Issue 141: Can AI be Creative?
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re talking about AI and creativity. – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Can AI be Creative?
Hollywood is in the middle of a writer’s strike. Writers of popular shows and movies are demanding more equity as the industry is rapidly changing in the streaming era. There is also an intense debate coming to light about the role of artificial intelligence in the arts. Writers and actors are increasingly concerned about their positions' viability as AI platforms become stronger at producing creative content by the day. Should we be concerned?
Cause for concern. The rapid rise in the power of AI platforms to produce all types of content is alarming at first blush. Seemingly out of nowhere, bots like ChatGPT have taken over our lives on the internet. However, AI is only as strong as its inputs and data sets at this stage. While there is ample cause for concern about the future power of AI in the creative industry, the platforms need to become more powerful to achieve the emotional intelligence necessary to create original art. The science fiction writer Ted Chiang recently pointed out that AI hasn’t yet written anything with dynamic or emotive value. Instead, AI excels at completing the busywork that fills much of our lives.
Plan for the future. Hollywood writers are right to be concerned about their future job security. We should all share this concern in the AI age. It’s vital to remember that what shift occurs in the creative realm will be slow. Systems will be created, refined, and slowly filtered into our lives. Thus, the chance of genuinely compelling creativity from AI is a ways off. Our task now is to think about how incremental changes will directly affect us in the future. This isn’t just in the creative realm but with everything our technology touches.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Misfortune weighs most heavily on those who expect nothing but good fortune.”
– Seneca
CHART OF THE WEEK
This week we are looking at extreme heat. The Northern Hemisphere is experiencing historic levels of heat this month. Will it last?
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
Climate change is here: It’s hard to avoid the news about climate change these days. From dire reports to unusual weather patterns worldwide, you can’t avoid how dramatically our planet changes. This week, we consider the issue of growth and climate change more deeply. As our attention shifts to mitigation efforts, might advanced technologies modeled by the UAE provide a solution?
The new space cowboys: The Space Race is back on, and a new cast of characters is rewriting the rules of space exploration and privatization. Longtime readers of Xische’s articles will be well aware of the incredible strides the UAE has made in several space endeavors. From the Mars orbiter to plans for Moon exploration, the UAE shows that small countries can defy the odds and explore the furthest reaches of our solar system. This week, we take stock of the more significant questions to consider in space, like privatization and exploration.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
Design for humans. In his new book, The New Designer, Manuel Lima boldly claims that design is no longer for humans. Attempts at changing this direction by repositioning humans at the center of design projects (human-centric design) have yet to acknowledge our rapidly changing environment. Lima argues in this excerpt from the book that what is needed is a new life-centered or earth-centered design methodology. Exciting!
The history of autocorrect. Apple is set to launch a new version of its mobile phone software in September. Among the improvements in this new version are vital updates to autocorrect. But how did autocorrect even develop? In a fascinating piece for Wired, Gideon Lewis-Kraus tells the strange and unusual history of autocorrect—a great weekend read.
QUICK HITS
The future of children’s television isn’t television.
People are starting to love Apple Maps.
Microsoft is a new company thanks to AI.
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