AI, a synonym for shite.
THOUGHTS ON #16: GENERATIVE ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
Apologies for this post, it’s basically a boring rant about AI, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and this just slipped out of my head and onto my keyboard last weekend - an instinctive disdain for the whole fucking shit show. Back to videogames and adventures next time…
The advantages of artificial intelligence, in fields such as medical research, are, at least in my option, morally difficult to argue against. If treatments for illnesses can be developed swifter, then that’s great. There are other ways in which it can help people too, countless ways, I’m sure, such as enabling people to read easier, or comprehend information, or even to give them a voice, but this kind of altruistic AI isn’t what I’m referring to here - this monster has many tentacles, and its long reach has already infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives, and the aspect that troubles me most is its effect on creative pursuits. The shunning of new tools is a recognisable behaviour in the generation prior to a new invention, people argued that photography would ruin painting and that typewriters would ruin handwriting, for example, and similar arguments were likely made for almost every breakthrough… in most cases these concerns are overcome, new artforms or skillsets are developed and the original remains, but with AI, it isn’t just an enhancement (although I agree that it does have its uses in this regard), or a tool to make things more efficient, it’s often a replacement, and it’s a tool for cultural theft on a global scale, especially in terms of writing and traditional artistry.
I work in the art department of a school, and for years I’ve witnessed an endless parade of students pass through the system. Some make great work, others perhaps less so, but what they’ve all done is create - using their own minds. Now we’re seeing AI creep in and rather than it being used to assemble some research or whatever, it’s being used as the primary means of creating (by some), bypassing the human element entirely, and it’s rather heart-breaking to see. When questioning one child about how he had suddenly been able to create a “masterpiece” a few weeks into his course when his sketchbook clearly didn’t demonstrate any development of his skills, he waved off our queries with the dismissiveness characteristic of an aloof teen. He couldn’t explain why he had given all the dogs in his paintings more than four legs, or why the people had dozens of fingers on each hand. He could have argued that it was an artistic decision, but he hadn’t thought it thought enough to even back up his laziness with appropriate lies. Watching him get lost in his attempt to trick us was strange, and it just emphasised how important it is to put in the work for something. There is no satisfaction in clicking a button to produce a final piece, who are you impressing by this? It’s a lie which will eat away at you. At least if you work on something and it culminates in a finished project, no matter the quality, there is a sense of satisfaction gained for having put the effort in, for having learned along the way, for refining your skills, and achieving a sense of pride. Generating something that you hold up as your own which has been produced with AI is a hollow thing, and while it might have an appeal to some, initially, eventually the veneer will crack, and the emptiness will be visible to all.
Overhearing the children speak about how great it is that they no longer have to try, or even do the work themselves, especially so for the more academic subjects, well, it’s flat out depressing. I’m not saying the youth should suffer for their work because we had to, but I sort of am. My generation had it easier than our parents in regard to day to day living, and they had it easier than their parents, and so on, but if any of us had an idea, we had to do it ourselves. I see the benefits of making certain artforms easier to access, overcoming complex software being a prime example, but what is the point in creating anything, if the act of creating itself is farmed out to some data centre half way across the world? I’m all for making life easier, when I wrote my dissertation, for example, I was ecstatic to find a website that would format my references for me, but I still had to go and read all the papers and books and absorb the relevant information in order to develop my thoughts, opinions, and arguments, before writing the thing damn thing. What benefit would I receive if I had something like ChatGPT do the whole thing for me? Fuck all.
I find it so sad to think that not only are people going to lose the ability to think creatively for themselves, but that eventually, people will think that work produced by AI is worth reading. When all the authors are gone and the skill to write original text is gone, all that will remain will be the rehashed and recycled words of the dead, and they’ll become ever more stale as they get remixed and rewritten by the soulless AI machines.
Again, I’m all for conveniences, and I know there are benefits to AI across almost every field of interest and industry, but there is absolutely no need for it to replace human creativity, especially when it comes to the written word. I started writing around the time I went to University and for me the weekly 500 word summaries, the essays each semester, and the dissertation at the end of it all kickstarted my passion for the written word. In 2016 I started working on my first proper piece of fiction - almost ten years later and I’m putting the final touches on what has become a hefty manuscript for a multi-book story. Chipping away at this project for the past nine years has been as much a source of enjoyment as any thoughts of eventually finishing it. Puzzling out a the chains of events, the reasoning behind a characters actions, the histories of the locations, and everything else that needs to be pondered is what provides me joy in writing. The same can be said for the blog, writing about the places I’ve visited, the games I’ve played, my photography project, and just generally about the things that interest me… AI could do all this, but it absolutely will not. There is no place for AI in what I do. I cannot see the appeal of having it generate work for me - I find the idea of using it myself utterly repellent, and I will avoid it like the plague for as long as I am able - and if that means I get stuck in the past, then so be it, but at least I’ll know that what I make is made by me.
Also sod off if you think these are indicative of AI in writing - — , : …
Does the AI boil your blood too, or are you all for having your creativity farmed out? I wonder how long it’ll be before its too hard to discern - to some that’ll be proof that the human element is no longer required, but to me, that’ll be a sign of the death of culture. Ho-hum… nothing we can do about it, eh!
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Jamie B
Completely agree with the sentiment. We are at a dangerous crossroads in the world at the moment, and AI is the signpost. We need to restrict it's use or human society will be unrecognisable in 20 years