Quick question. In the future, will a blog post written by AI be valued differently from one written by a person?
In fact, expand that to any creative works: video, graphics, imagery, and audio. If they are made by AI, does that make them worse? Less valuable?
The easiest opinion in May of 2023 is—yes. No question. Without a doubt. How could the work of a cold, calculating, and ruthlessly efficient machine be anywhere near as valuable as that which has been handcrafted by a person.
I want to argue the opposite. Not to be contrarian, but because a friend of mine pointed this out to me the other day. Technology gives us vastly better outcomes than people do.
Think about it. Right now, we are cynical about ‘technology’ because we have finally seen that the altruistic “make the world a better place” dribble that’s fallen out of every tech bro’s mouth in the last ten years was a line they threw away as they walked to the ATM. Cashing in on our misery by fuelling everything from misinformation to mainstream addictions.
But even though this behaviour is being revealed for what it is, the ATM is the best way to dispense that cash. An ATM is fast, efficient, and completely accurate. It works day and night. It doesn’t take breaks. It does what you need when you command it. I know people’s growing sentiment is that we must return to the good old days and have people do everything. But that’s just going to be worse.
Yes, it’s nice when people are involved in the transaction when you get stuck and need help. But when you need to get something done, technology in our modern age is by far the helper the 1950s were dreaming about.
The Speed of Idea Delivery
Take this blog post. If I had to use a typewriter, the ideas I’m sharing now would never see the light of day because the pigeons that needed to deliver it only work Mondays. Or at all, since it’s cold and it won’t be warm again in Melbourne till December 27.
My point is this: technology is great, it’s helpful, it’s accurate, it’s reliable. A blog post with the help of ChatGPT will be written faster, have fewer grammatical errors, and incorporate concepts that would otherwise have been left out because I’m not clever enough to work them into the narrative.
Are there issues with ‘technology’? Absolutely. From data leaks to the separation of society into targetable market segments. Our technologies have become so convenient that it’s come at the cost of our communities, culture, and general trust in others. But dealing with these issues of trust aren’t much different to Gutenberg having to decide what to print on his new press. Even as time passes and our tools change, our problems are the same because they all revolve around people.
Artisans vs. Automation
Will there still be artisans? Yes. Definitely. Because that’s how humans work. When one avenue for creativity is enhanced with automation, we find the next thing to make.
Let’s go to one of my favourite examples: Cars. Thanks to technology, Tesla can print a thousand new vehicles this week. Every new appliance they call a car rolls out with the same plastic, uninspired yet technologically consistent design as the last. It’s also thanks to technology that a new Rolls Royce—which will take 6 months and not 6 minutes to make—will be a better car because of the machinery used on the production line.
True artisans will benefit from AI. Handcrafting copy, taking a photo, designing a graphic, and producing a video is still there for people who want to do it as a hobby or try something that a standardised platform cannot do.
Because when we want to experiment and create something different—when we’re working on something that cannot be prompted because we don’t know yet what it is we’re making—you want as much help as possible when venturing into the unknown. AI is a flashlight that helps us illuminate just a little more of the tunnel ahead. It’s people and systems working together to fill a canvas we’re all painting together.