The Great Automatic Grammatizator

by Roald Dahl

The Great Automatic Grammatizator is a short, sharp, chilling story from Roald Dahl, the master of the shocking tale.

In The Great Automatic Grammatizator, Roald Dahl, one of the world's favourite authors, tells a sinister story about the darker side of human nature. Here, a powerful computer designed to help people starts to supplant them...

This story is taken from the short story collection Someone Like You, which includes seventeen other devious and shocking stories, featuring the wife who serves a dish that baffles the police; a curious machine that reveals the horrifying truth about plants; the man waiting to be bitten by the venomous snake asleep on his stomach; and others.

Roald Dahl, the brilliant and worldwide acclaimed author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and many more classics for children, also wrote scores of short stories for adults. These delightfully disturbing tales have often been turned into popular films, and as such, Roald Dahl's stories continue to make millions of readers shiver today.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Classics, Horror, Writing, British Literature

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2012

About the author

Roald Dahl was a beloved British author, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter pilot, best known for his enchanting and often darkly humorous children's books that have captivated generations of readers around the world. Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl led a life marked by adventure, tragedy, creativity, and enduring literary success. His vivid imagination and distinctive storytelling style have made him one of the most celebrated children's authors in modern literature.
Before becoming a writer, Dahl lived a life filled with excitement and hardship. He served as a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II, surviving a near-fatal crash in the Libyan desert. His wartime experiences and travels deeply influenced his storytelling, often infusing his works with a sense of danger, resilience, and the triumph of the underdog. After the war, he began writing for both adults and children, showing a rare versatility that spanned genres and age groups.
Dahl's children's books are known for their playful use of language, unforgettable characters, and a deep sense of justice, often pitting clever children against cruel or foolish adults. Some of his most iconic titles include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Witches. These works are filled with fantastical elements and moral undertones, empowering young readers to challenge authority, think independently, and believe in the impossible.
Equally acclaimed for his work for adults, Dahl wrote numerous short stories characterized by their macabre twists and dark humor. His stories were frequently published in magazines such as The New Yorker and later compiled into bestselling collections like Someone Like You and Kiss Kiss. He also wrote screenplays, including the James Bond film You Only Live Twice and the adaptation of Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Despite his literary success, Dahl was a complex and sometimes controversial figure, known for his strong opinions and difficult personality. Nonetheless, his books continue to be treasured for their wit, originality, and the sense of wonder they inspire. Many of his stories have been adapted into successful films, stage plays, and television specials, further cementing his legacy.
Dahl's impact on children's literature is immeasurable. His ability to connect with young readers through a mix of irreverence, heart, and imagination has made his stories timeless. Even after his death, his books remain in print and continue to be read by millions of children worldwide. His writing not only entertains but also encourages curiosity, courage, and compassion.
Roald Dahl's work lives on as a testament to the power of storytelling and the magic of a truly original voice. He remains a towering figure in literature whose creations continue to spark joy, mischief, and inspiration across generations.

Reviews

[Executionereniak]

AI writing stories and substituting authors being predicted in 1953? Boy did this age well.

[Julie Iversen Solheim]

!! Jeg måå lese resten av novellesamlingen, for denne likte jeg. Lest ifm. bibliotekarstudiet

[noah]

frighteningly actual and ahead of its time...

[Sarah]

That ending...

[michel liao]

High 3.5.

A fun and funny story but I wanted more from it. Not just implicitly questioning whether ChatGPT is good, but I wanted Knipe to question himself and what he's done with his creativity. Maybe offer an opinion?

[Bunny]

He predicted AI!!! Very good story, great ending

[Bex S]

4/10

I didn’t quite enjoy this one as much as The Landlady, I found it a bit slower but it still carried Roald Dahls characteristic writing.

I love that these short stories are polar opposites to what I had expected from reading his children’s fiction. I love that there’s always a twist at the end, with added humour in the middle.

Don’t feel I could say anything without giving anything away.

Love a bit of Roald Dahl and will go look for the collection of short stories.

[itchy]

25october2019

read as part of the collection someone like you.

[alison kit]

Terrifyingly ahead of its time..... Abolish AI

[Fatima Zahra]

Roald Dahl predicted AI before it became mainstream

[Toto De Angelis]

Une dystopie des années 50s devenue réalité. Car on arrête pas le progrès. Ni le mépris envers la romance - lorsqu’elle est rédigée par des femmes.

[Rohini Murugan]

Did not expect that dark ending from Roald Dahl!

[Dhanaaz]

It is a typical Dahl story. He so wonderfully convinces the reader of the authenticity of degradation and once one had agreed with him , he twists their ears. Love him.

[nojamms]

Can't believe this guy predicted Chat GPT and AI

[Courtney]

Story was mentioned in Jackie Carlise’s New Yorker article so I wanted to read it. Great parallel to current debate around A.I. and art.

[Pieterjan]

A timeless classic that remains surprisingly relevant today. Written in 1954, its exploration of automation and the commodification of creativity strikes a chord in our modern era of artificial intelligence. As we witness AI-generated content and automated writing assistants, Dahl's cautionary tale serves as a thought-provoking reminder of the delicate balance between human ingenuity and technological progress. This short story is a must-read for those intrigued by the intersection of technology and creativity, and its themes will leave you pondering after you turn the final page of this short story.

[Gabriel]

La IA engloba varias áreas, una de ellas es Machine Learning, de la cual se desprende la IA generativa, que a su vez da lugar a los LLM Large Language Model que son los que redactan palabras, por así decirlo.. pero.. resulta.. que en 1961 Roald Dahl ya lo había pensado. El "Gran Gramatizador Automático" por su título en inglés narra la invención de una máquina que, al presionar los botones adecuados, era capaz de crear cuentos y novelas.

Sin duda Dahl fue un visionario de lo que ahora llamamos LLM.

[Abhishek Poojary]

Link to the story - https://lengish.com/texts/text-89.html

Its a story of a story writing computer on a quest to overtake all human writers.

This book was referenced in this blog post - http://www.thehypertext.com/2014/11/1...

The author of this blog post himself participated in NaNoGenMO - a challenge for building computer programs that write full length novels.

We are not far from becoming a dystopian society, albeit a fun one.

[Mayumi]

Que presciência. Ler um conto que narra o desenvolvimento de uma máquina capaz de gerar contos e romances "perfeitamente adequados" em plena era da inteligência artificial foi... uma experiência. Ao mesmo tempo que faz perguntas interessantes -- de quem é a autoria de um texto da máquina? é ético publicar? podemos comprar um autor? -- como eu estou do lado de cá do ano de 2025, eu já fui confrontada com essas perguntas e já pensei nas respostas antes de ler o conto. E além disso, já estamos vendo os debates sobre direitos autorais, as demissões de redatores, as discussões sobre voz autoral e até me pego me questionando se o texto que li foi escrito por uma pessoa mesmo. Em alguns pontos, Dahl tentou me fazer crer que este conto tinha sido escrito pela máquina -- o uso e palavras grandes foi muito especial --, mas seu final mostra a verdade: um autor em desespero perdendo seu lugar.

[Michael]

Did you know Roald Dahl predicted artificial intelligence based writing more than 70 years ago? While Dahl is better known for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, his short story “The Great Automatic Grammatizator” was a prescient prediction of the impact AI would have on the book industry, and even marketing.

Whether we like it or not, what Dahl predicted is happening right now. Pick up “The Great Automatic Grammatizator” and read it if you haven’t already. Dahl was truly ahead of his time.

[Amanda Artist Cat]

Screaming in horror and hilarity. Will be continuing to do so for the next a hundred and fifty years, give or take a few decades.
Rest in peace, fellow scribblers and authors. We're dead.

[Rey]

My rating: 5 stars

My entire childhood was spent reading nearly every book by Roald Dahl. From Charlie and the Chocolate factory to James and the Giant peach.
I can't remember a book or story by Roald Dahl I haven't read.
This particular short story was one I had to read for school. I loved every moment of this book.

Roald Dahl will always be one of the best writers to ever exist.

[T Davidovsky]

Every generation apparently has been concerned that too much bad literature is getting published.

Bad literature has always been published, gotten popular, earned publishers and authors a lot of money they don't deserve, spawned and moral panic, and then failed to stand the test of time. Roald Dahl's brand of moral panic does not impress me. I've heard it all before.

[CalReads]

A very fun & fitting end to the Penguin Archive collection of Dahl’s short stories. The pacing of this short is so perfect that the pages just slip you by. Easily could’ve read in one sitting if it weren’t for trying to read it on my break at work. My favourite ending to a short story from Roald Dahl.

[R R]

The book is by Roald Dahl and it is called The Great Automatic Grammatizator and other short stories. It has a nice collection of thirteen short stories, most of them are entertaining. I noticed that at the end of each story there is always a twist means that it is something that you did not expect it to happen. you will be reading the story and so excited to come to the end and then you will be surprised by something ironic at the end. My favorite short stories would probably be “Mrs. Bixby and the and the Colonel's Coat", “The great automatic Grammatizator”, and "The Umbrella Man". ''The Great Automatic Grammatizator'', is a sci-fi story about a young inventor named Knipe invents the machine that can produce a huge amount of typed stories within minutes, and he and his boss start this business which is making money by selling the stories they produced. The "Umbrella Man" is a funny story about an old man who waits for the rainy days to get free drinks from every bar in the town. "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat" is a thriller story about an old married couple and Mrs. Bixby cheats on her husband. Roald is a great author who always comes up with nice characters and creates a new story that is enjoyable. I would rate this piece a 4 out of 5 because some stories we not that interesting. But overall this book is has some great unexpected ending that are interesting. I recommend everyone to read it because it is or all ages.

[Nowsheen]

"Give us strength, oh Lord, to let our children starve."

That is how it ends. A short story eerily representative of gen-AI and the replacement of human authors with the machine. Reading this has made me question if time travel is possible. Or else, if Dahl was an actual seer.

[Abigail]

Reading this was punctured with many chuckles. Witty and delightful.

[Y]

Barmy and I love it. Digs into the rather creepy world of blogging and writing for profit that the internet has platformed. Perhaps unintentionally, perhaps not.

[Chris]

Particularly interesting in the context of GPT-3 et al.

[Forked Radish]

Tweeting bots accurately predicted back in the 1950's.