The Insincerity of AI

 

Be warned.  This is an anti-AI blogpost.  If you think AI is the greatest invention since sliced bread, this is not for you.  You should probably just ask ChatGPT to write you an intriguing article about sliced bread and enjoy your day.  If you continue reading, you do so having been warned.

Genuine Pottery

Greek Black-Figure Pottery, Art Institute of Chicago (photograph mine)

Although most etymologists today say otherwise, it has for centuries been suggested that the English word "sincere" is derived from the Latin phrase sine cera, meaning "without wax."  To what this phrase referred has been a matter of as much debate, with one theory being that unscrupulous potters would fill cracks in their wares with wax, prompting better artisans to advertise their works as being made sine cera.  Regardless of the actual etymology, there is, of course, the desire on the part of artists and craftsmen to promote their efforts as genuine, and there is just as much desire on the part of patrons and customers to enjoy authentic works of art.  When we refer to a cheap knockoff, we do not use the adjective "cheap" so much to make a distinction with an expensive knockoff, but rather to denigrate the item as much as possible.  "Cheap" in this sense is an intensifier expressing our disgust with an inferior product.

It is in this sense, then, that AI is not sincere.  It is a cheap knockoff.  Now that it exists, we can put it to some beneficial uses, but at best these are mean and mundane.  When it comes to what truly matters, as in art so in all other things, we will always prefer what is real.

A Tale of Two Paintings

Many years ago, my wife and I led a group of high school students on a tour of Italy.  While in Rome, I snapped a picture of the rostra, the speaker's platform from which great orators like Cicero once delivered their speeches.  The mother of one of my students was an artist and used my photograph as the basis for a beautiful painting that she gave me.  It graces my classroom to this day.

Now, let's take a look at what AI can do.  I typed the following prompt into ChatGPT, "Create a watercolor painting of the rostra in the Roman forum viewed at ground level from the perspective of a person looking slightly to the left."  This is what it gave me.

It is not bad, of course, and had I played around with the prompt, I could probably have coaxed it into producing something like the painting my student's mother created, but no matter what, it would be, at best, a cheap knockoff.  It would be insincere.  My student's mother had used the photo from her son's teacher on their trip to Italy as the basis for her own conception of the scene, a conception she brought into reality from her desire to give a gift.  Her painting was a human endeavor from start to finish, and not only does the fact of the humanity make all the difference in the world, but that humanity is reflected in the final product.

That's Not What I Asked

Not long ago I was doing a bit of research on the Latin words indignata, vita, and Aeneid in JSTOR, the online repository of academic journals.  I was not aware that a new AI button had been installed, much less that it could be switched off, so I was surprised when an AI summary popped up to the right of the page.

Now, here is my beef.  First, it took my three-word search and turned it into a question that I did not ask. 

You: How is "(((indignata) and (vita)) AND (Aeneid)) AND disc:(classicalstudies-discipline)" related to this text?

Second, I had not been aware of this feature or the fact that its default setting was to be turned on, thus my feeling of intrusion into my research.  Finally, the serendipitous nature of research is that one can be scanning an article for one thing and discover something else useful.  An AI summary robs me of that.  Of course, I will turn off this feature, but given that it is the default, this troubles me for our students.

What Is It Good For?

In his famous 1970 protest song "War," Edwin Starr asked, "War, what is it good for?"  I would not go quite so far regarding AI as to give his answer of "absolutely nothing," but mine would be close.

AI can crunch data.  It can discover patterns.  It can create things that serve certain basic functions.  But when we want that which expresses truth, goodness, and beauty, the best expressions come from those uniquely created to understand, appreciate, and share them...you and me.