If Generative A.I. Is Wrong, I Don’t Want to be Right
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
I don’t remember much about grade school, but I clearly recall a classmate’s kindness. In art class, this one kid made drawings that were always fantastic. Mine were always less than. Far less than. I asked him his secret, expecting him to keep such valuable knowledge to himself.
He shared generously and without hesitation. “When you fill in a shape, make sure you color in the same direction.”
During our next art class, I tried it. The result? My drawing still looked terrible and his still looked amazing.
That was my first lesson in talent. He was skilled at something, and I wasn’t. I could work for it, but it seemed far too much work.
I would spend my years envying visual artists of all kinds and their ability to create astounding imagery.
Sufficiently Advanced Tech
Fast forward to today. Along comes generative A.I. DALL-E, Adobe Firefly, Bing Copilot, and so many others, and it feels like a miracle. Because with those tools, so simple, so powerful, so fast, I can draw! I CAN DRAW!!!!
Correction. I still can’t draw, but I can generate visuals that without that software, I wouldn’t be able to create in a thousand years. That frustrated kid from grade school, who couldn’t draw as well as his classmate even as his mate helped him, has waited for decades and now, finally, finally, finally, I can create art!
Like Arthur C. Clarke’s brilliant observation: any sufficiently advanced technology will feel like magic. To me, generative A.I.’s image-making abilities feels like something mystical.
The A.I. Mindset
I’m sharing my very positive experience with generative A.I. because I feel compelled to stick up for my friend. A.I. isn’t all bad. Not by a longshot. It could just be my filter bubble, my self-trained algorithm, but it seems like the negative aspects of A.I. get most of the hype.
Even when A.I. existed only in our imaginations, there were warnings about it. Science Fiction authors alerted us to the dangers long ago.
Maybe you’re one of these A.I. haters, annoyed that I like A.I. for what it can do for me.
“You could have developed your drawing skill,” some might say. “You could have practiced hard and worked at it.”
Yes, I know. Instead of saying “I can’t draw,” I’m supposed to say, “I can’t draw… yet.” I know, I know. I too read Carol Dweck’s superb book Growth Mindset (affiliate link) that explains that thinking in depth. Yes, that’s the right attitude.
If I work at it, I could be a visual artist without A.I. Had I worked at it, I would be one already. Maybe. But it would have taken years upon years upon years of training and practice, years I don’t have and years I don’t want to have. I dedicated those years to writing, and I want to dedicate the years in the future to writing.
Now I have a tool that can take a visual idea and make it happen. That is incredible! I love it!
A Dangerous Optimism
“Well sure,” our imaginary hater might say, persisting in this argument, “It’s not your trade that’s being overrun by A.I. That’s why you like it.”
Um, actually! My trade (writing) is in just as much danger, if not more. A.I. can write, too. I’m not afraid of it though. What I’ve seen is rather lifeless.
Also, lifeless writing created by humans gets published all the time. Further, I see it A.I. as a challenge – it will push me to be even more creative, to achieve, as I’ve said before — something so real it can’t possibly be created by A.I. I’m already competing with millions of faceless writers online, what’s a few million more?
Besides, what if my artist pal from grade school had the reverse problem? He can draw, but what if he had (and still has) trouble assembling words? He may be just as thrilled about generative A.I. as I am, wherever he may be.
So just because it doesn’t affect me doesn’t mean it’s okay, which is the tentative guilt I feel at loving A.I.
Forbidden Love
I am torn when I express my love for Generative A.I. On the one hand there are people I trust saying it’s dangerous.
On the other hand, there are people I don’t trust (the techbro douche-o-sphere) hyping every tech advance with religious fervor and causing mayhem. Lately they’ve been rebranding everything as A.I.-powered to keep that investment cash rollin’ in, even if it’s as “A.I-Powered” as a standard phone voice tree.
And so, going against people I trust, I wonder, am I allowed to think that A.I. is cool? Amazing? Am I allowed to love it? Or am I embracing our doom? Am I being naive? Is my dangerous optimism leading me wrong again?
Yes, I understand that A.I. can be a danger to creativity, it can be a danger to those who make their living creating astounding imagery all on their own. No, I don’t know where A.I. will take us as a society, as a species. Probably the usual mix: more horrors, more wonders.
If I could bring it back down to my tiny world, I’m just glad it awakened that kid in me who wanted to draw, forgot he even cared about it for decades and now suddenly, he can.
Imagination at Play
A.I. is a tech marvel. There are complex issues that affect people’s lives, our civilization, our whole species.
That’s all true, but just for a moment, can I simplify? Can I say I love generative A.I.? Can I admit I recognize the dangers to people’s employment, and all that but I love it all the same. Just to play. When was the last time tech – or anything – came along and you played with it? Or marveled at its abilities as it filled you with ideas?
I’m still a kid in grade school with bricks for hands but still loving the feel of those chunky crayons. I feel like a kid on a slide for the first time, screaming “Wheeeeee!”
That’s how I feel playing with generative A.I. and making pictures. like every aspect of all our impressive gadgets, there’s some good things, some bad.
For now, I want to ignore the bad because the good isn’t just good. It’s magical. I just want to play.
Image created by Bing Co-Pilot A.I. Prompt: a cute illustration of a boy wearing a propeller hat hugging a robot with hearts around their heads.