Dare to say no...to AI

At first, I thought it was fun too. In 2022, when the trend went around to get 10 images generated of yourself as various art pieces. Or even more recently, when playing D&D, a party member generated how each of our characters looked.

I rolled my eyes at the writers and actors (and friends) who were coming down hard on AI. It’s just silly! It’s just fun. Calm down, we aren’t hurting anything. We aren’t taking jobs away.

I don’t think it’s fun anymore. And I do think we are hurting everything and taking jobs away.

But AI is here to stay, don’t resist it, don’t be a Luddite, it’s like the internet or email. Calm down.

Ok, maybe some of this is true. The cat is certainly out of the bag with AI at this point. And I do see value in some applications. I have friends who were able to build their dream app much faster and with much lower cost, thanks to AI. There is likely use in the medical field or advancements to be made in science with better and more accurate computers.

But please, for the love of all that is holy (aka my sanity) stop sending me AI-generated content. I do not care if it’s not “slop”. If it’s something you prompted it to make. I don’t need resources going to that. I am a creative person; I can imagine it or create it myself.

My last post got into the decline of the entertainment industry a little bit. AI is not helping me get a job back. Despite the strikes of the WGA and SAG a few years ago, which were in part prompted by fears of AI taking over jobs, we are no closer to a robust Hollywood than we were 6 or 7 years ago. And AI is taking over jobs. Who needs to hire a writers’ room assistant when you can put the season outline into AI and get feedback? Who needs to pay for 50 extras when you can populate the scene with AI background made up of photos of working actors?

^{On the edge of the Backbone Trail, not AI-generated.}

Although it’s cheesy, I do refer to myself as a “storyteller”. No other word encompasses the fact that I can perform a story, sing a story, write a story, or read a story and suggest how to make it stronger. Saying “filmmaker” often implies to people I have a camera. I do not. I’m a storyteller who helps guide the people with the cameras.

I have always felt that storytelling is one of the most important jobs in the world. Story is how we create meaning, derive culture, and make connections. Storytellers are now the first line of defense against the giant of AI. We are the Davids trying so hard to bring down a Goliath. We are the canaries in the coal mine. We are begging people to slow down, to stop, to consider the consequences of their actions. You want a great picture of you in the ring with Muhamed Ali? Ask a friend who is an artist to make it. You want a video of you and George Washington as lumberjacks? Ask a friend to film it with you.

Obviously, people are not likely to do these things. So just imagine them!

Not everything in our heads needs to come out on paper.

Our jobs are dwindling. But more importantly, our resources are being used up too quickly. It feels like we are hurtling towards a cliff edge and laughing all the way because we are distracted by our screens and our power.

I’m not anti AI or anti tech or innovation. I just want it used responsibly. For purposes where it makes sense. Not for wasting energy and water to generate a top ten list of title ideas. I want to sit and think on my own about titles. Brainstorm. Ponder in the shower. Walk around in the sunshine and daydream.

Creativity is inherently human. Stop outsourcing your brain to a computer. Start thinking critically on how to create things yourself. Get stuck or need an answer? Call a friend. Read a book. Get inspired. Stop asking a computer to outline your presentation or draft your email (or worse, your breakup text).

Yes, this is 10000 times harder. Writing is clunky. Staring at a blank page is challenging. Taking good photos is a skill. Painting takes practice. That’s the point. The messy journey of humanity is paved by creation. Taking away that mess and getting a sterile result from a machine is heartless and disgusting.

I changed my mind from thinking other people were overreacting to AI use, to thinking most people are not overreacting enough! It’s like we’ve never seen a sci-fi movie before.

Here I am: a storyteller. The first line of defense. Begging other people not to think I’m a crazy Cassandra, but a genuinely freaked-out and passionate human being who is trying their hardest to keep humanity around. AI is not funny to me anymore.