Bio
Ryan is a writer, editor, and web strategist, living and working in Ottawa, Canada, who graduated with a BA in English and Politics from Trent University in 2002. He enjoys writing fiction, writing poetry, running, working out and going on long nature walks. Ryan previously published, Events Quarterly, an online magazine which showcased short stories, poetry, articles, interviews, and digital art work from writers and artists around the world. Some of the more notable interviews included Tiffany Thiessen (Saved by the Bell), Steve Alten (NY Times Best Selling Author), and Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies). He has worked on social media campaigns, email marketing, and many web sites and online campaigns.
Trigger Warning
Long before machine learning, I remember walking through a furniture store that was more difficult to find your way out of than an eccentric farmer’s corn maze. Somewhere near the exit, after the chilling anxiety sweats began to calm down, you would see “paintings,” the kind you hang on a wall. Each one claimed to be unique, as in nobody else had that exact same version; nobody had a reprint. This was your original. It was an abstract, decorative piece that you could put up on your wall.
These paintings sold very well, and people liked the look of them, but they were decorations, not art. These paintings were not made by AI, as that was nothing more than science fiction at the time. The paintings were made with some computer randomization and a touch of machine automation. Some thought went into the colours and patterns that people might prefer. No human emotion, experience, or soul went into creating these. Instead of being a representation of an artist’s creativity, the paintings were a representation of what people thought a nice looking painting was.
These paintings represent the contrast between all creative work, and AI. Just like how machines painted those canvases, AI is writing poems, stories and songs. They just aren’t art. They aren’t creative. They are something that people might like. Just as machine paintings didn’t replace all artists, AI won’t replace all poets or all novelists or all song writers.
We are not experiencing an era where AI will replace creativity, as it’s just not possible, even if people can’t tell the difference. We are experiencing an era where people get to decide how much art really matters to them. Do we actually care about art, or do we just want things to be nice looking and entertaining?
I see artificial intelligence as a useful tool, not a replacement for creativity. It’s a good start for research, to help point you in the right direction while trying to figure out how gun shot residue works in your detective novel. It can help you figure out if you need a literary agent and how to actually get one. It can give you the knowledge you need to start asking the right questions.
I hear a lot of creative people who want to boycott any type of machine learning, and that is certainly a fair approach. I think the successful creators of the future will be the people who use AI as a tool in their toolbox but never as a replacement for their own creativity and life experience.