Of AI and Artistry Part 2: Going Local

[ari_ormstunga]

 I read an article recently about magazines having to put submissions on hold because of a flood of AI generated content, both stories and artwork. As a creative being who once had dreams of being an artist and writer, I found the whole thing pretty discouraging. At the very least, it will change the publishing landscape, probably in a negative way for writers and artists.

Similarly, as a consumer of content, I don’t have any interest in reading or viewing AI created content. It may be great, but as Jules from Pulp Fiction once said, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I’ll never know because I won’t eat the filthy motherfucker. I played around with an AI art generating program, and all it did was basically rip off other artists by swiping their styles and pirating their content. Sure, it doesn’t legally violate copyright law, but without a stock of images real artists produced, it has nothing.

It sort of reminds me of a mechanized version of what JMG notes happens in a civilization in decline; all of the cultural forms become stagnant and ossified and it ends up repeating itself in iterations of the same thing over and over. AI generated content is the same trend but cycles faster and more broadly, without having any sort of direct connection to anything of spirit. How Faustian!

I guess the question becomes, what do people who want to support the creative people they value do? There are a few answers to this. One is platforms like Patreon and Substack; find the people you like and support their work directly. This cuts out middlemen like publishers, which may be a good or bad thing. I personally pay for a few Patreon subscriptions, and go out of my way to buy books published by my favorite authors. I don’t pay for Substacks but I’m not totally opposed to the idea either.

A second idea is going local. You can’t be sure that a lot of content on the internet is being created by humans, but chances are there are a number of creative types in your area that you could throw some support towards. That may take some creativity, but supporting local artists and craftspeople also helps build community. I suppose in some areas open mic nights and the like could offer opportunities to find local writers and support them as well.

One of my projects this year is going to be to try to find a local creative community and offer it some sort of financial support by buying art or using the creative services of a local person, or people. It’s high time for me to start taking the next steps in building (and participating) in my local community. The idea kinda scares me after three years of pandemic bullshit, but if not now, when?

I never thought I'd be in any way grateful for Covidianism, but in a way it has given me both the impetus and courage to change my life. I am no longer the same man I was when the pandemic hit. I am something far greater. As shitty, limiting, and Saturnine as this has been (and I'm very glad Saturn is getting the hell out of Aquarius next month), it has also built great strength and resolve inside of me. I'm ready.