Is AI the New Renaissance?

Is Artificial Intelligence the New Renaissance?

The thawing of Artificial Intelligence winter

After decades of relative dormancy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having a moment in the cultural milieu.

AI is not a new concept, its origins date back to the 1950s when computers were housed in big, totalitarian rooms and math was done on a calculator. The notion of the “American Dream” was flourishing, the Eisenhower economy was on an upswing and programmers were experimenting with a new technology that mimics human intelligence.

Currently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come to the forefront of investment interest from industry, government, and venture capital with the promise of a new Renaissance.

The” AI boom” is largely due to advancements in pattern recognition capabilities resulting from deep learning. Machine learning is a subset of AI that involves algorithms that can be learned from data. This new capability allowed AI technology to progress at a rapid pace and gain momentum in business and industry.

The spring of the AI Renaissance

While generative AI can augment innovation, the technology is also beginning to replicate human creativity. Magazines have termed this moment in history, the “New RenAIssance”, akin to the 15th century Renaissance which produced some of the most timeless works of art, science, and architecture in human history.

Renaissance is a French word that means rebirth from the Latin word “renasci”. It pays homage to the power of human intelligence, creativity, and spirit to be able to produce remarkable achievements, discoveries, and legacies.

Progress that speaks to the essence of what it is like to be human.

In the 21st century, eons past medieval times, in the time of social media obsessions and unrivaled societal disturbances, can Artificial Intelligence mimic human creativity? Will technology replace our beloved creatives such as writers, artists, and musicians?

The flowering of human creativity

In 2023, the creator or “global influencer” economy was valued at $21.1 billion. Across generations, individuals are realizing the value of creating content in the digital world and building personal brands.

Human creativity is becoming even more of a commodity in a tremendously noisy world.

The rise of applications such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Midjourney are inviting creators to leverage AI in intriguing, and often unexpected ways.

In most creative fields, people often spend significant time performing mundane tasks that can be better spent on the creative process.

For example, in filmmaking, a lot of the process is repetitive which can be outsourced to AI to let filmmakers focus on the vision. In writing, a significant amount of time is spent doing research and putting together an outline, tasks that can be effortlessly performed by AI to speed up the writing process.

Another way AI can benefit creatives is with brainstorming and idea generation. The notion of writer’s block or staring at a blank canvas is a familiar trope for those who are artistically inclined. Generative AI applications can aid in brainstorming such as coming up with content ideas for content creators and instrumentals for songwriters in seconds.

Creators often generate a first draft, then iterate on the draft with rounds of editing before coming to a final published version. Generative AI can streamline this process by generating multiple versions of the original instantaneously which frees up the creator to focus on what matters most - the creative vision.

Will human creativity be replaced by AI?

Artificial Intelligence is stirring up a lot of ethical and moral questions about the implications of technology in human lives. There is such a tidal wave of AI content on social media and magazine editorials devoted to the subject of whether AI will replace human creativity.

AI technology is evolving at a rapid pace, with design capabilities that are mimicking timeless works of art. The fear and paranoia are palpable as people feel vulnerable that their jobs and skill sets will be replaced by AI.

The website Mashable wrote an article, “AI “writers” are mostly worthless right now. But that won’t last” performing an experiment where a seasoned writer used AI to write an “AI-crafted novel”. The results were mixed. While AI can come up with drafts in seconds, it has a hard time capturing human voice, essence, and nuance when it comes to language.

It lacks storytelling skills even when given the right prompts.

As Mashable recounts, writing a novel with AI is a painstaking process that involves a lot of direction and dictating of precise prompts to get the desired outcome. The outcome of the experiment is that we are not there yet when it comes to writing.

The future of AI x human creativity

As smart as AI technology is today, it still needs the steady hand of human intelligence to produce great works.

AI can mimic human creativity to an extent providing glimmers of inspiration and tremendous efficiency for getting a start on the blank canvas. So much of the creative process is ideation, AI can automate the flow of ideas to take flight in a work of art or fiction.

In a way, things are coming full circle from the 1950s, it is the dawn of the New Renaissance which is reshaping the way we think about the “American Dream”. The promise of a good and fruitful life, full of vitality and creativity, as reflected by the creator economy and its art.