The Coming Creative Renaissance

Issue #7 — Why I became interested in AI, and why you should be too

My first surprise from AI

I wrote my first AI computer program when I was a teenager in the 90s.

In 1996, I was a nerdy high-school student in Wisconsin, teaching myself Java programming. Way back then, Java was the coolest programming language in the world. One of the first serious programs I wrote was a customizable AI chatbot called "SAM."

My program SAM

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allowed its user to converse with their computer in a way that felt like they were talking to another human. You wrote a sentence or so of text, and SAM would try to respond naturally.

Sound familiar?

It was nowhere near as advanced as today's chatbots—like ChatGPT—but it was interesting enough for me to spend hours chatting with it.

An unexpected thing happened after I released it to the public. People started using my program in surprisingly creative ways.

SAM gained a small but devoted fan base, who used it in ways far beyond what I ever expected. People spent hours and hours with SAM, creating complex conversations, teaching SAM how to do math, and teaching SAM about the world. My AI creation wasn't just being used to solve problems, but inspiring people to think creatively.

This was when I first understood AI's immense potential to increase human creativity.

"The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other."

— Bill Gates

A tool to revolutionize the way we think and create

Imagine a future where AI takes over routine tasks, freeing us to delve into what truly sets us apart as humans: creativity.

In this future, AI could spur us to create new things, reason about data faster than ever, and let more people than ever turn whatever they can imagine into reality. It would carry us into a new AI-propelled renaissance, a resurgence in human creativity that echoes the Renaissance of the 14th to 17th centuries.

This future is a very real possibility.

AI is going to become our creative partner, amplifying our own abilities. And the tools to do this are here already. Just a few examples:

• Tools like ChatGPT and its competitors do incredible things like crafting fiction, composing poetry, analyzing data, and interpreting documents.

• Image generation tools like Midjourney make creating art and artificial photographs more accessible than ever, swiftly transforming ideas into practical visuals.

• Computer programmers now have AI co-authors, helping craft code faster than ever, using tools like Github Copilot or ChatGPT.

• Students are using ChatGPT to write their essays for them—to the concern of many teachers!

These AI tools are already powerful allies to amplify our creative abilities. And they will only get better over the coming months and years.

“The Mona Lisa as a hipster in 2010 living in Portland” - Midjourney

Is AI destined to destroy us or control us?

Yuval Noah Harari, in his essay "The rise of the useless class," paints a dark picture of a future dominated by AI.

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He warns:

“As algorithms push humans out of the job market, wealth and power might become concentrated in the hands of the tiny elite that owns the all-powerful algorithms."

Others, like Bill Gates, see AI as a potential liberator which promises to free humanity from mundane tasks. In his recent essay, "The Age of AI has begun," he is optimistic about the possibilities of AI:

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"The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other."

A transformation is coming

I mostly share Bill Gates' optimistic vision.

Unfortunately, a world positively transformed by AI does not necessarily mean that every individual person sees the benefits. It's not a question of if AI will become integral to our lives; it's already happening.

Soon every job that involves thinking will involve AI in some fundamental way. It is too powerful for any business to refrain from using it. Companies that fail to use AI constructively will likely find themselves lagging behind competitors who do. And in the same way, individuals who lack AI proficiency risk being outperformed by those who master it.

This is the undeniable paradox of all progress: technological advancements invariably leave some people behind. Those who struggle to keep pace with AI could find themselves marginalized. A significant societal challenge lies in supporting these individuals during this transition.

AI won't directly replace jobs, but people leveraging AI will inevitably replace those who are not.

Embrace it, or fear it

The fantastic creative potential of AI is why I became interested in AI, and why I advocate for it so strongly.

We don't have to enter a dystopian future; it can be an age where creativity and human potential are amplified. This is an opportunity to witness a revolution where we can accomplish and create things that were only in our dreams just a few years ago. We're living in the pages of a real-time science fiction story, with each day presenting a new and exciting chapter.

We can choose to fear AI—or we can embrace it, harness its potential, and use it for our personal betterment.

1. To my own surprise, one of the earlier versions of my SAM program from 1999 is still up on my website here, although I have no idea if it will work still: https://www.kevinalbrecht.com/code/sam/index.html

2. Yuval Noah Harari, "The rise of the useless class." https://ideas.ted.com/the-rise-of-the-useless-class/

(Yes, I know it is popular now to make fun of Yuval. It’s strange who the internet decides is contemptible and those it embraces.)

3. Bill Gates, "The Age of AI has begun." https://www.gatesnotes.com/The-Age-of-AI-Has-Begun