I am wrangling in the last few weeks with the unwelcome disruption of AI into everything, from Microsoft 365, Google all the way to Amazon Music. I don’t want a CoPilot, an AI synthesis of search answers, or a song that Amazon thinks I’d like. I am much happier making my own way.
The sticker James made recently that says “reclaim analog” could be the foundation of a movement I’d follow, it resonated with me so much.
Also I wish there were more ways to use the online tools that led up to now in an old mode like without AI answers in search results for example. But we can’t opt out of some these things, they’re moving so fast. I think it pushes me to lean even more toward opting out of the ones it’s possible to, is that how you feel?
Yes, I agree! Do you follow The Honest Broker Substack by Ted Gioia? Just this week he reported results of a study showing that only 8% of us would willingly pay for AI incorporated into our apps and software. There is massive investment underway (similar to the dotcom bubble a couple decades back) and it appears that developers are trying to justify their expenses in this sneaky way.
I have gotten advice on what to do about Microsoft 365 and Copilot and am working up my nerve to tackle the process of uninstalling it. Maybe I will start, however, by ordering the sticker!
Agreed; I make it a point to NOT click the 'helpful' AI offering at the top of the search engine response. Sometimes people post an AI image that pretends to be a real object - there's a marvelously weird parasite that grows of euphorbias in Africa. Someone posted an AI modified image that included the latin name - so I posted the Wikipedia entry for the species - which is extremely interesting, and doesn't look like plastic. I won't tell people HOW I can tell, beyond the generalizations of 'looks plastic', 'lighting is off', and so on. Not about to make it easier for visual liars to fool people, because that's their goal.
AI is a boon for livestock breeders, cattle and horses are ... well, it's a heck of a lot safer for the humans and the animals they're breeding - the adult male animals can do a lot of damage when they get excited.
AI for crunching data ... can be very helpful IF the data is valid/honest AND the parameters are honestly and rigorously applied. Trouble is, we know a lot of studies are flawed by small sample sets, vested interests in a specific outcome, and very poor peer review. So, AI makes it even easier to churn out slop.
I studied in the low tech world of punch cards and basic calculators; I was majoring in Physics, and then Art - but eventually I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer. I lived and worked in the high tech world of aerospace, complex modeling, R&D, and new product design. As I moved into retirement I’ve really started to sketch and paint more - and really appreciate and try to further develop my ability to create in the old-world way. It will be up to everyone to surf the waves of future, or get out of the ocean - as all of us have done through the years and will continue to do. Sadly, I do think “each augmentation is a bit of an amputation”, and “surfing” as I knew it has become more of a rat-race than the “day at the beach” that it was for me. Also - the technology has very much amplified the best and worst of human nature - in ways that seem to amplify the worst. Overall - I’m starting to be a little alarmed at how so much of it seems spiritually empty and lacking in empathy.
I was a Software QA for over 20 years, but I don't trust AI. I started painting before I got into tech and I've restarted that pretty recently. I fear what AI will do to us and from my understanding of the high tech world and human nature, I don't think there's any way to avoid whatever disaster will come of it.
I feel similarly. With lots of things right now I’m trying to remain hopeful because how else do I, do we, continue on? But it also makes me wonder whether it is possible to acknowledge a dark likelihood like this, that we may not be able to avoid it, and maintain some kind of hope. What do you think?
I think I know what you mean when you say that, James, but I’d bet that you’re smart in other ways of course. I may not be able to strategize about how to avoid it either, but I could play a small part and contribute another way. And use my own brand of smarts in that way!
I work in educational IT, which means I'm drowning in AI issues at an increasing rate every single day. Corporations are forcing it onto their customers because it increases their bottom line while they are also gutting headcount by offloading work to their new relentless magical golem. Students are being inundated by it, so they are fundamentally learning less as they offload their critical thinking and even basic composition skills to their new electronic friend (i.e. Copilot, Grok, Claude, ChatGPT, etc.). Teachers are tempted into using it to screen for the work of other AI while also churning out course material that was also generated without effort.
I'm forced to think we're at a crossroads with two cautionary tales from Pixar. In The Incredibles, the villain said "when everyone is super, no one will be". We are approaching the point where, for a price, anyone can write a prompt and have a machine spit out whatever intellectual solution they want, be it a story, a song, or a simulated oil painting in the style of their favorite artist. It's a tempting illusion but it is also hollow and soulless. Leaving a person smug with accomplishment while having earned none of the calluses of creation.
The other is WALL-E where humanity has reduced itself to amorphous blobs, restricted to reclining chairs while machines cater to their every whim. Endlessly consuming without any concern for the wastes involved in glutting their insatiable appetites and capable of doing none of the jobs associated with their upkeep. The computer science career path is in freefall because prospective students see the writing on the wall, the next generation of programmers is going to have a heart of silicon and they will create a drought in the industry ensuring that there are no starter openings, starving off future generations of experts.
The new tools is already empowering managements to purge staff and is actively killing whole careers as we speak. I love technology and have been its champion for over 30 years as a professional and I've never seen anything more destructive enter the workplace.
The last bit you said stood out to me. AI Is taking things that people like writing and art and offering middling/average solutions. People will take those instead of coming up with their own and over time the ability to surpass AI’s solutions will be lost by most because we’ll be out of practice. I think there will be a select few people who appreciate anyone who takes the effort to stand out but that it’ll be mostly seen as artisan or quaint. Maybe in some things we’ll swing back the other way but not until we’ve lost our progress. What do you think?
We cannot allow mental atrophy or loss of human interactions. Mao Tse Tung used unceasing recordings blaring from every signpost to brainwash his fellow countrymen. As type this, I am fighting with “my” unasked for intuitive speller. Who or What will be in control?
Hi James. Our world is frantic and I blame computers for most of it. We can't wait or anticipate anything: it has to be NOW. It's sad. On the other hand, lots of content on You Tube is about "simplifying/slowing down" because people seem to be in a constant state of panic. Again, sad. I take life simply, as much as I can, especially with painting. I use the computer to edit my blog and apply for shows in galleries for work, but also to enjoy conversations with people like you, who are open to change and are helping me navigate the fact that I MUST change...at least a bit! Thanks James.
I fear that we have opened Pandora's box and must now try to control forces that are stronger than we can even envision. I try to only use the technology I really need, but do sneak onto instagram once in a while to see what other artists are up to (I found you on-line).... and sometimes that can be amazing inspiration. I fear that AI is something that cannot be controlled .... what have we done?? Marcy Gray
I choose to live in both worlds. This keeps me interested and curious as there's always something interesting to learn and discover. There's low tech, high tech and what I call "my tech".
I’m grateful for this article, James, and the small community you’ve created around your blog. It’s a relief to see my sentiments and worries and wonder about AI reflected in your writing and in these comments. And yet, I long for an actual discussion about it with a group of people like this. I remember a time when forums were new, and I’d log on to talk about my favorite show, or whatever, and when we commented or posted people would engage in an actual back and forth. Comments now are always each a start of a conversation and rarely deeper. But it doesn't have to be that way! So I’m going to respond to a few of these and be the change I want to see :)
Would love if others joined in. I need to talk through this stuff and I’m guessing others do too.
I try to keep a balance. My job involves a lot of data analysis so obviously I use a computer for that. At home I do a lot of research online and use the internet for entertainment and learning, plus some gaming. I don't use much in the way of portable electronics. I keep a flip phone and a PC instead of a smartphone and a laptop. I still am online way too much, sometimes connecting with fellow artists via Cara and forums, sometimes just enjoying art and fiction. I also do a lot of work with traditional media, and never use AI for anything creative. Why outsource my main joy in life?
Speaking of AI, while it's just predictive algorithms, it's not useful to me. If it ever had a fundamental change, started working completely differently and actually became able to think (which it cannot at this time, not even close to it) I wouldn't be as against it. I'd be curious to meet new friends.
Lastly, when I do digital art, it's using a tablet so it still works with my traditional media skills. In these ways I feel I have a certain amount of balance.
As a former university researcher and instructor, I witnessed "a complex mix of both" when it came to the progression of technology (and its acceleration of change). That is, advances such as AI enabled the ability to make better use of very large data sets on topics such as human migration patterns and what those patterns mean. Other parts of AI like ChatGPT enabled some students to passively create text for assignment papers and to back away from learning challenges and meaning-making. What seems to matter is what human motivation is brought to technology - the desire to increase understanding, meaning, and creativity or to disengage and passively accept what was created through others.
I think in the future there will be people who stand out from the crowd and learn generally lost skills due to AI. I worry that the amount of conviction and/or privilege it will take for them to get there will make them very few.
I am basically a Luddite,but look.. .here I am!Only human.One of the reasons i voted for complete atrophy is...have you noticed in the last few years how the items you see scrolling across the screen while you're watching the news and even the titles and voiceovers on say, YouTube,are rife with misspelling,bad grammer and simply the wrong word!! ?? Misunderstanding of the meaning!? Conflating homophones? It's ok if you don't know but editors I'm sure have been educated.
Sorry,I'm sounding like an old fart.
Yes and when those hyper - modeled images show up it's like fingernail s on a blackboard.
The mental and the physical are not separate things.
Aw that’s sweet! You can count me in, Lori! I appreciated learning the true story of Luddites from a friend last year, who are me realize that the Luddite’s negative view or connotation was not fair!
Yes, Luddites were misunderstood, but so are many who are scared for the future today; I think that's why the love of handmade/slow living feels so comfortable and safe.
Let the world go crazy: we will still create magic wherever we go...
The proliferation of bots and AI is moving at a pace that I’m finding kind of amazing and frightening at the same time. As I age I find my brain is not able to quickly absorb new information like it used to do. So I’m sort of fearful that I will be unable to negotiate all the new technology at a time when the government is shrinking and we will be more and more dependent on computers and the internet to negotiate medical and financial matters.
I also wonder if these systems we rely on more any more go down for an extended period of time what that will mean for people who don’t have backup skills or resources to get by in the meantime. I am in my early 30s and I know that there are skills that I did not develop that my parents generation generally did. That has and will continue into future generations. sometimes that’s okay, and especially if the skill lost is traded to eliminate some suffering or make lives safer or more enjoyable, etc. The problem is, I don’t think that trend continues if you take it further and further in that same direction.
I am wrangling in the last few weeks with the unwelcome disruption of AI into everything, from Microsoft 365, Google all the way to Amazon Music. I don’t want a CoPilot, an AI synthesis of search answers, or a song that Amazon thinks I’d like. I am much happier making my own way.
I really feel that, too. I don't want those things either!
The sticker James made recently that says “reclaim analog” could be the foundation of a movement I’d follow, it resonated with me so much.
Also I wish there were more ways to use the online tools that led up to now in an old mode like without AI answers in search results for example. But we can’t opt out of some these things, they’re moving so fast. I think it pushes me to lean even more toward opting out of the ones it’s possible to, is that how you feel?
Yes, I agree! Do you follow The Honest Broker Substack by Ted Gioia? Just this week he reported results of a study showing that only 8% of us would willingly pay for AI incorporated into our apps and software. There is massive investment underway (similar to the dotcom bubble a couple decades back) and it appears that developers are trying to justify their expenses in this sneaky way.
I have gotten advice on what to do about Microsoft 365 and Copilot and am working up my nerve to tackle the process of uninstalling it. Maybe I will start, however, by ordering the sticker!
I have not heard of Ted, sounds interesting so thanks!
It’s cool to hear there are people out there finding ways to work around the seemingly forced AI integrations, even if it’s a convoluted solution.
Agreed; I make it a point to NOT click the 'helpful' AI offering at the top of the search engine response. Sometimes people post an AI image that pretends to be a real object - there's a marvelously weird parasite that grows of euphorbias in Africa. Someone posted an AI modified image that included the latin name - so I posted the Wikipedia entry for the species - which is extremely interesting, and doesn't look like plastic. I won't tell people HOW I can tell, beyond the generalizations of 'looks plastic', 'lighting is off', and so on. Not about to make it easier for visual liars to fool people, because that's their goal.
You actually can get old Google back, at least! (I actually mentioned this in a comment on one of Ted Gioia's posts). https://substack.com/@jennbryn/note/c-130442348
"Every augmentation is also an amputation." --- Marshall McLuhan
Great quote. McLuhan was way ahead of his time.
I hadn’t heard of him, so I’m adding “The Medium…” to my reading list, thanks! Any others either of you recommend?
I wanted AI to help humanity, not replace it.
Not interested until then.
AI is a boon for livestock breeders, cattle and horses are ... well, it's a heck of a lot safer for the humans and the animals they're breeding - the adult male animals can do a lot of damage when they get excited.
AI for crunching data ... can be very helpful IF the data is valid/honest AND the parameters are honestly and rigorously applied. Trouble is, we know a lot of studies are flawed by small sample sets, vested interests in a specific outcome, and very poor peer review. So, AI makes it even easier to churn out slop.
I love the way you put this, it’s succinct and yet captures how I feel too. I hope we see a shift toward help, or at least a future generation does.
I studied in the low tech world of punch cards and basic calculators; I was majoring in Physics, and then Art - but eventually I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer. I lived and worked in the high tech world of aerospace, complex modeling, R&D, and new product design. As I moved into retirement I’ve really started to sketch and paint more - and really appreciate and try to further develop my ability to create in the old-world way. It will be up to everyone to surf the waves of future, or get out of the ocean - as all of us have done through the years and will continue to do. Sadly, I do think “each augmentation is a bit of an amputation”, and “surfing” as I knew it has become more of a rat-race than the “day at the beach” that it was for me. Also - the technology has very much amplified the best and worst of human nature - in ways that seem to amplify the worst. Overall - I’m starting to be a little alarmed at how so much of it seems spiritually empty and lacking in empathy.
I was a Software QA for over 20 years, but I don't trust AI. I started painting before I got into tech and I've restarted that pretty recently. I fear what AI will do to us and from my understanding of the high tech world and human nature, I don't think there's any way to avoid whatever disaster will come of it.
I feel similarly. With lots of things right now I’m trying to remain hopeful because how else do I, do we, continue on? But it also makes me wonder whether it is possible to acknowledge a dark likelihood like this, that we may not be able to avoid it, and maintain some kind of hope. What do you think?
I hope we can find a way to avoid what I think is coming, but we need some really smart people to find the way. I'm certainly not that smart.
I think I know what you mean when you say that, James, but I’d bet that you’re smart in other ways of course. I may not be able to strategize about how to avoid it either, but I could play a small part and contribute another way. And use my own brand of smarts in that way!
I work in educational IT, which means I'm drowning in AI issues at an increasing rate every single day. Corporations are forcing it onto their customers because it increases their bottom line while they are also gutting headcount by offloading work to their new relentless magical golem. Students are being inundated by it, so they are fundamentally learning less as they offload their critical thinking and even basic composition skills to their new electronic friend (i.e. Copilot, Grok, Claude, ChatGPT, etc.). Teachers are tempted into using it to screen for the work of other AI while also churning out course material that was also generated without effort.
I'm forced to think we're at a crossroads with two cautionary tales from Pixar. In The Incredibles, the villain said "when everyone is super, no one will be". We are approaching the point where, for a price, anyone can write a prompt and have a machine spit out whatever intellectual solution they want, be it a story, a song, or a simulated oil painting in the style of their favorite artist. It's a tempting illusion but it is also hollow and soulless. Leaving a person smug with accomplishment while having earned none of the calluses of creation.
The other is WALL-E where humanity has reduced itself to amorphous blobs, restricted to reclining chairs while machines cater to their every whim. Endlessly consuming without any concern for the wastes involved in glutting their insatiable appetites and capable of doing none of the jobs associated with their upkeep. The computer science career path is in freefall because prospective students see the writing on the wall, the next generation of programmers is going to have a heart of silicon and they will create a drought in the industry ensuring that there are no starter openings, starving off future generations of experts.
The new tools is already empowering managements to purge staff and is actively killing whole careers as we speak. I love technology and have been its champion for over 30 years as a professional and I've never seen anything more destructive enter the workplace.
I do my best to stay off social media. I quit face book eight years ago..I’m not nor have ever been on tikrok and I’m on Instagram very little.
I don’t like choice to be made for me. I’m not a shopper. I love being OUTSIDE IN NATURE.
I do not need AI for ANYTHING. And as far as I can tell…all of it is making people intellectually lazy or apathetic.
The last bit you said stood out to me. AI Is taking things that people like writing and art and offering middling/average solutions. People will take those instead of coming up with their own and over time the ability to surpass AI’s solutions will be lost by most because we’ll be out of practice. I think there will be a select few people who appreciate anyone who takes the effort to stand out but that it’ll be mostly seen as artisan or quaint. Maybe in some things we’ll swing back the other way but not until we’ve lost our progress. What do you think?
We cannot allow mental atrophy or loss of human interactions. Mao Tse Tung used unceasing recordings blaring from every signpost to brainwash his fellow countrymen. As type this, I am fighting with “my” unasked for intuitive speller. Who or What will be in control?
Hi James. Our world is frantic and I blame computers for most of it. We can't wait or anticipate anything: it has to be NOW. It's sad. On the other hand, lots of content on You Tube is about "simplifying/slowing down" because people seem to be in a constant state of panic. Again, sad. I take life simply, as much as I can, especially with painting. I use the computer to edit my blog and apply for shows in galleries for work, but also to enjoy conversations with people like you, who are open to change and are helping me navigate the fact that I MUST change...at least a bit! Thanks James.
I fear that we have opened Pandora's box and must now try to control forces that are stronger than we can even envision. I try to only use the technology I really need, but do sneak onto instagram once in a while to see what other artists are up to (I found you on-line).... and sometimes that can be amazing inspiration. I fear that AI is something that cannot be controlled .... what have we done?? Marcy Gray
I choose to live in both worlds. This keeps me interested and curious as there's always something interesting to learn and discover. There's low tech, high tech and what I call "my tech".
I’m grateful for this article, James, and the small community you’ve created around your blog. It’s a relief to see my sentiments and worries and wonder about AI reflected in your writing and in these comments. And yet, I long for an actual discussion about it with a group of people like this. I remember a time when forums were new, and I’d log on to talk about my favorite show, or whatever, and when we commented or posted people would engage in an actual back and forth. Comments now are always each a start of a conversation and rarely deeper. But it doesn't have to be that way! So I’m going to respond to a few of these and be the change I want to see :)
Would love if others joined in. I need to talk through this stuff and I’m guessing others do too.
I try to keep a balance. My job involves a lot of data analysis so obviously I use a computer for that. At home I do a lot of research online and use the internet for entertainment and learning, plus some gaming. I don't use much in the way of portable electronics. I keep a flip phone and a PC instead of a smartphone and a laptop. I still am online way too much, sometimes connecting with fellow artists via Cara and forums, sometimes just enjoying art and fiction. I also do a lot of work with traditional media, and never use AI for anything creative. Why outsource my main joy in life?
Speaking of AI, while it's just predictive algorithms, it's not useful to me. If it ever had a fundamental change, started working completely differently and actually became able to think (which it cannot at this time, not even close to it) I wouldn't be as against it. I'd be curious to meet new friends.
Lastly, when I do digital art, it's using a tablet so it still works with my traditional media skills. In these ways I feel I have a certain amount of balance.
As a former university researcher and instructor, I witnessed "a complex mix of both" when it came to the progression of technology (and its acceleration of change). That is, advances such as AI enabled the ability to make better use of very large data sets on topics such as human migration patterns and what those patterns mean. Other parts of AI like ChatGPT enabled some students to passively create text for assignment papers and to back away from learning challenges and meaning-making. What seems to matter is what human motivation is brought to technology - the desire to increase understanding, meaning, and creativity or to disengage and passively accept what was created through others.
I think in the future there will be people who stand out from the crowd and learn generally lost skills due to AI. I worry that the amount of conviction and/or privilege it will take for them to get there will make them very few.
I am basically a Luddite,but look.. .here I am!Only human.One of the reasons i voted for complete atrophy is...have you noticed in the last few years how the items you see scrolling across the screen while you're watching the news and even the titles and voiceovers on say, YouTube,are rife with misspelling,bad grammer and simply the wrong word!! ?? Misunderstanding of the meaning!? Conflating homophones? It's ok if you don't know but editors I'm sure have been educated.
Sorry,I'm sounding like an old fart.
Yes and when those hyper - modeled images show up it's like fingernail s on a blackboard.
The mental and the physical are not separate things.
Hooray for Luddites!!! (I'm not as lonely anymore!)
James has said he is a Luddite at heart,too😊
Wow! We are in some wonderful company!!!
Lori did you find a Luddite community? :D
Hi Christina
I've always been alone on my Luddite journey, so seeing that Lynnwood considered himself one as well just made my day.
One of my treasures is a bookmark made by a friend of a dinosaur with the caption, "Lori the Luddite!"
FRIEND OF A DINOSAUR!!!
I wonder if we could call the artists version equivalent of a Luddite a “Lorite” :)
Aw that’s sweet! You can count me in, Lori! I appreciated learning the true story of Luddites from a friend last year, who are me realize that the Luddite’s negative view or connotation was not fair!
Hi Christina
Yes, Luddites were misunderstood, but so are many who are scared for the future today; I think that's why the love of handmade/slow living feels so comfortable and safe.
Let the world go crazy: we will still create magic wherever we go...
The proliferation of bots and AI is moving at a pace that I’m finding kind of amazing and frightening at the same time. As I age I find my brain is not able to quickly absorb new information like it used to do. So I’m sort of fearful that I will be unable to negotiate all the new technology at a time when the government is shrinking and we will be more and more dependent on computers and the internet to negotiate medical and financial matters.
I also wonder if these systems we rely on more any more go down for an extended period of time what that will mean for people who don’t have backup skills or resources to get by in the meantime. I am in my early 30s and I know that there are skills that I did not develop that my parents generation generally did. That has and will continue into future generations. sometimes that’s okay, and especially if the skill lost is traded to eliminate some suffering or make lives safer or more enjoyable, etc. The problem is, I don’t think that trend continues if you take it further and further in that same direction.