Excellent essay. Couple of quick thoughts as a creative director ...
1. Creation from AI will all be the same because it’s feeding from the same language/information pool. It will be boring. Much like most of what passes for creative these days. It can’t be startling and remarkable because all it can do is regurgitate what’s already there. (Yes, like most of what passes for creative these days.) It will increase the noise.
2. Because it will increase the noise being able to stand out and be noticed by superseding AI with, you know, human intelligence and creativity, will become more valuable. AI cannot see the future. That’s why we have artists and poets.
3. Engineers and technocrats and middle managers will fall by the wayside as artists and poets come to the fore.
People who can make art can and are using AI to make more of it, better, and faster. Yet at the same time, a tsunami of crap has flowed from the people who can't make art since they lack the eye or ear or sensibility. Aesthetic training would seem to be at a higher premium than ever.
Factories can churn out clothing very quickly and cheaply. My wife is serious knitter and sewer. Because it’s as much as the knitting and the sewing as it is about the jumper.
I like this. To me, I wrestle with efficiency vs. effectiveness. And joy and wonder vs blandly boring. Craft, by definition, is going to create some inefficiency. You start with zero knowledge/skill and build. Yeah, that is inefficient but what you can create with craft is effective (at least in terms of bringing meaning to your pursuit). I'm cool with technology to aid the craft but I'm not interested in skating past creating to get at an automated "efficient" output. I like the philosophical and pragmatic aspects of this essay. Thanks!
My 15 yr old daughter refuses to use any Ai because she’s decided it’s all theft and like a neocolonial move of tech bros to own all the art and text on earth.
But I’m basically the other opposite you described and have been using it daily while amped on stimulants and podcasts on 2x. 😂 May the future generation save us all.
Excellent essay. Couple of quick thoughts as a creative director ...
1. Creation from AI will all be the same because it’s feeding from the same language/information pool. It will be boring. Much like most of what passes for creative these days. It can’t be startling and remarkable because all it can do is regurgitate what’s already there. (Yes, like most of what passes for creative these days.) It will increase the noise.
2. Because it will increase the noise being able to stand out and be noticed by superseding AI with, you know, human intelligence and creativity, will become more valuable. AI cannot see the future. That’s why we have artists and poets.
3. Engineers and technocrats and middle managers will fall by the wayside as artists and poets come to the fore.
Not before time, right.
People who can make art can and are using AI to make more of it, better, and faster. Yet at the same time, a tsunami of crap has flowed from the people who can't make art since they lack the eye or ear or sensibility. Aesthetic training would seem to be at a higher premium than ever.
Very good article; AI could never have written it. Score one for the humans!
This deserves a longer response, Adam.
But just a couple of points:
Especially on the things you're wrong here.
"Amateur vs Pro on gear" for example. (Totally wrong!)
As well as the Below-the-belt Insinuation that it's "Engineers" who think "all art is just dunk something and it's over."
I will just point you to the Banana and the Urinal exhibits, about a century apart.
All three were NOT engineers.
Were they at an Engineering Fair? Or Art exhibit?
Of course not 100% of engineers think like this, that goes without saying
Factories can churn out clothing very quickly and cheaply. My wife is serious knitter and sewer. Because it’s as much as the knitting and the sewing as it is about the jumper.
Also: https://tempo.substack.com/p/the-chief-ai-officer-accepts-his
I like this. To me, I wrestle with efficiency vs. effectiveness. And joy and wonder vs blandly boring. Craft, by definition, is going to create some inefficiency. You start with zero knowledge/skill and build. Yeah, that is inefficient but what you can create with craft is effective (at least in terms of bringing meaning to your pursuit). I'm cool with technology to aid the craft but I'm not interested in skating past creating to get at an automated "efficient" output. I like the philosophical and pragmatic aspects of this essay. Thanks!
This was beautifully written. Thank you.
My 15 yr old daughter refuses to use any Ai because she’s decided it’s all theft and like a neocolonial move of tech bros to own all the art and text on earth.
But I’m basically the other opposite you described and have been using it daily while amped on stimulants and podcasts on 2x. 😂 May the future generation save us all.