like the meme going around: how about some robots to cook and clean so we have time to CREATE.
i want the option to turn it off.
i hate it i hate it i hate it, soman!!!
i'm tempted to get off the grid so they don't steal my soul. (dramatic, but, uh, looking at lit from the past 30 years, it's kinda coming true, so....)
i don't post art on insta anymore. but who's to say bluesky actually ISn't also being scanned to steal our stuff to feed the robots?
or that when i make an adobe acrobat pdf to email to art directors that they aren't using that to feed the beast and steal my work to make robot art?
for all the reasons you and other writers have said: humans are robbed of the process of finding and creating and digging deep, and there is no staring into the eyes of cows (or patients, or patrons, etc) with ai.
i hate it and I WANT IT TURNED OFF.
we don't need to look like supermodels.
i don't need it to write an email or a comment or a caption for our videos.
i don't need it to find my friend's page on instagram so i can send them a message or head to my fave bookstore/coffee shop/restaurant's page to find their hours...
call me a medieval charlatan, but i hate it all and would burn it all down if i could.
found the first three episodes of this podcast essential... but the "how to fix it" is kinda only for canadians... how do we fix it in america??? :(
I do think this is the one technology that deep down we're going to wish we never went for. Because it just shortcuts the speed of being human and makes everything so quick that the artistic process will feel like something to be shortchanged. As if you can speed up growing a flower... which is nice, but then we lose touch with nature's natural rhythms.
The thing that baffles me when it comes to generative AI-written books is copyright. As it stands, you can’t copyright generative AI output. How will publishing houses justify charging for AI-generated content? Will this be a case where downloading a copy of a book will be fine and legal? Would it even be considered piracy in that case?
I’ve been trying to formulate truly how I feel about AI, even writing it down. You pretty much nailed it. Also I realized that I don’t have time to formulate it, maybe I should just ask chat GPT to do it ;), or maybe I should just draw something instead. I truly believe that as the AI infects all parts of creative industries, thirst for expression , curiosity and feeling of challenge and discovery will persevere. Humans are a stubborn bunch.
all this talk about AI recently has really made me appreciate our humanity. no robot can replicate the emotion and thought put into writing a novel, or the hours it takes to create a masterpiece. no robot will understand the feeling that makes people want to be creative in the first place. this also poses the question that if AI were to take over the literary world, would there be anymore novels like “ Animal Farm” or “ 1982”? Since these books bring light to the corruption of the government and the government is currently funding AI, will this type of literature exist anymore? will there be books that genuinely make us think?
anyways, thank you for this entry Soman! it brings me so much joy to be able to share my thoughts with my favorite author and like-minded readers!
I'm still loving AI for the leaps and bounds it is providing in creating customized illustrations for my own stories. (Luckily, I do not know many artists for whom that could be a threatening statement.) Where I have the greatest hopes for AI is in the field of promotional 'vanity press' self-published books. Every single one I've ever decided to pick up or have been given by the self-assured author... is unabashedly AWFUL. Poorly written, unedited, no proofreading done... if AI can improve the quality of that genre of book I will be grateful.
As a theater artist, I truly believe that art by humans is going to become highly valued in the age of AI (and that means I'm in the most future-proof art form). People ultimately hunger for valid human connection, for surprise, for vulnerability. AI sucks at that. I think that the "how can you tell" for the written word is obviously harder than for the performing arts, but I think that, while AI-written work may sell a bit, it won't have the compelling "I need you to read this" quality that turns books into best-sellers....probably?
I wonder what, it'll do to corporate jargon. Cause it gives off AI vibes even when a human writes it.
Will the future emails be, "Hey'all, we'll dance right back on to the first point!" with every person distinguishing themselves in their daily writings?
I'd like that. Currently everyone seems to value minimalism and uniformity far too much.
I think AI written works will never be as good as things written by actual humans. We can't connect with robots like we can with actual people, so books written by robots will never give us the feeling of connection that we get from reading stories written by humans that are personal and relatable.
Is that true, though? Or will AI be able to replicate it? I actually think it's the flaws that AI won't be able to replicate that make things 'human' to us... That may end up being the tell.
That is very thought provoking. You never fail to get me thinking, which is one of the reasons why you’re my favorite author! If AI can replicate human experiences, I wonder if it will actually be able to replicate the flaws? Maybe not now, but could it be a possibility for the future with the way AI is advancing? Or will AI not be capable of that if it keeps advancing to try and perfect things, and in doing that erase all flaws that are ‘human’ to us?
The idea of using AI for writing everything just makes it all seem emotionless and just a lack of purpose in a way? It's just depressing to see it's from a robot rather than a human with feelings and experiences they actually went through.
But how can we tell? Won't they look the same? It's almost as if we need to see the author's reaction to it in order to understand whether they actually processed the material. The end result might not be enough...
Honestly I always thought AI was coming because Sci Fi tinkerer with AI for years mainly an AI wanting sentience. However ChatGpt is predatory being that it compliments the user no matter what they write/ wrote into the database. They're indie publishers who keep AI prompt in their work and some people are like if you used AI in your writing you clearly don't care about the craft. I know it's affecting the teaching world but I haven't seen it as a TA. What bad maybe is the time AI coming where people are already terrified of the enconmy tariffs are rising and people already bulldozed over other human beings simply because of their skincolot/ race/ and place of origin all of that is still happening right now and I feel AI gonna escalate that fight. I was in Italy and they're was an ad made with AI and it annoyed the hell out of my classmates because we where in Italy surrounded by art and witnessed a Chatgpt cat food can. The good news is even in the world of chatgpt they're still artist making art, they're unique projects like Sinners staring Michael Jordan, and soft revivals of projects like the Sonic movie franchises. All of these might be small in the grand scheme of things but it's something
Yes, and I think ultimately the established artists won't let it infect their work... meaning we still have reliable artists because they're the ones who created before ChatGPT. It's debuts and new ones who will have to deal with the endless suspicion around their work...
Yeah and that sucks because honestly it feels like this era of America already has the message of us versus them be suspicious of your neighbors and now with ChatGPT while it can be helpful it also just another tool people might used as a clutch versus making connections and I know that ironic to say as I engage in conversation over the internet but it does feel that despite having the literal library of Alexandria at our fingertips we are very much alone.
I loved this take as a recent computer science graduate AND a writer. I’ve tested it all— writing and coding with AI, writing and coding with its aid, writing and coding without it, and time and time again, the only time I feel accomplished and am able to confidently grow in both my writing and programming is when I do it by myself and only use GPT as an accelerated Google. Truly, like you said, the point of writing is the cathartic experience and the ability to share with others what is uniquely human. The point of art is expressing the inner humanity we all share. Who cares if a robot created a written piece? I don’t want to read it because revolutionary work comes from humans because we will always know better than an AI what it means to be human.
Soman I just love you, please never stop sharing these entries with us
Thank you for indulging my confessions!
like all technology: WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS.
like the meme going around: how about some robots to cook and clean so we have time to CREATE.
i want the option to turn it off.
i hate it i hate it i hate it, soman!!!
i'm tempted to get off the grid so they don't steal my soul. (dramatic, but, uh, looking at lit from the past 30 years, it's kinda coming true, so....)
i don't post art on insta anymore. but who's to say bluesky actually ISn't also being scanned to steal our stuff to feed the robots?
or that when i make an adobe acrobat pdf to email to art directors that they aren't using that to feed the beast and steal my work to make robot art?
for all the reasons you and other writers have said: humans are robbed of the process of finding and creating and digging deep, and there is no staring into the eyes of cows (or patients, or patrons, etc) with ai.
i hate it and I WANT IT TURNED OFF.
we don't need to look like supermodels.
i don't need it to write an email or a comment or a caption for our videos.
i don't need it to find my friend's page on instagram so i can send them a message or head to my fave bookstore/coffee shop/restaurant's page to find their hours...
call me a medieval charlatan, but i hate it all and would burn it all down if i could.
found the first three episodes of this podcast essential... but the "how to fix it" is kinda only for canadians... how do we fix it in america??? :(
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understood-who-broke-the-internet/id1673817105
I do think this is the one technology that deep down we're going to wish we never went for. Because it just shortcuts the speed of being human and makes everything so quick that the artistic process will feel like something to be shortchanged. As if you can speed up growing a flower... which is nice, but then we lose touch with nature's natural rhythms.
What an intellectual, emotional, and well-thought-out perspective. I adore you and your writing.
You made my day. Thank you.
The thing that baffles me when it comes to generative AI-written books is copyright. As it stands, you can’t copyright generative AI output. How will publishing houses justify charging for AI-generated content? Will this be a case where downloading a copy of a book will be fine and legal? Would it even be considered piracy in that case?
I’ve been trying to formulate truly how I feel about AI, even writing it down. You pretty much nailed it. Also I realized that I don’t have time to formulate it, maybe I should just ask chat GPT to do it ;), or maybe I should just draw something instead. I truly believe that as the AI infects all parts of creative industries, thirst for expression , curiosity and feeling of challenge and discovery will persevere. Humans are a stubborn bunch.
100% agreed. But how to convince the buying public to stick with the human-made stuff? That'll be the big challenge.
all this talk about AI recently has really made me appreciate our humanity. no robot can replicate the emotion and thought put into writing a novel, or the hours it takes to create a masterpiece. no robot will understand the feeling that makes people want to be creative in the first place. this also poses the question that if AI were to take over the literary world, would there be anymore novels like “ Animal Farm” or “ 1982”? Since these books bring light to the corruption of the government and the government is currently funding AI, will this type of literature exist anymore? will there be books that genuinely make us think?
anyways, thank you for this entry Soman! it brings me so much joy to be able to share my thoughts with my favorite author and like-minded readers!
I'm still loving AI for the leaps and bounds it is providing in creating customized illustrations for my own stories. (Luckily, I do not know many artists for whom that could be a threatening statement.) Where I have the greatest hopes for AI is in the field of promotional 'vanity press' self-published books. Every single one I've ever decided to pick up or have been given by the self-assured author... is unabashedly AWFUL. Poorly written, unedited, no proofreading done... if AI can improve the quality of that genre of book I will be grateful.
Beautiful writing,
As a theater artist, I truly believe that art by humans is going to become highly valued in the age of AI (and that means I'm in the most future-proof art form). People ultimately hunger for valid human connection, for surprise, for vulnerability. AI sucks at that. I think that the "how can you tell" for the written word is obviously harder than for the performing arts, but I think that, while AI-written work may sell a bit, it won't have the compelling "I need you to read this" quality that turns books into best-sellers....probably?
AI can help but it can't replace. It can't replace my craziness.
Current AI is an LLM not actually a pure AI. One day, we will create True AI and then the true war will begin...
There! AI couldn't have written that! Idt AI can toneflip.
Isn't it funny how in the end AI is going to make us each value our idiosyncratic 'craziness'? It'll be proof we're human.
I wonder what, it'll do to corporate jargon. Cause it gives off AI vibes even when a human writes it.
Will the future emails be, "Hey'all, we'll dance right back on to the first point!" with every person distinguishing themselves in their daily writings?
I'd like that. Currently everyone seems to value minimalism and uniformity far too much.
Also thanks for the reply!!
I think AI written works will never be as good as things written by actual humans. We can't connect with robots like we can with actual people, so books written by robots will never give us the feeling of connection that we get from reading stories written by humans that are personal and relatable.
Is that true, though? Or will AI be able to replicate it? I actually think it's the flaws that AI won't be able to replicate that make things 'human' to us... That may end up being the tell.
That is very thought provoking. You never fail to get me thinking, which is one of the reasons why you’re my favorite author! If AI can replicate human experiences, I wonder if it will actually be able to replicate the flaws? Maybe not now, but could it be a possibility for the future with the way AI is advancing? Or will AI not be capable of that if it keeps advancing to try and perfect things, and in doing that erase all flaws that are ‘human’ to us?
The idea of using AI for writing everything just makes it all seem emotionless and just a lack of purpose in a way? It's just depressing to see it's from a robot rather than a human with feelings and experiences they actually went through.
But how can we tell? Won't they look the same? It's almost as if we need to see the author's reaction to it in order to understand whether they actually processed the material. The end result might not be enough...
Honestly I always thought AI was coming because Sci Fi tinkerer with AI for years mainly an AI wanting sentience. However ChatGpt is predatory being that it compliments the user no matter what they write/ wrote into the database. They're indie publishers who keep AI prompt in their work and some people are like if you used AI in your writing you clearly don't care about the craft. I know it's affecting the teaching world but I haven't seen it as a TA. What bad maybe is the time AI coming where people are already terrified of the enconmy tariffs are rising and people already bulldozed over other human beings simply because of their skincolot/ race/ and place of origin all of that is still happening right now and I feel AI gonna escalate that fight. I was in Italy and they're was an ad made with AI and it annoyed the hell out of my classmates because we where in Italy surrounded by art and witnessed a Chatgpt cat food can. The good news is even in the world of chatgpt they're still artist making art, they're unique projects like Sinners staring Michael Jordan, and soft revivals of projects like the Sonic movie franchises. All of these might be small in the grand scheme of things but it's something
Yes, and I think ultimately the established artists won't let it infect their work... meaning we still have reliable artists because they're the ones who created before ChatGPT. It's debuts and new ones who will have to deal with the endless suspicion around their work...
Yeah and that sucks because honestly it feels like this era of America already has the message of us versus them be suspicious of your neighbors and now with ChatGPT while it can be helpful it also just another tool people might used as a clutch versus making connections and I know that ironic to say as I engage in conversation over the internet but it does feel that despite having the literal library of Alexandria at our fingertips we are very much alone.
Ps Soman I know you don't like blood but I suggest listening to the music in sinners you might like it
I loved this take as a recent computer science graduate AND a writer. I’ve tested it all— writing and coding with AI, writing and coding with its aid, writing and coding without it, and time and time again, the only time I feel accomplished and am able to confidently grow in both my writing and programming is when I do it by myself and only use GPT as an accelerated Google. Truly, like you said, the point of writing is the cathartic experience and the ability to share with others what is uniquely human. The point of art is expressing the inner humanity we all share. Who cares if a robot created a written piece? I don’t want to read it because revolutionary work comes from humans because we will always know better than an AI what it means to be human.
Now we need you to figure out a way to certify a piece of writing as truly human-made... College professors will want that too!!!!