AI is Hyper-capitalisms Final Boss

• AI is Hyper-capitalisms Final Grift-fueled Boss

• Creativity within the constraints of capitalism

• Capitalism Constantly Constrains Creativity

• Capitulating to utilizing AI within your creative pursuits is another way capitalism constrains creativity

What is capitalism?

• Adverts
• Subscriptions
• Stock Market/Shareholders
• Politicians
• Privacy Abuse
• The matter of fact way of biz idiots

Starting an article where you know what you want to say, but don't know how to say express your thoughts can be frustrating.

Now what to do, do I start putting every passing thought on the page and sort it out later?

Perhaps, I put this article idea on the back burner, like dozens of other half-baked articles I've not put enough effort into.

Or, rather, I can use AI, ChatGPT, or Perplexity, even Gemini, to sort that out for me!^[1]

This wall I'm having to work myself through, Is frustrating enough to have me write this post in a different direction than I had intended. One day, I'll get back around to whatever I was on about in my first draft.^[2]

Frustrations in my past lead me to take shortcuts.^[3] In these times I wonder how the writers I admire get past these moments. I would have assumed a sure bet was to say that they hadn't used an LLM,^[4] though now, I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the appeal of what makes AI tools compelling.

We are all living in this overwork/under paid reality. Where keeping up with the Jones used to be competing with fellow neighbors, friends, family members, has now morphed into an algorithmic feed of people showcasing what they deem to be their best.

Creativity is now synonymous with economic value.

I don't necessarily mean monetary value, we all should understand now that likes, follows, views, shares, they're all they're own digital currency. These varied features that have become ubiquitous with most social media platforms are they're own version of economic value that in turn provides more credibility for the creators who promote their work the most on their respective platforms.

A paradox. These systems that govern our current growth factors.

What this system promotes, is clean cut, no explective, radio cut versions of their creative outputs.

Creators now, often, boil down their shared creative output to these watered down versions of themselves down to each overly manicured post they chose to curate into an indentity that's palatable to whatever their audiences tastes may entail.

This output, the feeds/stories they share with their friends, family, or even audience and, lest we forget, any potential new followers.

It's gotten to a point where creators can't say certain words, on YouTube, without fearing that the video they created will get demonetized.

From this source ^[5]: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

2 of the 11 main causes of death in the USA per this chart, Suicide & COVID-19 has enough creators I've watched censoring the mere mention of either of these words, censoring their speech, in fear of their video having its monetization abilities revoked.

I'm sure there's people who would debate the nature of creativity within a YouTube video, I, for one, believe that all the platforms we've come to rely on, rely more on genuine creativity uploaded by artists on their platforms each day and, unfairly, are often not promoted on their algorithms with respect of the input put within.

We are in a slop era.

Now, enabled by the large monolith of venture capital from Silicon Valley, we get adverts^[6] for new tools that can help make us more productive, with the least amount of effort possible.

The software/applications we rely on get new updates that add more 'features' with 'AI' touted with an air of must-have, must-adopt, or, get-left-behind tone that would make the griftiest of old time snake oil salesmen blush.

Truly, bonkers

These 'tools' to help write, create, draw, generate, at first thought, gives all users the straight-away, go-ahead permission to, in a pursuit to be more efficient, be more productive.

While appealing^[7], It leaves me feeling a bit sad for these people who often use these tools. It's more of these overly manicured end product where none of the process lead to any growth as a creative.

Possibly, it's something deeper.

I believe, in part, it's got something to do with people who haven't yet given themselves the permission to be learn, grow, and be bad at a new hobby.

This makes me sad for them, as I know that in their inner-self they had an original desire to attempt their current interest, this new-to-them thing, and in place of giving themselves the grace of growth, the slow crawl of progress, they've done themselves a great disservice by taking that easy shortcut.

I should be more empathetic.

Perhaps, they can't handle the inevitable frustration of slow growth, little progress, in learning a new thing.

I realized, in my late start of giving into my creative desires, that I don't mind frustration. I consider this fact being a massive benefit.

I consider myself as being lucky, even privileged, to have moments of time in my life to pursue creative desires. As with anything, we don't know what we don't know, and to me, not knowing, is part of any journey. While I'd rather be doing the thing I set out to do, as the cliche goes, ya gotta crawl before you walk.

One thing I learned months into this new chapter of my life, this one where I gave myself the permission to be creative, even artistic, is that there's this feeling you get, once something makes sense, once something clicks, that is hard to quantify.

If you know the feeling I'm talking about^[8], you know that it's a one of a kind feeling. This feeling is one of a kind, the feeling you've felt after something that didn't make sense, started to make sense.

When something clicks.

You'll never guess what the end problem is.

Spoiler ^[9]

One worry I often feel about the adoption of those who have adopted AI into their workflow/process, is that these AI tools strip the user of that feeling. That one of a kind, one I consider special, feeling of something clicking. They'll never get the opportunity experience that feeling.

On one hand, the step to chase a creative desire is a massive one, and I applaud the effort and the will to chase that desire. Perhaps, they haven't been in a position in their past to give themselves the permission, or enough grace, to learn something new, to be bad at something for a long while, to put time into gradually exploring this inner desire they had to be creative.

One of the least discussed disservices those AI companies have inadvertently^[10] created, is taking the feeling when something clicks, away from people spending their limited time on earth chasing an innate desire to express themselves through art.

As creatives go about our day to day lives through late stage capitalism, we, as consumers, come to understand that the businesses interests of a company providing solutions, often, aren't aligned with nurturing a persons creative pursuits.

Often, their desires are an antonym of the artists desire.

These companies will always chase the most profitable paths so their C-Suite executives can report to their shareholders at the end of the quarter to justify their large salaries, and next bonus compensation.

It's evident, to me, that these upper management types don't consult much, if ever, with true creatives. If they had given space to a true artistic, creative type, those creatives would undoubtedly give input towards a far different path then these companies often take.

What a shame.