Creativity tomorrow

I find myself in a transition phase at the moment. I've spent the last few years trying to wake academics up to what was once the "impending wave of AI", and spending quite a lot of time frustrated by the fact that most academics thought it was irrelevant. Now everyone's a sodding expert! Well, that's academia for you...

So I think I can back away from this AI mania for a bit and let people get on with it. My university has bought 60000 licenses for Microsoft copilot. Personally, I would have done nothing, but worked hard with the staff to accept that our educational environment has changed and we must change - but buying an AI platform is not the way to do that! The locus of control of technology must sit with the individual student (and academic) - even if that now amounts the locus of control of the cost of technology.

Management anxiety has led to the institution to take this decision. They want to be seen to do something. Others will watch and see what happens... "For god's sake, don't just do something - stand there!" would have been more sensible advice.

Of course what the institution won't be able to do will be to keep up. I attended a fascinating "creatives" session at the RNCM the other day. There were film-makers who are making a name for themselves with AI video. They liken the present situation to the rise of cheap sequencers and production software in the 90s which meant that kids in their bedrooms could make music that only professionals could do a few years before. That's now happening with movies. No need for actors, props, lighting, sound, etc. Artistic input is still there but it coordinates activity by "worker bots" rather in the way conceptual artists produce art with assistants. 

That's here to stay. We're going somewhere different now. 

Most fascinating is the ability to generate analytical dashboards based on real-time discussions. I've got quite good at this. I was in a meeting with a public health academic this morning talking about cooperative housing. While he and another friend were talking, I made an app to distil the parameters of the conversation and demonstrate the interrelations between them. Quite amazing - and they were a bit gobsmacked. 

Of course AI is not making any money, there will be a crash, the energy, etc. But the energy problem will be solved (as many other issues will be) - its like early steam engines. 

So on the one hand I'm backing out of institutional AI. But I'm moving forwards with AI. The institution will get left behind. But that may need to happen...