It's interesting... there are kind of two ways we could fall, and I would guess we get some kind of weird combination of the two.
1 - We totally drown in an endless sea of indistinguishable slop and our actual abilities of discernment atrophy to nothing,
Or, more pleasantly...
2 - we become familiar with a general inhuman nature of AI-generated creative work and can easily distinguish it from high-quality human work, and in the process we learn something about what it is to be human. What we can do that they can't.
Like I said, as much as they kind of run counter to each other, we will have some of both effects active for quite a while.
I'm glad I make fuzzy, quirky indie rock and not muzak, because I'd be totally sidelined already.
One of the most disturbing things about A.I. is that today, right now, is the least impactful A.I. will ever be going forward. We're not taking this threat even remotely seriously as a society, and my concern isn't the Terminator level "A.I. will wipe out humans" fanfic. But it sure as shit will make humans a lot less valuable and trash the earth in the process. It's so gross and disturbing.
I appreciate this piece, but I’d like to offer, not a disagreement, let’s just call it a different perspective.
First, I agree with the premise of “Don’t use AI to write” if that means don’t use AI exclusively to write. I think a society based solely around that notion could lose its humanity.
My pushback is the extremity of the premise. If the argument is really not to use AI at all, that’s where I might disagree. I understand where you’re coming from, but using the AI tool to help assist writing can be a helpful tool for some beyond just mere typo editing.
Take me for instance. I’m not a “real writer” in the sense that I’m not a trained professional. But does that mean that I shouldn’t write? I’m a blue collar dent guy that does manual labor for a living, but I also have ideas, perspectives and something to say worth hearing. If an AI can help people like me, craft our ideas and “rough” writing capabilities into a more coherent and effective form, should we not use it to help us?
On my home essay of my substack I divulge the fact that I use AI to help me and try to give an explanation for the process that better helped me come to grips as to whether it’s truly my voice. It’s about when Socrates was trying to discover who was the wisest from Plato’s Apology. In his quest he ended up speaking with poets and discovered that although they wrote beautiful things, they didn’t necessarily understand them. Their work came not from knowledge, but from inspiration. Genius, even. It reminded me that sometimes words flow from a place we can’t fully explain, even if they pass through unfamiliar hands on the way to the page.
I noted that I tip my cap to the “real writers” and have immeasurable admiration for them because they can do something that I cannot and I don’t pretend to be them.
My essays might be more articulate than I am, but they’re not smarter than what I believe or softer than what I’ve lived. And if AI can help someone like me get them out there, I think we should establish an appreciation for that aspect of the subject.
I will never use AI to write. It would feel like cheating. It is really depressing the direction we're going in...
It's interesting... there are kind of two ways we could fall, and I would guess we get some kind of weird combination of the two.
1 - We totally drown in an endless sea of indistinguishable slop and our actual abilities of discernment atrophy to nothing,
Or, more pleasantly...
2 - we become familiar with a general inhuman nature of AI-generated creative work and can easily distinguish it from high-quality human work, and in the process we learn something about what it is to be human. What we can do that they can't.
Like I said, as much as they kind of run counter to each other, we will have some of both effects active for quite a while.
I'm glad I make fuzzy, quirky indie rock and not muzak, because I'd be totally sidelined already.
(He said, while taking a break from using Google Veo to make a slop video for one of his songs to put on TikTok)
Extra delicious installment. I devoured every well-thought word. Thanks, Jason.
One of the most disturbing things about A.I. is that today, right now, is the least impactful A.I. will ever be going forward. We're not taking this threat even remotely seriously as a society, and my concern isn't the Terminator level "A.I. will wipe out humans" fanfic. But it sure as shit will make humans a lot less valuable and trash the earth in the process. It's so gross and disturbing.
I appreciate this piece, but I’d like to offer, not a disagreement, let’s just call it a different perspective.
First, I agree with the premise of “Don’t use AI to write” if that means don’t use AI exclusively to write. I think a society based solely around that notion could lose its humanity.
My pushback is the extremity of the premise. If the argument is really not to use AI at all, that’s where I might disagree. I understand where you’re coming from, but using the AI tool to help assist writing can be a helpful tool for some beyond just mere typo editing.
Take me for instance. I’m not a “real writer” in the sense that I’m not a trained professional. But does that mean that I shouldn’t write? I’m a blue collar dent guy that does manual labor for a living, but I also have ideas, perspectives and something to say worth hearing. If an AI can help people like me, craft our ideas and “rough” writing capabilities into a more coherent and effective form, should we not use it to help us?
On my home essay of my substack I divulge the fact that I use AI to help me and try to give an explanation for the process that better helped me come to grips as to whether it’s truly my voice. It’s about when Socrates was trying to discover who was the wisest from Plato’s Apology. In his quest he ended up speaking with poets and discovered that although they wrote beautiful things, they didn’t necessarily understand them. Their work came not from knowledge, but from inspiration. Genius, even. It reminded me that sometimes words flow from a place we can’t fully explain, even if they pass through unfamiliar hands on the way to the page.
I noted that I tip my cap to the “real writers” and have immeasurable admiration for them because they can do something that I cannot and I don’t pretend to be them.
My essays might be more articulate than I am, but they’re not smarter than what I believe or softer than what I’ve lived. And if AI can help someone like me get them out there, I think we should establish an appreciation for that aspect of the subject.