An Anti-Ai Manifesto:
There's a considerable amount of difficulty in life. It's not easy. Art is not easy either. Writing is not easy. Most skills take years to learn and even then it takes years to appreciate the difference between good and bad. There's always not enough time or energy or money. Even if you do have the time and money, it's hard to find people who have the time to even look at what you've made. It can be frustrating!
I think it's natural for humans to desire an easier time in life. We're tool-makers after all. We all dream things like being able to speak a foreign language or play an instrument perfectly. It makes sense that we would develop ways to do those things easier.
Generative AI, for many, is that perfect tool. You can use it to turn a selfie into a professional-looking portrait. You can use it to write part of that book or essay you've been putting off. It can give you interior decorating advice or help you build a website.
I'm here to argue that using generative AI is taking away the very thing that makes us human. It is removing the humanity from the human experience.
Through our pursuit of the easy, we have given up the part of ourselves that is capable of true mastery. Those skills that would take years to develop can be done somewhat passably by a computer.
I'd argue that by using AI, we are stealing the skill and creativity from ourselves. Each time the computer does a task for us, we are denying ourself the experience and gratification that comes from doing that task.
At some point we need to ask ourselves what it is that really matters in life. Is it the completion of tasks? Or is it the humanity and creative process and difficulty that makes a skill worth having?
I know my answer. You will not see generative AI used in any work that appears on this site. My work is in preserving memories, not inventing them.
Mia Quain