Fuck AI

I would agree, yeah.

I think a big driving force is that people who are drawn to generative AI are more likely to be mediocre at a thing, as well as demoralised by the effort required to improve.

I can sympathise with that drive, at least. After all, I'm a pretty mediocre writer. I desperately wish I could be better, but I am so far away from where I'd like to be that it feels hopeless sometimes.

Sometimes I wish that I believed that it actually was hopeless, because then I could just give up on trying rather than having to bear the pain of practicing my way out of mediocrity. However, I care more about improving than I do about my discomfort, and so I keep going with the XP grind.

A big thing that keeps me going is that I have seen the power of practice. I'm still far from where I'd like to be (and no doubt when I reach that point, my ambition will have grown along with my skill such that I will still be satisfied), but I'm able to look back on my efforts of the last few years and see real progress.

That's why I find people who use generative AI to be quite tragic — they're like alternate timeline versions of myself. It's more comfortable to believe that the reason you're not good at things is because there are people who are Good at it, and people who are Bad at it. If it's a case of immutable categories of capability, then you have an excuse not to try. What's especially tragic is that when these demoralised novices use generative AI, that's often because they still have that drive to create inside themselves.

But man, it sucks to see, because I know that they will never find the satisfaction they crave in these tools. Sure, they might make something they're proud of, giving them a facsimile of fulfillment — but it won't compare to what they could be feeling. When I argue against generative AI, I'm not just being anti-AI, but pro-Art. Actually, no, it's more than that — I'm pro-passion. If they could cultivate the kind of vulnerability required to actually use and develop their inner passion, then I would treasure any piece of art or writing generated through that process. I might not enjoy the art itself, in its own right, but I don't need to, because what I love most about art is that it's a fundamentally human process, and so any creative work is best enjoyed with that context

Ugh, it drives me mad. I just want to grab them by the shoulders and shake them, while yelling "PLEASE COME AND JOIN US. I GENUINELY WANT TO SEE WHAT PASSIONS DRIVE YOUR URGE TO CREATE. I KNOW IT HURTS TO BE MEDIOCRE, BUT YOUR PASSIONS ARE WORTH PERSISTING FOR. WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE, AND WE WANT YOU HERE WITH US SO THAT WE CAN HELP SUPPORT YOU". Alas, screaming at someone like this is not an effective evangelisation strategy — even if you tell them that we throw better parties, and that they're invited