As a/an artist and writer, having mixed feelings towards technological advancements that potentially can take away from the value of writers and artists is justifiable. AI is rapidly changing the shape in how we retrieve, access, and converse with data. When it takes seconds for AI to produce an art piece or chatGPT to write out a blog post, the aura of purposelessness truly starts to germinate.
Why am I painting something for days and weeks when AI can do the same thing in less than 1 minute?
What is the point of me taking weeks to write a piece when it could be better written in a few seconds?
AI art and chatGPT is forcing me to truly evaluate my hobbies – it’s drawing attention to my foundation for wanting to partake in my hobbies. Both art and writing are creative outlets that are ideally about enjoying the process rather than designation. The magic happens when each of us share our unique perspectives during the journey and AI takes that away. In a society where convenience is one of the driving factors for creating and consuming, ready-made AI generated paintings and blog posts/short stories/books is like putting fried rice in front of a hungry person.
While I’m wary of the advancements of AI, I can understand how it is also tremendously helpful for people as well. AI can help you write out better professional emails (which I use), translate for people whose first language isn’t English and many more.
As Shakespeare says, nothing is inherently good or bad but the usage of it makes it so.
My fear lies on the lack of willpower and laziness that come with human nature – I do not want convenience and comfort to get in the way of creativity and resilience. AI makes it easier to hate myself but more rewarding to love myself. It’s a battle against myself and I guess I thank AI for making me realize what I value.
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