The notion of "surefire mediocre sludge" resonated with me following a visit to a noted museum in Bilbao where a significant amount of space (and energy) is devoted to AI generated graphics.
“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”
Interesting stuff. In my opinion, what gives literature (and other art) its value is what it brings out in the audience. In the case of human-generated art, the originator's experiences and thoughts give birth to what he/she produces. That's not the case with AI, but it may generate something that arouses feelings and thoughts in the audience as well. Or it may be crappy. The bit on old trees was a bit of a shocker. I read the whole article you referenced and it's a bit counter-intuitive. Your dive with the seals was delightful. I think she was flirting with you. Or maybe she thought you were a very big and strange fish.
Also, the Vermeer forgeries reminded me of an art history class in college, in which we had to determine if a picture was a genuine Vermeer or a forgery (it was, but an early one, and most of the students, including me, thought it was a forgery). I distinctly remember wondering at the time why the difference was seen as so meaningful, since either way it was a beautiful painting? I’ll have to chew on your explanation.
Fascinating stuff as always, Brian. I loved the seal video. I’ve been able to snorkel with sea lions in Baja, which is similar (though warmer!). I enjoyed it so much I’m doing it again in December. I’m of Northern European descent and mildly lactose intolerant, so that was really interesting as well.
Great stuff Brian. I agree with your sentiments about AI generated works. But I believe a great man-made forgery has value when you examine our myths of individualism myths of the self- made man our delusions about originality and authenticity.
A breathtakingly broad collection of provocative ideas in this essay! But I'm not sure I'm sad to think that this essay will be grist for ChatGPT 5's mill ...
Great mix of ideas, Brian.
The notion of "surefire mediocre sludge" resonated with me following a visit to a noted museum in Bilbao where a significant amount of space (and energy) is devoted to AI generated graphics.
“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!”
Wonderful! Thank you, Brian 👏
This fabulous essay by Robin Wall Kimmerer ties in so nicely with the old trees: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/becoming-earth/Becoming Earth – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Interesting stuff. In my opinion, what gives literature (and other art) its value is what it brings out in the audience. In the case of human-generated art, the originator's experiences and thoughts give birth to what he/she produces. That's not the case with AI, but it may generate something that arouses feelings and thoughts in the audience as well. Or it may be crappy. The bit on old trees was a bit of a shocker. I read the whole article you referenced and it's a bit counter-intuitive. Your dive with the seals was delightful. I think she was flirting with you. Or maybe she thought you were a very big and strange fish.
Also, the Vermeer forgeries reminded me of an art history class in college, in which we had to determine if a picture was a genuine Vermeer or a forgery (it was, but an early one, and most of the students, including me, thought it was a forgery). I distinctly remember wondering at the time why the difference was seen as so meaningful, since either way it was a beautiful painting? I’ll have to chew on your explanation.
Fascinating stuff as always, Brian. I loved the seal video. I’ve been able to snorkel with sea lions in Baja, which is similar (though warmer!). I enjoyed it so much I’m doing it again in December. I’m of Northern European descent and mildly lactose intolerant, so that was really interesting as well.
Great stuff Brian. I agree with your sentiments about AI generated works. But I believe a great man-made forgery has value when you examine our myths of individualism myths of the self- made man our delusions about originality and authenticity.
A breathtakingly broad collection of provocative ideas in this essay! But I'm not sure I'm sad to think that this essay will be grist for ChatGPT 5's mill ...