MY SON DRAWS HOUSES NOW.
NOT WELL, OBVIOUSLY. THE ROOF IS USUALLY TOO BIG. THE WINDOWS FLOAT. THE PEOPLE ARE STICKS WITH IMPOSSIBLE ARMS. SOMETIMES THE SUN IS INSIDE THE HOUSE FOR REASONS ONLY HE UNDERSTANDS.
BUT WHEN HE HANDS ME THE PAPER, I DON'T SEE A BAD DRAWING OF A HOUSE.
I SEE HIM.
I SEE WHAT HE THINKS A HOME IS. I SEE WHO HE DECIDED TO PUT INSIDE IT. I SEE THE FAMILY ARRANGED IN THE ORDER HIS BRAIN CHOSE THAT DAY. I SEE THE TINY MISTAKES HIS HAND MADE WHILE TRYING TO TURN MEMORY INTO SHAPE.
THAT DRAWING HAS DEPTH BECAUSE THERE IS A LIFE BEHIND IT. A SHARED ONE. I KNOW THE TABLE HE DREW IT ON. I KNOW THE VOICE HE USED WHEN HE EXPLAINED IT. I KNOW THE LITTLE PRIDE ON HIS FACE WHEN HE GAVE IT TO ME.
I CAN ASK AI TO GENERATE A CHILDREN'S DRAWING OF A HOUSE.
IT MIGHT LOOK BETTER.
THAT IS THE PROBLEM.
THE MISSING DEPTH
AI CAN MAKE THE ARTIFACT NOW. IT CAN MAKE THE CRAYON TEXTURE, THE UNEVEN LINES, THE FAKE CHILDISH PROPORTIONS. IT CAN EVEN MAKE THE SUN TOO BIG AND THE FAMILY SLIGHTLY WRONG IN A WAY THAT LOOKS BELIEVABLE.
BUT THERE IS NO CHILD BEHIND IT. NO TABLE. NO AFTERNOON. NO SMALL HAND PRESSING TOO HARD ON THE PAPER. NO MEMORY ATTACHED TO THE OBJECT.
IT IS A DRAWING WITH NO CHILDHOOD INSIDE IT.
THAT IS WHAT I MEAN BY AUTHENTICITY EROSION. NOT THAT EVERYTHING IS FAKE. NOT THAT AI IS BAD. I USE AI EVERY DAY AND I LOVE CREATING WITH IT. BUT AI MAKES IT VERY EASY TO PRODUCE THE SHAPE OF SOMETHING WITHOUT THE DEPTH THAT USED TO LIVE UNDERNEATH IT.
THE SHAPE SURVIVES.
THE SOUL MIGHT NOT.
SIGNALS ARE GETTING CHEAPER
WE USED TO ASSUME CERTAIN THINGS CARRIED EFFORT. A THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE MEANT SOMEONE SAT WITH THE THOUGHT. A PERSONAL ESSAY MEANT SOMEONE HAD LIVED CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE IDEA TO GET BRUISED BY IT. A DRAWING FROM YOUR KID MEANT YOUR KID WAS THERE, MAKING IT FOR YOU.
NONE OF THESE SIGNALS WERE PERFECT. PEOPLE PERFORMED BEFORE AI. BRANDS FAKED SINCERITY BEFORE AI. THE INTERNET HAS ALWAYS BEEN A COSTUME PARTY WITH ANALYTICS.
BUT THE COSTUME STILL TOOK EFFORT.
AI CHANGES THAT. IT DOES NOT ONLY MAKE CONTENT CHEAPER. IT MAKES EMOTIONAL SIGNALS CHEAPER.
IT CAN WRITE THE APOLOGY WITHOUT REGRET. THE LOVE LETTER WITHOUT LONGING. THE FOUNDER STORY WITHOUT RISK. THE VULNERABLE POST WITHOUT THE MEMORY THAT MADE VULNERABILITY NECESSARY.
SO NOW WE READ DIFFERENTLY. NOT JUST, IS THIS GOOD? NOT JUST, IS THIS REAL?
IS THERE A LIFE BEHIND THIS?
THE ARTIFACT HAS NO SCAR
THAT IS THE LINE I KEEP COMING BACK TO.
SOME AI CONTENT FEELS STRANGE BECAUSE THERE IS NO SCAR UNDER IT. THE WORDS ARE FINE. THE STRUCTURE WORKS. THE IMAGE LOOKS RIGHT. BUT NOTHING HAPPENED TO MAKE IT NECESSARY.
NO MEMORY. NO CONSEQUENCE. NO PRIVATE REASON IT HAD TO EXIST.
JUST OUTPUT LOOKING BACK AT YOU WITH SOULLESS EYES.
AND I DON'T MEAN THAT IN A DRAMATIC ANTI-AI WAY. I MEAN IT IN A PRACTICAL WAY. IF YOU GIVE ONE PROMPT, TAKE THE FIRST ANSWER, AND SHIP IT, YOU ARE BUILDING A HOUSE OF CARDS.
IT MIGHT STAND FOR A SECOND.
IT WILL NOT SURVIVE THE NEW WORLD.
BECAUSE WHEN EVERYONE CAN GENERATE SOMETHING POLISHED, POLISH STOPS BEING PROOF OF ANYTHING. PEOPLE WILL START LOOKING FOR DEPTH. FOR FINGERPRINTS. FOR THE PARTS THAT COULD ONLY COME FROM A PERSON WHO ACTUALLY LIVED WITH THE IDEA.
BREATHING INTO THE MACHINE
THIS IS WHERE I THINK THE AI CONVERSATION GETS TOO SIMPLE.
PEOPLE TALK LIKE THERE ARE TWO CAMPS. HUMAN-MADE IS AUTHENTIC. AI-MADE IS FAKE. I DON'T BUY THAT.
I HAVE MADE THINGS WITH AI THAT FEEL MORE TRUE THAN THINGS I WROTE ALONE. BUT ONLY AFTER WRESTLING WITH THEM. PUSHING BACK. ADDING MEMORY. CUTTING THE GENERIC PARTS. FORCING THE OUTPUT THROUGH MY OWN TASTE UNTIL SOMETHING HUMAN STARTS TO BREATHE INSIDE IT.
AI CAN BE PART OF THE WORK. BUT IT CANNOT BE THE WHOLE SOUL OF THE WORK.
IF I USE AI TO EXPLORE AN IDEA, THEN LAYER IN MY MEMORIES, MY CONTRADICTIONS, MY WEIRD REFERENCES, MY ACTUAL LIFE, THE RESULT CAN BECOME MINE. NOT BECAUSE I TYPED EVERY SENTENCE MANUALLY, BUT BECAUSE I PAID ATTENTION LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE THE THING CARRY MY WEIGHT.
THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE.
ONE PROMPT IS NOT AUTHORSHIP. IT IS A RECEIPT.
AUTHORSHIP STARTS WHEN YOU STAY WITH THE OUTPUT UNTIL IT HAS SOMETHING OF YOU IN IT.
WHAT SURVIVES
SO MAYBE AUTHENTICITY IS NOT DISAPPEARING. MAYBE IT IS BECOMING MORE DEMANDING.
RAW IS NOT ENOUGH. AI CAN DO RAW. MESSY IS NOT ENOUGH. AI CAN DO MESSY. EVEN VULNERABILITY IS NOT ENOUGH, BECAUSE VULNERABILITY HAS A STYLE NOW AND MODELS LEARNED IT.
WHAT MATTERS IS DEPTH.
SHARED MEMORY. LIVED SPECIFICITY. TASTE FORMED OVER TIME. THE FEELING THAT SOMEONE DID NOT JUST GENERATE THE THING, BUT RECOGNIZED THEMSELVES IN IT AND KEPT SHAPING IT UNTIL IT BECAME HONEST.
THAT IS WHY MY SON'S CROOKED HOUSE MATTERS.
NOT BECAUSE IT IS BEAUTIFUL.
BECAUSE HE WAS THERE.
BECAUSE I WAS THERE.
BECAUSE THE PAPER REMEMBERS SOMETHING THE PROMPT NEVER CAN.
