I read this quote from a marketer in A New York Times article1 this morning…
“ChatGPT solves the blank page problem. The worst thing in the world is opening an empty document. ChatGPT helps you start.”
I’ll admit I’ve used ChatGPT to draft lengthy emails. I’ve used it to create job listings. I’ve even used it to conjure book ideas. As of now, it’s already listed as the co-author of at least 200 books on Amazon. I’m sure many more AI books aren’t credited.
But as we integrate this new technology into our lives, I wonder…
Can artists really afford to lose the blank page?
Facing the blank page is a sacred tradition. The place every artist faces their inner angst and demons. Where we wrestle with big ideas and find our voice. Often, we fall short during these sessions. We bang our heads against the wall. We throw pieces of paper in the trash can. We succumb to distractions. Sometimes, it takes months to find that gem buried in our subconscious. Occasionally, we need to take breaks and go out into the world. Then we gather our courage and try again.
And in this process, in this fire, in this artistic battle with the blank page, we learn how to trust our instincts. We forge our craft. We find our voice and our resilience.
But just like everything in life, technology is promising us a shortcut.
No longer do we have to struggle.
No longer do we have to stare into the void.
We can click a magic wand, and a sentence will fill out the subsequent line, giving us the next idea. And with each AI-generated line we use, our story, art, and creations go down a different path.
But what if these shortcuts take us away from our most significant work? By eliminating the pain, the struggle, and the inner angst, are we destroying a crucial part of the process? The part that makes our work uniquely us.
If we eliminate the blank page, will there ever be another masterpiece? Will everything look like everything else? Will we become project managers instead of creators? Will we serve an algorithm instead of our inner voice?
Right now, AI is a tool. A tool that can solve problems. A tool that can make your life easier. But knowing when to utilize this tool and when to do the difficult work yourself is the artist's challenge.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/briefing/chatgpt-ai.html