Addressing the golem in the room…

Unless you’ve wandered into the wilderness to forget language and live amongst the lichen in the last decade or so, you’re likely keenly aware of the ongoing debate around AI use. Even the most conservative viewpoint is that “it’s complicated” but, whatever you’re feelings on the matter, the technological paradigm has clearly been shifted in a way that can’t be fully dismissed.

So far as it concerns content generation, I’m divided but ultimately think there’s a compelling argument to be made within certain critical boundaries. Specifically, I don’t believe that relying on AI generated visual media is ultimately going to provide the value that investing in a professional artist does. Certainly not in the near term, and the question of whether it even should in the long term is contentious at best (I’m solidly in the camp of “definitively no!”). However, I think there’s merit in content creators using it as an expedient shorthand for a larger vision. That is to say, while I don’t think it’s sufficient for a finished project, using it for prototyping and to produce a minimally viable project seems to be a cost-efficient use case.

So I suppose I’ve drawn my own line in the sand. I plan to leverage it for my own prototypes and rely on the talent and experience of artists for the final product. I think this is a pragmatic approach but also believe creators being up front about this is an ideal way to keep the conversation around this prickly subject a constructive one. There you have it.