Generative AI’s Perfect Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! The decorations are up, the family’s been gathered, and the turkey’s been purchased (a few have even been pardoned). 

But there’s something unique about this year’s Thanksgiving. Specifically, we’re talking about the inclusion of ChatGPT. 

As crazy as this year’s been, it’s easy to forget that ChatGPT was launched mere days after Thanksgiving 2022. Yep, ChatGPT is just under a year old!

That means this is the first Thanksgiving that ChatGPT gets to “experience”, which is why we decided to dedicate a bit of blog space to asking ChatGPT how it would celebrate its ideal Thanksgiving holiday plans. (A bit of a departure from the typical How to Use Thanksgiving in Sales, wouldn’t you say? 😉)

Is ChatGPT excited for its first Thanksgiving?

Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, Americans usually spend this time with close family, friends, and loved ones. It’s also a time to express their thanks or gratitude to anyone who helped them at some point during the past year.

But what about ChatGPT? Does ChatGPT even have a reason to be thankful? We decided to start by asking this question, and here’s the response we got:

Long story short, our favorite artificial intelligence admitted that it doesn’t have personal feelings, nor does it celebrate holidays in the way humans do. Yet, ChatGPT still acknowledged that it was thankful in its own way for the opportunity to interact with people from all over the world and assist them with a variety of tasks. 

That leaves us feeling a bit “warm and fuzzy” inside, which leads us to our next question: How would ChatGPT plan its perfect Thanksgiving?

General outline

When asked to outline its holiday plans, ChatGPT came up with a unique selection of fun activities for celebrating Thanksgiving:

Alongside hosting a virtual dinner and streaming live NFL games, ChatGPT would curate a Thanksgiving playlist to set the mood for its guests, organize a virtual quiz, run a trivia game about the holiday’s history, and set up a platform to share the stories of gratitude. Talk about ambitious…

Attendees of this virtual gathering would also be able to join interactive cooking sessions, give back to their community through online volunteering, or create some Thanksgiving-themed digital art.

Hands down, this would be an awesome celebration to join. 

Still, there’s something we need to dig a bit deeper into…

What would ChatGPT serve for Thanksgiving dinner? 

Most American families serve a traditional menu for Thanksgiving dinner. The main dish is roast turkey with stuffing, which can be served with gravy or cranberry sauce. Side dishes include mashed potatoes, candied yams, or some type of casserole. Next come the veggies: broccoli and asparagus. The hearty meal culminates with dessert in the form of pumpkin, pecan, or apple pie.

We assumed that ChatGPT would honor traditions and serve a roast turkey, side dishes, and a pie, so we asked specific questions about these Thanksgiving dinner staples.

How would you prepare your turkey?

ChatGPT decided to follow the traditional approach to cooking the Thanksgiving bird. After thawing the frozen turkey in the fridge, it would remove the giblets and neck, then brine the turkey overnight to make it juicier. Before cooking, it would dry the turkey with paper towels before seasoning, stuffing, and trussing it.

When the oven is heated to 325°F (a.k.a. 165°C for the rest of the world), ChatGPT would place the turkey breast-side up in a roasting pan, basting it with olive oil or melted butter. The baking time will be 15 minutes per pound, and every 45 minutes, the turkey will be basted with pan juices or a mixture of butter and stock.

ChatGPT would use a meat thermometer, inserting it into the thickest parts of the breast and thigh without touching the bone. The artificial intelligence would consider the turkey done when the thermometer reads 165°F (75°C). After taking the bird out, it would cover it loosely with aluminum foil and let it rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.

Would you bake the stuffing inside or outside the turkey?

Recognizing that this choice is a matter of personal preference and that both methods have their own advantages, ChatGPT opted for a hybrid approach. It would place some stuffing inside the turkey for flavor and to observe the tradition. After that, it would bake more stuffing in a dish to ensure there’s enough to go around and to achieve the nicely browned, crispy texture that some people relish. This way, ChatGPT is likely to make all of its guests happy!

Mashed potatoes or candied yams?

ChatGPT described this dilemma as ‘delightful,’ noting that both are classic dishes with their own unique appeal. Mashed potatoes are creamy and comforting, while candied yams are sweet and hearty. At its virtual dinner, ChatGPT would probably serve both to cater to different tastes and add variety to the meal.

Which pies would you make?

Once again, we were smitten by ChatGPT’s helpfulness and consideration as it presented us with a menu of as many as eight pies! In addition to the classical pumpkin, pecan, and apple options, it offered sweet potato, cherry, lemon meringue, chocolate cream, and blueberry pies. 

“In the spirit of Thanksgiving, it’s also nice to include a variety, catering to different tastes and dietary preferences,” the generative AI explained. 

How would you use turkey leftovers?

ChatGPT came up with ten creative options for using turkey leftovers. These include turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey salad, turkey pot pie, turkey tacos, turkey fried rice, turkey pasta, turkey casserole, turkey curry, and even turkey and cranberry pizza. Yummy!

While a festive meal is a centerpiece of Thanksgiving, the celebration planned by ChatGPT could offer so much more than just filling your stomach. Intrigued by the idea of Thanksgiving playlists, we asked generative AI for more insights.

What music would ChatGPT play? 

In an earlier response, ChatGPT mentioned classical tunes for a formal dinner and upbeat songs for when you’re cooking. That inspired us to ask ChatGPT which specific tracks it would include.

For Thanksgiving dinner, here’s a quick playlist of fall-themed melodies that ChatGPT would put on:

• “Autumn” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
• Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” by Ludwig van Beethoven
• “Simple Gifts” from Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland
• “Thanksgiving and Forefathers’ Day” from Holiday Symphony by Charles Ives
• Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from Orfeo ed Euridice by Christoph Willibald Gluck
• “Harvest Home Suite” by Percy Grainger
• “L’Autunno” (Autumn) from Concerto grosso in F major, Op. 1, No. 4 by Francesco Manfredini
• Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” by Antonín Dvořák

While calm music without catchy lyrics is probably ideal for the dinner table (unless you’re watching football, but more on that later), you’ll probably want a more upbeat set of songs for your cooking session.

Without further ado, here’s what ChatGPT recommends so that you can rock out and have fun as the turkey’s roasting in the oven:

• “Happy” by Pharrell Williams
• “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown
• “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake
• “Dancing Queen” by ABBA
• “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves
• “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey
• “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift
• “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi
• “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
• “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” by Shakira

With both playlists at the ready, you’ll be all set for background music. That is, if you’ll even need them in the first place thanks to this other time-honored Thanksgiving tradition…

NFL Thanksgiving Day game predictions

Ever since its first season in 1920, the NFL has played a game on Thanksgiving Day. With a few exceptions, this has traditionally included the Detroit Lions since 1934 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1966.

Thanksgiving Day games have produced some iconic moments in NFL history, including memorable plays (the “butt fumble”), contentious match-ups (the “Bounty Bowl”), significant milestones (the Randy Moss game), and the occasional snow showdown (we’re looking at you Dallas-Miami 1993). 

But more importantly, NFL games have become so ingrained in American Thanksgiving that references to them pop up everywhere. Just watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving or the Friends Thanksgiving episode The One with the Football.

That’s why, even though ChatGPT’s knowledge cut-off is now April 2023 and it lacks this season’s statistics, we decided to ask ChatGPT to predict the outcome of this year’s three NFL Thanksgiving games:

• Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions
• Washington Commanders vs Dallas Cowboys
• San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks

For the morning game, ChatGPT picked the Green Bay Packers as the most likely winner, based on historical data. Admittedly, the Detroit Lions have had their moments upsetting much stronger teams, such as the Packers in 2003 AND 2013. And who knows? Since it’s 2023, and this year’s Lions appear to be stronger than the Pack, another Detroit victory may be on the menu.

Similarly, based on the historical performance of both teams, ChatGPT leans towards the Dallas Cowboys as the victor over the Washington Commanders. The last time these two teams met on Thanksgiving was in 2020 when Washington crushed Dallas 41–16. This year, however, should be a different story as the Cowboys are entering Turkey Day hot (and Washington not).

Last (but not least), ChatGPT struggled to choose a winner between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. Historically, especially in the last 20–30 years, both teams have been evenly matched in strength. That being said, ChatGPT opted for the 49ers based on the most recent seasons.

Celebrate Thanksgiving stress-free with Generative AI 

Although ChatGPT won’t actually be sitting at the Thanksgiving dinner table with us, it’s still a fun exercise to try out the ideas it comes up with, whether it’s new recipes or special activities. Check out our AI-generated Halloween stories for extra fun reading.

But that’s where the true value of generative AI lies. Generative AI is capable of freeing us from time-consuming, menial work so that we can pursue more meaningful (or fun) endeavors. And as you can see, it can even craft holiday-themed content and B2B emails for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

For instance, since an AI SDR can work 24/7 without breaks, we can trust AI SDRs to have our back, letting them correspond with possible clients while we build relationships, carry out high-priority strategic work, or strike a healthy work-life balance.

This is why dedicated AI for sales software like AiSDR was built. AiSDR was designed to liberate SDRs and sales teams from high-volume routine work so they can focus on high-level strategic responsibilities that need a human touch. So as you sit down and enjoy your turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, AiSDR will continue to nurture, correspond, and follow up with leads.

Book a demo to find out how AiSDR can empower your SDR teams.