AI: Friends or Foe to Creativity?

Hello guys!

This week’s newsletter topic will be all about artificial intelligence (AI), and my thoughts on it. It has been a hot topic for months now. And It has been crazy to follow up. It’s almost like there’s a FOMO if you don’t keep yourself updated on it.

For the longest time, I always wanted to write my thoughts on it. I just didn’t know on what platform. At first, I thought on LinkedIn, but I felt it was too busy with people being experts on AI tools which felt weird to me, but hey… it is what it is. Next was Twitter. But again busy with these AI threads. And to be honest, it was tiresome to read them. It certainly didn’t motivate me to share anything AI-related.

So when I was thinking about what to write for the next issue. I was like hey, why not do that through this newsletter? So here I am. It’s nice because there’s not the same noise as there is on social media.

When it comes to AI, I’ve tried out some of them. I think it was Open AI’s DALL-e 2 I was first introduced to AI. I was on the waitlist, but I never got the invite until later on. Before that time, I was trying out MidJourney. It could also produce images through natural text just like DALL-e 2. But I found Midjourney to be better even though it was on Discord. I literally went through a rabbit hole and kept producing image after image. It was a lot of fun. I was living my childhood dream lol. You can see some of my results on this Instagram account. I’ve made many more on my MidJourney account though.

And of course, I’ve also played around with ChatGPT. It has its limits, but I can see its strengths too just like with MidJourney. It’s like having an assistant that you can quickly bounce ideas off, come up with suggestions, or refine some of the stuff you’ve done. Especially with ChatGPT, I can come up with a rough draft that I’m feeding the AI and making it more cohesive. For me, it speeds up my work process. And when you’ve got a limited amount of time. You will prioritize speed over perfection.

Whether you like it or not, AI will change the way we work and live. Tasks become quicker and more efficient. And a lot of manual labor is being automated. It opens up opportunities for us to focus on the more creative and uniquely human aspects of our work. And I don’t believe that AI will ever replace our innate ability to create things. Human creativity is here to stay. It’s something that AI can’t replicate. And I think that’s amazing.

Remember when digital photography overtook film? It didn’t kill the art - instead, it gave photographers the tools to express their creativity in new and exciting ways. In the same way, Photoshop didn’t render artists obsolete. Rather it expanded the canvas on which they could express their imaginations. Also, software like Excel hasn’t replaced accountants but gave them the opportunity to manage financial data more efficiently so that they can focus on more important matters.

I’m really fascinated by how AI can be integrated into our everyday lives. But I believe there should be a balance, and we should not go to extremes. It’s not a Skynet-like apocalypse, nor a one-size-fits-all miracle cure that does the all thinking without considering whether the output is meaningful.

Just like any tool, there’s potential for misuse. AI can give you a shortcut to cheat, and potentially never get caught. That brings us to a whole other discussion about integrity, ethics, and morale when it comes to the usage of AI.

Chris Do once shared a post on LinkedIn with regard to MidJourney which I found profound:

“The best way to think about this for now— it starts with a human, who is inspired, knows about art, design, cinema, photography, etc… to articulate what they want. The machine produces images. A human "art directs" the machine. An image is produced and then needs additional refinement, color correction, adjustment or more compositing.
The name Mid Journey is a clue. It's not the beginning nor the ending. That's where you come in.”

Before I leave you off the hook, let me share with you 10 techniques to be ahead of everyone else with ChatGPT… Just kidding, there are already too many of those online lol.

But on a serious note, I believe that AI should be embraced with intentionality. It’s an incredible tool but needs to be wielded mindfully and ethically. Let it enhance your work, amplify your creativity, and make a positive difference in the world around you.

Anyways, I hope you got something useful out of this or you found some of it interesting.

Until next time,

Stay inspired!

Sharmarke