Drawing by Frankie, 5 years old.
If you intend to use some form of synthetic media making, ask yourself, why? Some say we can use these new tools as a kind of co-pilot, others will suggest using them outright, but if you peel back the hype you’ll find more critical concerns. From data privacy concerns to copyright issues with all the content these tools harvest.
Add to this, why would you want a tool that does not think nor have any understanding of culture to do your thinking and creating for you? Why would you not want to think for yourself? If we keep surrendering our thinking and creativity to unthinking, unintelligent algorithms underlying what are essentially probability engines, what use are we?
Our creative selves are imperfect and this is part of what makes us unique. Singer and songwriter PJ Harvey appeals to these elements of us. She writes, “I can’t imagine that the imperfection of the human touch will be outridden by the perfection of a computer. I think there’s something beautiful about imperfections and failings of us as human beings.”
There is nothing original in what a chatbot will produce for you. Its source, whether text or images, will have come from somewhere else. Most likely, these numerous sources will not know their works have been harvested and redigested into something you might believe is now ‘yours’.
andrew garton 