Technology is Not Our Savior

The writers’ strike is over, and the actors are still in negotiation. Part of the sticking points with each has been the usage of technology — namely AI. Technology and creativity have always been a bit of an odd couple. First, there’s a fight against it. Then a begrudging embrace of it. And then an eventual settling in of having another tool at your disposal.

Part of this conflict is how technology is improperly presented to us:

Like a new discovery that will rescue humanity.

This messianic marketing strategy has caused not only much uproar but also created so much disappointment when we realize how the technology actually works.

So this week, let’s take a measured look at the Big Two technologies creatives are reckoning with — AI and VR. What’s being said, and how do they actually work?

TECHNOLOGICAL SNAKE OIL

First thing — these technologies (and ones like them) have been with us for a long time. We’ve had 3D since the 60s, VR since the 80s, and technically, AI has been with us since there have been computers. Every time a new technology has been invented, the company inventing it has told us how it’s going to change the world for the better. That it will keep us from ever having to work, stop babies from crying, and create everlasting world peace.

All for the low price of a week’s salary.

But in the end, it usually lands somewhere between:

This is a fun toy.

To:

This is a useful tool.

And there have been plenty of cases where the technology has been used for gross misconduct or just not useful at all. But it’s never been the earth-shifting saving of humanity that it’s cracked up to be.

At least in the creative field.

VIRTUAL REALITY

VR started in the 80s as a neat toy for video games. And in a lot of cases, it still remains the same. Somewhere along the lines, VR was projected to be how we will experience the world as a whole. A whole VR world would be built that we will spend most of our time in…after we’re provided legs.

We will start our day with a cup of coffee and then put on our headset to work, meet up with friends, and travel the world. It will also revolutionize the way we consume art, film, and TV. Creating a paradigm shift in how we see and interact with the world.

There’s only one problem:

It requires a giant box on your face. That may or may not make you nauseous…

I’ve talked with a VR artist who creates films and art installations with this technology. Her takeaway has always been that it’s for selective use cases. For productivity, it’s for when you really need to have a lot of extra screens for a period of time. For media, it’s for types of interactivity we want to experience. However, in its current form, it’s not going to be a completely radical shift in how we consume stories. Because of the method of participation:

A passive member of the audience.

The thing about being an active participant in a story is the part that requires action on our end. Sometimes we want that. But more often than not, we just want to be told a great story. There’s a reason why everyone doesn’t try to become a filmmaker or a storyteller:

A lot of us don’t want to allocate our energy towards it.

We’re busy people. We have a lot going on. The idea of coming home, strapping a piece of plastic to our heads in order to watch a movie just isn’t appealing to most people. It’s why 3D TVs never took off. It’s a fun technology that will undoubtedly improve and shift in the coming years.

But what’s old isn’t just what’s new. What’s old is just what works. After all, even Gen Z is still going to the theater.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

We have programmed computers to look at data and produce outcomes since the existence of computers. If you played video games in the 90s, you also know that computers have been trained to think on their own and adapt, somewhat.

What AI can do right now is analyze large sets of data and produce probable outcomes based on existing language or images. In a way, it’s like a parrot. And I can’t recall us being scared that the parrots will one day realize their true power and take over the planet.

Large Language Models don’t know the meaning behind what they’re spitting out. They just know how to construct them in a way that passes the eye test to most people. Or put data together in a way that’s faster than most people can.

What does this mean for creatives? It helps us get our existing work done a little faster. It takes away some of the monotony of the work we do. Or maybe gives us some existing ideas that we can spin off into our own. As much as it can automate some of the tasks that we do, there are still going to be times currently where we have to ask ourselves this question:

Do I want to try and get the AI to spit out what I want? Or just work with a person to do it?

Often times, the latter is easier.

THE TRUE TEST

Technology has to answer a few questions:

Does it save me time?

Does it save me money?

Is it simple and fun to use?

A lot of technologies skirt around the answers and end up falling by the wayside (see Bitcoin). But the ones that remain answer these questions almost immediately. You can tell where/how this will be useful in some capacity.

No one technology is going to completely change the world. It will alter it, for good or ill. We still shoot on film, people still draw things by hand and write things down. Companies that create products have to market them. And the current strategy by larger companies, more often than not, is to overpromise and eventually deliver. So let’s take what they tell us with a healthy dose of salt.

We’ll feel much better about the state of the creative world that way.