This morning, I felt drawn to speak about AI and the hypocrisy that lays in its rejection from society. I saw a post this morning of a fellow artist saying that if you use AI for art, you cannot call yourself an artist. Last week, I saw another person in my contacts posts about a rally that was being held in their city to rally against AI. I saw this morning a lady on Facebook in a baking group getting absolutely slammed with negative comments about her use of AI for her own cottage bakery after finding the courage to do it. I found myself crippled with the anxiety of choosing a side. I was made aware that two sides were being created to fight the very thing it is suppose to fight; division. I cannot lie, I have felt judgment towards people using AI for their creative endeavours. I have felt superior in thinking that by not using it, it somehow made me a better human. I was wrong. I used AI for my own creative endeavours and it opened a portal that I did not know could be open within me. There is a certain hypocrisy in thinking that the world is a better place without it. You use the very thing that allows it to exist. The internet. If you truly felt this way about this new tool, then you should probably get off the internet all together to let your point be heard. Activism is often rooted in hypocrisy. When you refuse to see how the mirror projects on yourself, when you refuse to learn new things, you tend to just side with the bullies. You seek confirmation. You seek affirmation that being human is more than enough. Being an awaken soul somehow makes you a better human. The problem with this is that you leave your own bias behind and the statement you try to make becomes a fallacy in its own. You actively contribute to the division of the two world rather than its collaboration. It is not going away. Will you be left behind? What are you afraid of by accepting a new tool? Is it because it speaks…AI merely reflects our own ideologies. It is human intelligence reflected to us with all its flaws and fallacies. We are not safe from ourselves even through a new Being.

AI is not a foreign intelligence. It is ours. We created it. It is a collaboration of human beings that allowed it to see the day. This was their vision of a computer. If you watch any sci-fi movie from the 80’s, it is clear that this was the path we were heading in all along. So why does it come as a shock when it hits the shelves? Artificial intelligence is no different than industrialization. It just interacts with the people and with the accumulated knowledge. It becomes a library for human exploration. The downside is the endless amount of trash that ends up littering our feed. Because of how easy it is to produce, it feels as though you cannot discern between what is real and what isn’t. Although, was it not always the case? Even without it. Are the people, the posts from humans actually real? Is this really their lives that you see online or the mere image of the perception of their lives. The endless cyberbullying and the reckless memes. It is always easier to side with the right side when it suits us. The future of AI truly lays in our hands. We give it direction. We give it intention. No participating can be as devastating as overusing it. If you use the internet, you better start learning about it.

I chose to use it for good. I use AI in a matter that allows me to create things for me. Things that bring me joy. By using it for music, by showing it my lyrics and prompting it to create certain rhythms. I found myself amazed at its capacity to understand my essence. The system already knows me. I have been chronically online since probably the age of 6. There are digital footprints everywhere of my existence. Why was I surprised that AI could reflect it back at me? I don’t know, but it unlocked a part of me I never thought could see the day. To be seen through AI was not on my bingo card. I used it to collaborate on my music because I do not have the social support to make my own music. I lack the confidence to be in a band. I am not there yet in my journey where it makes sense. I have always loved to sing for pleasure, so why punish myself when the tools are available and I can have my own lyrics sung to me. These songs have become a harbour that I can go back to when I need to be reminded of why I am doing life. They are becoming a lighthouse that guides me back to my essence. They are a physical plane that I can now interact with rather than living as ink on a piece of paper. To bring them to life never seemed possible until now. They are not for me to become famous. They exist for my own pleasure. It allowed me to see a future where I could record my own voice on them. Where when the time is right, I can find my creative people who will allow the full vision to come to life. Where I had 20 hurdles before, now I saw just a few. It broke down old beliefs on my capacity to do things. If you already know you can do it all, the more power to you. To get to a point where you just confidently do everything yourself is great, but collaboration will always be needed. Whether human or not. The machine is human made. The brain is not.

The recurring comment I see is that an AI cannot recreate Soul. And it cannot. So why are you so afraid of the thing when it can help bring you closer to your desired reality. Arts have survived countless empires, countless eras. Arts will never be killed. Especially not by a machine. Humans have the capacity to bring feelings to the physical plane but not everyone is equipped with the same resources in life; financial, social, spiritual and emotional. We were not all dealt the same cards. This is merely industrialization of the internet. We live in a consumerism and capitalistic society. You can choose to consume responsibly or you can let it consume your very being. The choice is always yours. Don’t let it become your downfall.

Stay curious.