By Neal Lemery
A response to Laura’s questions … Editor’s Note: After multiple community pages exploded over AI, I sent out a query to all our Pioneer contributors. Here are Neal’s “Words of Wisdom” about AI.
As I open my Word software to write something, the software prompts me to query its “AI” tool, “Copilot” to frame a question. If I Google a topic, I am immediately besieged with facts, references, and other information. The spelling check tool is also AI, though that is nothing new to me.
If I look on Amazon for a book, a tool, or clothing, I get references for what I’m probably looking for, complete with my clothing sizes. If I use an app for directions, I get a plethora of options, including menus, hours of operation and more information than what I think I need or want.
Soon, my Facebook feed is showing me ads for products I just queried about on Amazon, and vice versa.
I use AI a lot, more than I realize. I see it as a research tool, a form of an encyclopedia, a checklist of things to think about, a writing prompt.
` I could ask AI to write something for me, but the work would not be my own. At the least, the product is a co-authorship, but certainly not much of it is my creativity, my writing, my art. It is not my originality. Yes, it is a starting point, but not my own, not my own creation.
I’ll not reject AI, but I need to see the bright line between what an algorithm generates, and my own creativity. The process wants to often dominate and manipulate what shows up on my screen, but I am responsible for what is ultimately created, and the reader needs to know if this is my work, or something heavily borrowed from algorithms. These are questions of boundaries, ethics, and full disclosure. Being an artist, a creative, is founded upon integrity and honesty. Creating art is an act of honesty.
The creative community needs to talk about these questions, and have full disclosure, and honesty. We need to deal with recognizing all of the creative forces in our lives, and give credit where credit is due.
Artists of all genres need to wrestle with these questions and have open and frank conversation, on a regular basis. As the use of AI expands, so do our awareness and our responses. Our readers deserve that, too.
