A i vs C i
I may evolve to hate, a, i, generated content.
In 1980, I authored my first book, Quadragrip, a drumming technique concept. I didn’t think I’d ever author anything else. I really didn’t consider myself an author, I wasn’t.
As a musician and producer, I’ve recorded and produced many projects. All of these were ideas that came into my head. I like to think, they were original. Maybe inspired, but not copied. Certainly one of my favorites, The Neanderthal Yodeler, hasn’t been taken to court for copyright infringement. No Marvin Gaye rhythms or melodies were mimicked.
A i is out of the bag, here to stay. Each day, something new pops into my Youtube viewing stream. Facebook is showing advertised applications.
As a content creator, my brain worked overtime, evaluating, checking, analyzing the details of my projects.
One of my favorite writers, Charles Bukowski, called it Betting on the Muse.
I don’t publish much info here, on Substack about my Children’s music curriculum, coloring, storybooks. I’ve posted a few photos from my “I Love Jazz” Boom Boom the Bass Drum book, I think.
I have 17 books in that series, at this time.
(Each story illustration-concept was created by me) That’s not pride of life or vain glory, just fact.
I’m reading about the flooding of new authors, A i, ChatGPT created books. ChatGPT is currently the most prolific author on Amazon.
As a drummer, the human replacement of my craft began with the introduction of the drum machine. Many bands became duos and trios, minus a real drummer.
The AFM, American Federation of Musicians, in 1937 would not allow its members to make recordings, because of canned music.
String synthesizers have always been a threat to “live” real strings for film dates and Broadway Shows.
There are currently dozens of Youtube videos, how to avoid plagiarism when you use CHATGPT.
(How to get around ChatGPT detectors)
When Napster hit the scene, free music downloads became the thing. I was a Middle School Technology teacher, when it dropped (as the hipsters say) Since then, what happened? The human consumers rationalization for free music! Paying the artist? How’s that worked out?
Ask the great drummers of James Brown, Clyde Stubblefield and Jabo Starks, how much $$$ they’ve made from “beat makers and producers” utilizing their beats as samples. I’ve written about colleague, drummer, Greg Coleman, his drum break from The Winston’s, Amen Break. He saw zero dollars from the utilization of his drum beat and groove.
Creativity can be a blessing and a curse. I’ve experienced many creative projects that completely failed to monetize, in the commercial market. I still experience failure and rejection, but I’m so immune, it doesn’t bother me. I write it off as experience and move along.
I could rant on and on, about creativity, how A i could eliminate the human creative process, a natural function of life.
Much of this a i technology is very captivating and interesting. It’s also entertaining to see, all of the cool creative short cuts, content producers can access for little or no cost. (eliminating: musicians, composers, illustrators, writers, proof readers, photographers, artist, animators and more)
My process of creating books, costs thousands of dollars. I paid highly talented illustrators and designers with power skills, I could not do. As I continue to launch my brand, I know, my content is original, without a i. Its not plagiarized.
When my books were published on Amazon, KDP, that platform offered various distributor aggregators. Several times, I discovered sites that offered my books for sale. Though they had zero in stock, I hadn’t received any $$$ compensation from them. But, they advertised and offered my books for sale, ready to ship. I no longer subscribe to that Amazon distribution program.
Many are starting to use a platform called MidJourney. How does this work? You input your / imagine-text. MidJourney scans the Internet for familiar, similar content. (Created by others) BaDaBoom, you have your “original” artwork.
When I look at art rendered from MidJourney, I see images that appear very professional, but similar to things, I’ve seen before.
As a drummer, I’ve dabbled in the “Beat Producer” world. Much of what I hear is the same. If you surf Youtube, Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy and other platforms, you may see that thumbnail images all look the same. They seem to use the same program to generate images that look like everyone else’s images.
The most popular social media “Influencers” are very good at stealing ideas from others. They post videos to inspire you to create a brand, though they have, zero ideas. They use programs to analyze algorhithms and key words to create like products. Products others are having success with. Usually, from another humans original idea.
I hesitate, to go into my personal belief about the dehumanization of man and woman. Yes, I’m old school. The technology of A i seems comfortable to cancel out the concept of God’s gifts.
(The natural creative process of spirit, mind and The Muse)
It’s possible that alternative publishers, distributors, platforms and aggregators of art, music, text and creative works, will reject all A i generated work. Maybe, natural real-time works will be elevated to a special plateau.
As a human, I know, I have zero chance to compete with ChatGPT in a coding competition. I’ve seen it work. I fold. Game over. But, I’ll continue to dream, imagine and produce, my own way.
I’ve experienced the feeling and emotion of music, creative forms of expression. Many times, it was spiritual, even out of body, trancelike.
I favor C i, Creative Intelligence vs Artificial intelligence. It can be slow “Waiting on the Muse, but the rewards last a lifetime. BaDaBoom
This is a very powerful argument indeed. It remains to be seen how much A.I. rendered art will be accepted as "art" over the long haul, though right now it seems to be trending at an almost unimaginable rate as all of the coverage it is getting on news media seems to indicate.
In a way it' s like prints of original art works being made so they become more affordable in the marketplace and increase the opportunity for the artist to earn a living while their popularity or visibility grows. It may eventually be that paying a fee to the original creator for use of the pieces being tapped will be something that will become an acceptable practice that could benefit the original artist. And don't forget the old adage: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."