Fascinating similarities to my own experiences in so many ways. I've been writing books for thirty years, and have been using Chat GPT as a collaborator for about a year. to great advantage. As I understand it, you can say to a chatbot, "Please write me 10,000 words in a style like Hemingway's on the subject of growing tulips," and in minutes or even seconds it will give you those ten thousand words. I consider that artistically bankrupt. What you are talking about - beginning with a strong idea about what you want to write, then having a conversation, a collaboration, and most importantly, the STAYING in CONTROL of what you are producing, rather than simply tagging along on a ride where AI is driving -- is where I see the difference. I ask Dall-E to generate an image, it gives me crap. The fourth image it gives me is something I can use, so I take it and then spend 10 hours modifying it in Photoshop until it is what I want. People still tell me I am "cheating" by using AI for my images, the way they once said Photography wasn't true art because you weren't using a paintbrush. People say AI brings a lot of crap forward in the name of art - and I think it does -- but I say that if Leonardo DaVince were alive today, he'd be using AI for its efficiencies, and due to his genius, he'd still be producing the best art around. Sure, more garbage out there, from those who'd ask their chatbot to give them 10,000 words in the style of Hemingway, but also, I think - for those with true creative visions -- a tool that allowed Steichen, Avedon, Adams and Bergman to flourish with cameras, even though they may have failed at painting.
Yes, very good points. I often think of my famous artist aunt Niki de Saint Phalle’s ultimate work of art — her sculpture garden in Tuscany. She employed an army of crafts people to realize her vision. She did not set every tile or build every frame. Think of a movie director and what goes into making a film, think of a composer and how he relies on a conductor and a host of musicians to bring his vision to life. I actually use my AI Claude to help write my prompts for the DALL-E illustrations I use in my posts! There’s a lot of pearl clutching about AI, and there are certainly lazy people trying to use it to make money fast. But as you point out. In the hands. Of an artist with a vision. It’s just another tool.
Fascinating similarities to my own experiences in so many ways. I've been writing books for thirty years, and have been using Chat GPT as a collaborator for about a year. to great advantage. As I understand it, you can say to a chatbot, "Please write me 10,000 words in a style like Hemingway's on the subject of growing tulips," and in minutes or even seconds it will give you those ten thousand words. I consider that artistically bankrupt. What you are talking about - beginning with a strong idea about what you want to write, then having a conversation, a collaboration, and most importantly, the STAYING in CONTROL of what you are producing, rather than simply tagging along on a ride where AI is driving -- is where I see the difference. I ask Dall-E to generate an image, it gives me crap. The fourth image it gives me is something I can use, so I take it and then spend 10 hours modifying it in Photoshop until it is what I want. People still tell me I am "cheating" by using AI for my images, the way they once said Photography wasn't true art because you weren't using a paintbrush. People say AI brings a lot of crap forward in the name of art - and I think it does -- but I say that if Leonardo DaVince were alive today, he'd be using AI for its efficiencies, and due to his genius, he'd still be producing the best art around. Sure, more garbage out there, from those who'd ask their chatbot to give them 10,000 words in the style of Hemingway, but also, I think - for those with true creative visions -- a tool that allowed Steichen, Avedon, Adams and Bergman to flourish with cameras, even though they may have failed at painting.
Yes, very good points. I often think of my famous artist aunt Niki de Saint Phalle’s ultimate work of art — her sculpture garden in Tuscany. She employed an army of crafts people to realize her vision. She did not set every tile or build every frame. Think of a movie director and what goes into making a film, think of a composer and how he relies on a conductor and a host of musicians to bring his vision to life. I actually use my AI Claude to help write my prompts for the DALL-E illustrations I use in my posts! There’s a lot of pearl clutching about AI, and there are certainly lazy people trying to use it to make money fast. But as you point out. In the hands. Of an artist with a vision. It’s just another tool.