AI Update: Good Enough

I’ve continued to read about AI since I wrote my blog post on ways publishing could productively and creatively use this force. This week I spied several articles that caught my attention, causing me to want to share this AI update with you. Developments are racing forward!

AI preaches a sermon

Yup, a theologian decided to experiment, asking AI to preach a sermon. The ancient church in Germany overflowed with people who were curious as to what the experience would be like.

Using an Avatar to provide an image for the congregants to see, proved to be odd. It was unemotional and stiff. Some in the audience enjoyed the novelty of it all. But ultimately, the message and the presentation were soulless, according to several. But we should note the experiment was conducted by a theologian, not a tech guy.

Still, imagine if your church turned to AI to serve as pastor!

Now, here’s the article on the experience: Sermon preached by AI.

AI update on publishing possibilities

Of course how AI could affect publishing is of consummate interest to those of us in this community. An article in Publishers Weekly takes a fairly sanguine view of how AI will be used.

But one part of the article that struck me as oh, so true, was the writer’s view that AI would succeed and be embraced because readers are willing to accept “good enough.”

To quote the article’s writer:

I’m going to be talking about “good enough”—about what people will accept, what they’ll buy, and what they’ll actually read.

AI might not write a stunning novel or a fascinating nonfiction exploration of a subject, but AI will write books that the public will consider good enough.

Slay me now!

Because these books will cost less to create, the publisher can sell them for lower prices, and that can be a convincing reason for a reader to buy these artificially-human creations. If the novel is entertaining enough or the nonfiction book involving enough, that will satisfy the reader.

AI will succeed because the audience is okay with good enough.

But you read the article for yourself and see what you think: PW article.

Scriptwriters strike over major issues, including the use of AI

The scriptwriters strike that began in May continues, as they fight to hold onto their jobs in the future. Streaming and short series’ seasons have cut dramatically into screenwriters earnings. But they also foresee a day when producers and studios will use AI to create scripts–fast and cheap. Then, writers predict, they will be hired–for a brief time and considerably less pay–to pretty up the AI script. Writers point out that it’s easier to write a good script from scratch than to fix a problematic script. Yet they would receive less pay since they are finessing rather than creating.

Guess what the scripts that result from these man + machine combos could be called? Good enough.

To read more about the writers strike and AI, check out this Vanity Fair article, “The First Skirmish in a New War: Why AI Should be Central in the Writers Strike.”

The other side of film and AI

Setting aside the screenwriters view of the intrusion of AI in their world, let’s turn to a startling development: AI is already at work creating a film. As a matter of fact, a studio was created on the premise that using AI and crowd-creating would be a great way to make films. Bringing together AI and fans, who would consist of a cross-section of the types of people drawn to a particular type of film, everything from character creation, to actor selection, to costume design is produced by the “audience” and AI working together. The studio marketing officer who was interviewed for the article I read is enthralled with this process–which is a super cheap and fast way to produce a film, by the way–and is convinced it is the future of film-making. This article provides details.

Need I add this part: I’m pretty sure the films will be good enough. But if you had a hand in creating it, wouldn’t you think it was pretty great?

AI update interaction

Now it’s your turn. What are your thoughts on these AI developments? In what other ways can you envision AI being used in these creative ventures? Do you find the possibilities exhilarating or chilling? Do you agree that the results of AI’s work are likely to be mediocre yet the consumer will find them good enough?