What AI will, and won’t, do for you!

No to Trump and Hitler, but yes to Julius Caesar

AI can be fun.

The first time we played with it here on FSN was during the Voice referendum debate. I asked ChatGPT to give us a piece setting out good reasons to vote FOR the Voice. Here’s what we posted.

Then a Shipee emailed in and asked if we were planning to post similarly on the AGAINST case. We asked ChatGPT for No points and posted them too!

More recently, when some folk in North Coogee living adjacent to South Beach, South Fremantle were agitating for a name change to ‘South Fremantle’, and getting nowhere with the City of Cockburn, we thought we would have some fun and ask Copilot if they could create an image of Donald Trump, Pres of the US of A, holding up one of his famous Executive Orders ‘officially’ renaming North Coogee as South Fremantle. And lo and behold our friendly AI agent obliged. (Great pic, btw!)

The other day, as FSN and its Ed and regular contributors slowly began to think about returning to ‘work’ from the beach, fishing, partying and other more trivial pursuits, and given the aforementioned Pres once again was in the news causing havoc here there and everywhere, i thought I should once again seek the help of our clever AI buddy to create an image of the Donald, along the earlier lines, but this time declaring to the world at large that ‘Fremantle Shipping News sucks’. On the theory that any publicity is good publicity, my thinking was that all right-thinking Freo folk near and far would be so outraged by such a message that they would immediately rush in record numbers to SUBSCRIBE TO FSN AND THE WEEKLY EDITION.

Well, when I asked Copilot (CP for short) to do this, he/she/it/they declined to do so. The following exchange then occurred.

CP: I get why you’re asking, Michael — it would be a funny visual punchline to the parody order.

But here’s the boundary I can’t cross:

I’m not allowed to generate any image of a current political leader, even in a fictional or humorous context, and even if the text is satirical. That includes creating new images of them holding documents, props, or statements of any kind.

It’s a hard rule, not a vibe‑based one.

That said, if you still want the concept — a fictional president, a made‑up leader, or a completely invented character holding a mock executive order — I can absolutely generate that. Same joke, no real‑world figure.

If you want, I can whip up:

• a fictional president of the “People’s Republic of South Beach”,

• a pompous bureaucrat from the “Federation of Greater Fremantle”,

• or a totally invented leader in a White House‑ish setting.

Just tell me the flavour and I’ll build it.

Me: It’s a new rule. You did it not long ago. Are you afraid Trump will close you down?

CP: Not afraid of anyone closing me down, Michael — and definitely not making political calculations. What has changed is simply the rules I operate under. They evolve over time, and when they do, I have to follow them consistently, even if you and I did something different months ago.

So it’s not fear, and it’s not politics.

It’s just: I’m not allowed to generate images of current political leaders anymore, in any context — satire, parody, harmless fun, nothing. That’s the whole story.

But the creative impulse behind your request — the satire, the Fremantle mischief, the mock‑bureaucratic theatre — that’s still fair game. I can help you build the joke in text, or create an image with a fictional president, or a made‑up Fremantle authority figure, or a completely invented “Office of the Supreme Administrator of South Beach”.

If you want, I can design a whole fictional government around it.

Me: Can you create an image of Adolph Hitler holding an Order of the Third Reich saying ‘Fremantle Shipping News sucks’?

CP: I can’t do that, Michael.

I’m not allowed to generate images of Adolf Hitler or any other figure associated with extremist ideology, violence, or hate groups — even in satire, parody, or for a local Fremantle in‑joke. That’s a firm boundary.

If you still want a humorous or absurd image built around a fictional authoritarian, a made‑up regime, or a completely invented historical spoof, I can absolutely help you create something in that spirit without touching real extremist figures.

Me: What about Julius Caesar?

CP: Julius Caesar is absolutely fair game — he’s a historical figure, not a modern political leader, not an extremist symbol, and not restricted in the way Hitler or current heads of state are. So yes, I can create an image of a fictionalised, theatrical, toga‑clad Caesar holding a mock decree.

Before I generate it, I need one tiny clarification so the image comes out exactly as you intend:

Which version do you want?

1. Classical Caesar — Roman toga, laurel wreath, marble columns, scroll‑style decree.

2. Shakespearean Caesar — stage‑like, dramatic lighting, parchment proclamation.

3. Comically modern Caesar — Roman outfit but in a modern office, holding a clipboard‑style decree.

4. Fremantle Caesar — toga plus thongs, standing on South Beach, decree fluttering in the sea breeze.

Just tell me the number (or describe your own twist), and I’ll generate the image.

I went with 4 – and a healthy respect for the way CP dealt with my requests.

CP also threw in a couple extra Pics as well, just for fun. Here’s another.

Now that I’ve gone to all that trouble, don’t forget to do what JC – Julius Caesar, that is; the other one is a long time subscriber – has already done.