How to outperform ChatGPT

Much of the magic of Curb Your Enthusiasm comes from the show being plotted but not scripted. The direction of the conversation is agreed in advance, after which the cast – mostly stand-up comedians and hence naturally good at extemporising – improvise the lines on the fly. This makes the show engagingly realistic even in the rare moments when it isn’t being funny.

In such ‘high-context’ communication, there is always a side-channel alongside the words which determines their real meaning, whether through tone of voice, facial or hand gestures or shared knowledge. This is why policing language is so dangerous – it is too easy to strip words of their context. Everything becomes a version of the 1952 Derek Bentley case, where five words, ‘Let him have it, Chris’ (which could mean either ‘fire the gun’ or ‘hand it over’), can be framed to suit the prosecution.