of the closet sooner. Literally no one was surprised. They might not have liked it, but the truth was always there. Second, and somewhat contradictory, I regret that I missed some of the formative years in my little brother and sister’s lives. I had to leave home when I was 16 so I could do some of my own growing up, but it was a difficult choice.

  

  Well, Enough About Me

  What do you think of me? What do you think of the Proust Questionnaire? Do you like the ChatGPT responses or mine more?

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