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No, AI Can’t Produce Art (but It Can Write)

June 6, 2022

computer, creativity, fiction, imagination, literature, programming, society, writing

Based on discussions and what I read, a lot of people are afraid AI, artificial intelligence, will “steal” their jobs – what the hell happened to the “one day we’ll have robots and we won’t need to work” dream of early sci-fi? But I digress… Writers don’t seem to be an exception. A great number of them seem to be worried about AI replacing them. So, can AI produce art?

In this post I argue that no, AI can’t produce art – for reasons we’ll explore. But AI can certainly write. It can already now, and I’m certain it will become even better.

Where’s the difference, then, you might ask.

The difference, to a large extent, revolves around matters central to the writer-or-artist distinction. More insidiously, perhaps, it’s about conditioning us into patterns that can have far-reaching (and unpleasant) consequences.

AI can't produce art — “The algorithm” (Google Photos) keeps suggesting that I should “fix [the] lighting” of this and many other photos. It doesn’t understand art

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Scooby-Doo Gothic: Beyond Supernatural Explained

May 30, 2022

Criticism

academia, Gothic, literature, superstition

Unless you’ve spent the last five decades on Mars, you must know Scooby-Doo – the fearless (cough, cough) cartoon dog chasing ghosts. Believe it or not, what we could refer to as Scooby-Doo Gothic goes back more than 200 years, to Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794).

How, you might ask. What on earth could be the connection between one of the first texts of the Gothic canon and a cartoon show of the late 20th century?

The concept worth examining here – as you might have deducted from the title – is that of the supernatural explained; particularly, how it’s related to the supernatural accepted.

Briefly, there has been a long-standing tradition to divide Gothic texts into the one or the other category. We’ll take a closer look at both of them, and then I’ll explain why I think the differentiation itself is flawed.

In Scooby-Doo Gothic, there is a perfectly natural explanation for everything

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How to Create Patterns in Literature

May 23, 2022

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

creativity, literature, symbolism, writing

Can you imagine a narrative without patterns? A novel where each scene, chapter, or other division is more or less independent from the rest? Well, I wish I could say “me neither”, but I’m afraid I’ve seen such awful novels. Which is precisely why I know they should be avoided at all costs. To create patterns in literature is to create cohesion and symbolic depth, all while favoring non-linear narratives.

Briefly, patterns in literature are creative repetitions that produce meaning precisely as a result of their repetition. We’ll examine this in more detail, with examples, but the key takeaway is this: Patterns in literature are about adding affective impact to your narrative.

So let’s take an in-depth but accessible look at how to create patterns. I’ll first explain what patterns are and what effect they create, then I’ll offer you a practical guide.

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