“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities 1859*
Like in Dickens’ famous opening paragraph, the rise of AI* has thrown the world and artists and writers into a future dark and full of terror. The current applications might oscillate between resembling trash chutes spewing junk and mimicking gifted teenagers lying to your face. But the technology is driven by a fierce fight for market shares where money is irrelevant and it might get its shit sorted.
To take a stance now is like standing before a tsunami—creatives will need to make a choice:
- Run to the hills and hide.
- Stand in defiance and get crushed.
- Ride the wave and throw up more junk into the world.
- Step to the side and study the wave. Find the crest that allows us to survive and maintain our authenticity, integrity and ethical framework.
I am done with option one. I admire any David taking on any Goliath—you are my heroes—but I don’t have a sling or a single stone to throw. Three is for the defeated and I am still standing. Four is … four is—scary. And intriguing. I feel like putting in the work, seeing where it takes me … . So, I made a list***.
- Research principles—Claude, the AI chatbot by Anthropic
- Research principles—ChatGPT, the AI chatbot by OpenAI
- Research applications—Ethical ways to use Claude as an AI writing companion and editor
- Research applications—Using AI supported application as line editors starting with ProWritingAid
I’ll let you know how I go!
[… Now continued in Using Claude, the AI Chatbot by Anthropic, as a Line Editor and Critique Group) …]
—
*) Though published in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities is set in London and Paris during the period leading up to and during the French Revolution 1775-1792, a time of upheaval that changed the political and socio-economic landscape in Europe over the following decades.
**) aka Artificial Stupidity
***) I am sure it will evolve into a spreadsheet
And, if you liked the post, why not sign-up for my monthly-ish newsletter!
—
Other news
The first locally printed New Zealand edition of The Fragments is be available on my website. It looks amazing … if I say so myself.
New here? I am New Zealand-based writer, artist and maker Minu Freitag. I have published my first book—The Fragments, an inventive mix of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Dystopian fiction—in 2022 and am currently working on the second book in The Spheres Series—The House—due for release in the first half of 2024.
