To genuinely make something, create something from nothing. Is human. Yet I feel as we become more and more obsessed with consuming culture, AI tool sets and speeding up our productivity, creation is becoming a lost art. Devin Nash often refers to writing as magic. The idea that we can create phrases that translate into understanding for another person is truly magical. Sadly, I am seeing more people outsource their writing to AI tool sets. More people are choosing to silence their own voice in exchange for convenience.
I am consciously avoiding shaking in the air and sounding like an old man. This is not a post condemning AI. I believe LLM's are an awesome tool that can be used to accelerate learning and research, create quick concepts and proofs. My problem is I am sadly seeing more people silence themselves. I want more wacky and amazing things in the world. Wacky and amazing is human, it is rough around the edges. It has consistent grammatical errors, it seems illogical at times but it's so evocative. It is the voice crack in a metal scream. It is shitty line work in a comic book. These remind us of the meta human experience of sharing our art, putting our hearts on display for others to view. So no I don't hate LLM's but I do have a sense of melancholy, that I am seeing less and less people show who they are.
AI is also not perfect in many ways, but it is the failure of humans that breeds growth and internal transformation. The act of creating stuff is a transformative experience. Outsourcing this experience means you are stunting your own growth. By quickly creating a logo in an LLM you have denied yourself the opportunity to learn a new piece of software, or to try and learn how to draw. By asking LLM's to write your emails you are denying yourself the opportunity to voice who you are , connect with another human, practice your prose and personal expression. Much like exercise small amounts everyday create huge amounts of change, LLM's are the mental equivalent of choosing to watch TV instead of cooking a healthy meal. In small doses this is a perfectly normal and okay thing to do. But once it becomes a habit you do not see the harm until it is too late, you have put on weight, you aren't as creative in the kitchen. Similarly, LLM's without caution will make you mentally slower. This is subjective, I have no evidence to back my claims. But much like many things in life, the easy way out is rarely the best for your own personal development and growth. Much like my post about moshing, I think fear is holding a lot of us back. LLM's are great because you can palm off any fear of criticism. If someone mentions what you wrote was inappropriate or simple you can know or admit it was not your writing. So while you achieve temporary comfort, you never exposed yourself to a growth opportunity.
Creating stuff is scary, it is daunting and downright tiring. You have to struggle with your own ideas, wrestle with your brains attention and crawl out of the mud only to have a fraction of what your original intention was. You rinse and repeat this over and over till you create something you are proud of. Much like diamonds the mind requires constant and increasing pressure. The first things you make are going to look much like a lump of coal (quite like this website...) but the hope is that with time and patience you can show yourself, your ideas, your human experience much more like a diamond. Even in failure there is beauty, so please, create that story you wanted to write, pull out that clay and sculpt, write that song. Suck at it, suck at it so often that you get good. I think many people will find joy in expressing themselves over outsourcing their own self doubt. It took me years after university to realise that creating was essential to my life experience. Even now I have to make the time to sit down and write, otherwise I will simply ignore it in favour of work and general life business. But every moment I get sitting down, fully committing myself to the moment and writing my honest thoughts, exposing it to the world. I honestly feel better for it. Like meditation or talking with a good friend. I am able to show my work, errors included. I genuinely love that. So I hope you enjoy my shitty writing as much as I enjoy making it