With the advent of AI I sometimes find myself wondering how we define ”creativity,” anymore.

Not too long ago I came across somebody who was using the phrase ”I create content using AI.”

What does that even mean?

My own filter adaptations of an original photo

Moreover, what does it mean in the context of a social blogging venue like Hive, or out in the mainstream on sites like Medium, or even mainstream journalists creating content for mainstream media news sites?

This is not a discussion of whether or not AI is happening; it definitely is. I'm more interested in exploring the definitions and labeling of things.

If you're just sitting there giving some AI the prompt: ”write me a 600-word article about funny cats and create images of cats playing musical instruments” and then claiming that you're creating content? Well, you're basically lying not only to the world but also to yourself.

From where I'm sitting, you are not ”creating” jack shit!

That's a bit like ordering a dozen custom cooked hamburgers for your friends at a restaurant and then claiming that ”you cooked dinner.”

No you didn't. You just told somebody else what to do and then you took credit.

Own photo manipulation

Which brings me to an important point in this whole thing. I'm not opposed to AI, I'm opposed to the quagmire of deception surrounding AI... AI pretending to be human, and Humans pretending that AI work is actually Human work.

I suppose there are those who will claim that it doesn't matter, and the only thing we should focus on is the tangible utility of the outcome.

My personal editorializing on that is that maybe that's just a sad reflection of the human condition. A sad reflection of the fact that what we might call the ”cheating element” within humanity now seems to be taking over what could potentially be a really useful tool.

I guess I feel upset about it in the sense that when somebody truly gifted says "thank you, we create with our own hands and our own thoughts" and it risks getting usurped by pretend creativity... that does not lift us to the next higher common denominator, it lowers us to the next lower common denominator.

An actual photo of the cat!

How so?

Instead of creativity actually meaning something, we end up with a situation in which pretty much any "Joe Stoner" in the basement can hold forth to be a great artist and talented writer.

Idiocracy, here we come!

Till the next one, thanks for stopping by!

=^..^=

Curator Cat, February 5th, 2025