Are There Only 2 Kinds of People in the World? / AI Reality Check

People seem to like this image, which had nearly a thousand likes on my TikTok, so I thought I’d share it with you. Buwan, or “Bu” as he’s known to his friends, is the somewhat goofy guy in Beautiful & Terrible Things who nonetheless spouts nuggets of wisdom on important issues like coping with depression, and simple things like — in this case — when to brush your teeth in the morning.

Horizons Author Lounge Interview

If you’ve ever wondered how audiobooks are produced, check out this recent podcast interview with me and Nicole Cash, the wonderful voice actor who narrates the audiobook of Beautiful & Terrible Things. The interview also delves into how to write nonbinary characters like Sunny (around the 8 minute mark), among other topics. (So, apologies Bu, but there are more than 2 kinds of people in the world.)

Musing: AI, Creativity & Our Future

I recently used ChatGPT to create realistic images of the six friends at the heart of Beautiful & Terrible Things, since I have never found six illustrations that accurately portray the characters in a similar style. (If you follow my social media posts, you know what I mean!)

When I mentioned this to my artist daughter, Natalie Simone, she laid a dose of reality on me: ChatGPT and other AI platforms “create” those images by mashing together illustrations and photography created by artists who get no compensation or credit for their work whatsoever.

I should have known this, because authors are also finding their carefully researched and crafted works being used to train AI engines, with no compensation.

AI’s Impact on the Planet – Do We Have Enough Power?

Further, Natalie crystallized for me the environmental impacts of AI. I’m an ardent tree-hugger — I’ve been known to pull a tiny piece of paper out of the trash for recycling. But I had no idea how bad AI is for the planet. This United Nations website sums up AI’s negative impacts: massive use of water, massive use of electricity, reliance on unsustainably mined minerals, and the production of mercury and lead.

Let’s focus on electricity. How much are we talking about? The University of Massachusetts found training an AI model creates as much carbon dioxide as 300 round-trip, cross-country flights. (Earth.org) And that’s just to train the AI model. The Independent newspaper reported that “the energy used to actually run the AI tools is estimated at 960 times those from a single training run.”

In simpler terms, I’ve read that an AI search uses 22 times as much energy as a Google search.

The resulting, impending electricity shortage is why Microsoft, Google and Amazon are investing in nuclear energy.

AI’s Impact on Jobs – Are Creative Jobs a Dead End?

Artificial intelligence is already eliminating jobs in the U.S. and globally. (This Guardian article gives five real-life case studies.) I’ve always believed in embracing new technologies because, while some jobs disappear, others are created. But apparently not with AI. Instead, the AI companies profit while everyday workers suffer. (Read It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism by Bernie Sanders if you want to dig deep on this disconnect.)

Some authors I know use AI for research but most agree AI-generated articles and stories sound manufactured, overblown or not quite authentic. I get 3-5 pitches a day from marketers and can spot the AI-generated ones a mile away.

But AI will only get more sophisticated and “creative” and “emotional” in the future. Where does that leave people in creative jobs like those in the Guardian article? As one of them suggests, it leaves us thinking our kids should not pursue careers in a creative field.

Artificial Reality More great AI memes on Mimir’s Well.

I’m a realist. I know AI isn’t going away, and I see the huge potential in artificial intelligence to benefit humankind. But it also has huge potential to wreak havoc on the planet, and to widen the gap between the ultra-rich and the rest of the world. The conundrum of how to build an AI-powered world so that everyone benefits will not be solved today or anytime soon. I just hope it does get solved.

In the meantime, I will not be using the AI images of my characters, or turning to AI for anything within my power.

Thanks to Natalie for much of the research cited in this post.

And if you like funny memes, click on the link to the right for Mimir’s Well, which has many hilarious AI-related memes.

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