The issue, as I think you point out, is less whether or not you use these tools, but why. A.I. like any other piece of technology has certain strengths and weakness. I dig how you highlighted the way that many seem caught up in the apparent superpowers of being able to generate a large quantity without expending much energy. Reminds me of what Andy Crouch writes about bikes vs. cars. We often think only of the pros (go further with less effort!) rather than the perhaps less apparent drawbacks (roads crowded with traffic, pollution, noise, car accidents, etc.). Wonder who crafts those narratives? Take a look at the market. Same thing is happening here.
What I have enjoyed about your takes from the beginning of this whole A.I. explosion is that you look beneath the surface of the shiny new tech. I’m hopeful that students in those oh so formative high school and college years can see it too. I keep finding myself convinced that we need to spend more time explaining the value of the struggle. Not in a masochistic way, but in a way that helps point out that without struggle, there is not growth.
Thank you so much! Though recently retired, I have one foot in the educational world still, and have been utterly dismayed by the plethora of "let's use Chatgpt in the writing classes!" discourse, along the lines of "if you can't beat'em, join'em!" which I think down through history has been the rallying call of a lot of very, very bad decisions.
Thank you for this article. It gave me back some hope. This issue bothers me in a way that is difficult to explain. I write and I teach and I see how this hype is erasing the human willingness to engage in life, savour experiences, play with sensibilities, learn about differences, build a sensibility, and value human intelligence. It's very disheartening. I hope that some of us can find another way and preserve our human brilliance. Thanks, again.
H.E.R.’s BET performance of “We Made It.” You have to watch all of it to feel the power of the solo around the 3:15 mark. She also has an amazing performance of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Thanks to you and the other commenters. Fascinating discussions, but I'm hoping that AI won't become the menace we all fear, and is just today's focus of fear.
You asked about guitar solos. While not a solo, but more of a duet, I have long thought that the series of exchanges between Neil Young and Steven Stills in the 4-Way Street version of Southern Man is an exceptional example of the best use of the instrument to convey the anger and frustration that are the theme of the song. Wish I could have been there to see the theatrics that went with this performance.
I write novels, but in my better-paying job, I also teach social media and AI for marketers. As such I'm deeply entrenched in trying to understand the technology and its possibilities. What it can do for writers is pretty amazing, IF you think about it as an idea generator, researcher, and time saver. I don't believe it can truly replace human creativity, but after a lot of playing around with it, I really believe it can help BOOST it. It can break through blocks and give an author new options to work with. For example, in a novel I'm working on now I used it to:
1. help me understand how hacking into computers might work in very restrictive settings
2. translate dialogue into a cockney accent (and which I'll backup by having British readers verify), which I previously wouldn't have even attempted
3. help me quickly come up with timelines for events that occurred in specific years which helps me cut down on initial research and helps me hone in on the right areas to research further
4. help me explore the options that might be available if my characters make certain plot choices, giving me new ideas to work with.
Just a small sample of the possibilities. It DOES help me work faster and generate faster, not how the 97 books guy does, but in the sense that it helps me break through blocks and get out of my own way. It also helps keep me excited about the story when I might have previously been frustrated because I wasn't sure where to take the plot.
We're in the super early stages of AI and who knows how it may all shake out (and many of those paths are admittedly terrifying). It's certainly not going away and it will drastically change everything in the next couple years. As such, I am a firm believer that people will be more deeply impacted by it if they don't understand it and don't care about/want to work with it, than if they lean in and try to find ways to help enhance their work.
I am optimistic in the same way that Anna describes in an earlier comment. I think it will make human-made artistic endeavors more valued, not less.
Terrific article—thanks. It reminded me of a recent tweet that put AI in perspective for me. Someone tweeted, “don’t come to
me about AI until someone invents a printer that works.” Struggling with yet another paper jam, I concur.
Great article, John. Loved it.
The issue, as I think you point out, is less whether or not you use these tools, but why. A.I. like any other piece of technology has certain strengths and weakness. I dig how you highlighted the way that many seem caught up in the apparent superpowers of being able to generate a large quantity without expending much energy. Reminds me of what Andy Crouch writes about bikes vs. cars. We often think only of the pros (go further with less effort!) rather than the perhaps less apparent drawbacks (roads crowded with traffic, pollution, noise, car accidents, etc.). Wonder who crafts those narratives? Take a look at the market. Same thing is happening here.
What I have enjoyed about your takes from the beginning of this whole A.I. explosion is that you look beneath the surface of the shiny new tech. I’m hopeful that students in those oh so formative high school and college years can see it too. I keep finding myself convinced that we need to spend more time explaining the value of the struggle. Not in a masochistic way, but in a way that helps point out that without struggle, there is not growth.
Thank you so much! Though recently retired, I have one foot in the educational world still, and have been utterly dismayed by the plethora of "let's use Chatgpt in the writing classes!" discourse, along the lines of "if you can't beat'em, join'em!" which I think down through history has been the rallying call of a lot of very, very bad decisions.
Thank you for this article. It gave me back some hope. This issue bothers me in a way that is difficult to explain. I write and I teach and I see how this hype is erasing the human willingness to engage in life, savour experiences, play with sensibilities, learn about differences, build a sensibility, and value human intelligence. It's very disheartening. I hope that some of us can find another way and preserve our human brilliance. Thanks, again.
H.E.R.’s BET performance of “We Made It.” You have to watch all of it to feel the power of the solo around the 3:15 mark. She also has an amazing performance of Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
Thanks to you and the other commenters. Fascinating discussions, but I'm hoping that AI won't become the menace we all fear, and is just today's focus of fear.
You asked about guitar solos. While not a solo, but more of a duet, I have long thought that the series of exchanges between Neil Young and Steven Stills in the 4-Way Street version of Southern Man is an exceptional example of the best use of the instrument to convey the anger and frustration that are the theme of the song. Wish I could have been there to see the theatrics that went with this performance.
I write novels, but in my better-paying job, I also teach social media and AI for marketers. As such I'm deeply entrenched in trying to understand the technology and its possibilities. What it can do for writers is pretty amazing, IF you think about it as an idea generator, researcher, and time saver. I don't believe it can truly replace human creativity, but after a lot of playing around with it, I really believe it can help BOOST it. It can break through blocks and give an author new options to work with. For example, in a novel I'm working on now I used it to:
1. help me understand how hacking into computers might work in very restrictive settings
2. translate dialogue into a cockney accent (and which I'll backup by having British readers verify), which I previously wouldn't have even attempted
3. help me quickly come up with timelines for events that occurred in specific years which helps me cut down on initial research and helps me hone in on the right areas to research further
4. help me explore the options that might be available if my characters make certain plot choices, giving me new ideas to work with.
Just a small sample of the possibilities. It DOES help me work faster and generate faster, not how the 97 books guy does, but in the sense that it helps me break through blocks and get out of my own way. It also helps keep me excited about the story when I might have previously been frustrated because I wasn't sure where to take the plot.
We're in the super early stages of AI and who knows how it may all shake out (and many of those paths are admittedly terrifying). It's certainly not going away and it will drastically change everything in the next couple years. As such, I am a firm believer that people will be more deeply impacted by it if they don't understand it and don't care about/want to work with it, than if they lean in and try to find ways to help enhance their work.
I am optimistic in the same way that Anna describes in an earlier comment. I think it will make human-made artistic endeavors more valued, not less.
thank you. ❤️
Eric Clapton playing Crossroads live on the Wheels of Fire album as a member of the band Cream. It just builds nicely in intensity.