opting out of AI

AI has been in the news a lot lately, and I have a lot of thoughts about the topic, many of which are still amorphous and uncertain. One thing I know for sure is that my tentative attitude towards AI is wary and pessimistic, in line with a more recent turn away from technology and what Kingsnorth is calling “The Machine.” I’m sure I’ll have more to say on the topic in the near future, especially in my essay series developing on my newsletter, but for now, this piece by Kevin Drum (who generally is more optimistic about AI) caught my eye:

Starting in November, Clarkesworld began to receive a torrent of stories written by ChatGTP—which has apparently been touted to aspiring writers as a sure-thing moneymaker by an array of scam artists. This has now gotten so out of hand that Clarkesworld is no longer accepting unsolicited submissions—for now, at least.

In other news, ChatGTP is being used to write cover letters for job hunters. Is this kosher? Or a fraudulent attempt to appear as something you’re not?

https://jabberwocking.com/chatbots-are-taking-over-a-part-of-the-world/

This is one of the biggest issues I have with this new AI-driven world of creation: its entirely utilitarian and capitalist in the worst way possible. So many are embracing AI because of what Kevin says here, because it’s seen “as a sure-thing moneymaker.” The only goal is to fulfill a task, to eliminate as much friction in life as possible, and to profit as quickly and as shortsightedly as possible. There is no incentive to create art or write a story in order to become a better artist; there is no thought given to the idea that writing bad cover letters over and over again eventually helps you develop the skill to write better cover letters – and in the process, to become a better, more well-rounded human being who can communicate about your strengths and weaknesses. No, the end goal is all that’s in mind, the drive to get yours as fast and as painlessly as you can. Yeah, the cut-throat and immoral greed of capitalism is partly to blame here, and so it makes this path rational for a lot of people, in purely economic terms. But at what long term, societal and ethical cost?

As someone who spends my days teaching teenagers the art of becoming good writers, I try to communicate this message all the time: sure, you can use ChatGPT to generate your essays and answers for you. But, at the end of the day, you haven’t gained a skill, you haven’t bettered yourself, and you haven’t made it any more likely that you’ll achieve the success you want in life. In fact, you’ve done the opposite. By getting AI to do the work for you, you are well on your way to being the kind of human envisioned in a movie like WALL-E:

We should want more than life than just to acquire. And the development of skills like writing, like making art, like telling stories, like interacting with other people: these are good in and of themselves. We don’t all have to be utilitarians. We shouldn’t just think of all these things as merely means to the end of amassing stuff. The good of writing a story isn’t the money you can make off of it; the good is in practicing the ancient and deeply human art of writing, for itself.

This is why I am taking an early stand on my refusal to use AI, in any way, as far as I can avoid it (I am sure there are situations where the demands of corporate global capitalism will force me to use AI, whether I want to or not, in order to exist in this modern world.) I don’t want AI to write for me, I don’t want art created by it, I don’t want it to make my life “easier” (whatever that means.) Being human means exercising my mind for myself, not having a computer do it for me. It’s not a worry about AI plugging us all into the Matrix or something; it’s a regard for human dignity and creativity. Will you join me in this stand against AI?