Add new blog post 2024-03-26

content/shorts/2024-03-26-creativity.md

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+---
+title: Human Creativity
+date: 2024-03-26
+slug: human-creativity
+caption: Squint at the picture carefully
+
+image: human-creativity.jpg
+images:
+    - images/human-creativity.jpg
+---
+
+With the rise of AI-generated content, will AI completely replace human creativity? Even if human-created content far outpaces what AIs can do today, how much longer will this be true? For those who scoff about how AI still makes major mistakes, remember that we're in year 2-3 of a developmental journey that will last the rest of time while humans are alive. In ten or even a hundred years, do you really think that AI will still be lagging behind?
+
+AIs can generate art faster than the fastest artists and can write stories faster than any writer. Even if the lesser quality, we can only imagine what happens once AI catches up. Moreover, most people are not artists or writers. AIs now are better than the vast majority of ordinary people. Even if Midjourney generates a 6th finger sometimes, can you even draw five normal ones?
+
+What does this mean for us? If AIs can someday generate superb movies based on a script (that it could generate itself) in a fraction of the time and budget of an actual film studio, what happens then? What if AIs can generate triple-A quality games in a few days rather than the years it takes a normal game studio to create one? What if AI art becomes so good and realistic that there is no longer a differentiation between human and AI-generated art?
+
+This thought first struck me when I was walking around in an anime marketplace in San Francisco, where I saw a sign in front of some artwork that said "NOT AI-generated." Why would this matter? If the art was AI-generated, does that change whether you buy it? Surprisingly, the answer is probably yes. Even if we couldn't visually tell the difference, there's value in the fact that the degenerate anime waifu was drawn by a real person and not just an algorithm. Logically, this shouldn't make much sense. The art is still the same art, regardless of the creator. But, we like it when we know there was a real human that toiled night and day to produce something meaningful.
+
+The same principle applies to the most famous art pieces. A lot of art today is on par or superior to the paintings by Da Vinci or Picasso but are worth tens of dollars instead of millions. We assign value simply because the paintings were painted by someone famous, often combined with some sort of unique historical context behind the piece. None of this changes the final artwork, but the story behind it clearly matters to how we value it. Likewise, each art piece by a human carries a story that an AI-generated piece cannot possibly have. For this reason, I think most people would be much more comfortable and accepting of watching a movie created by humans rather than an AI-generated one. 
+
+In most domains, we simply value human effort more than any other kind of effort. We typically value handcrafted artisanal pieces, hand-stitched designs, and hand-baked goods more than factory-made ones. We typically value musicians, singers, and performers more than their robotic or electronic counterparts. If a robot could play piano better than all living pianists, who would go see it? Nobody! The concertgoers appreciate the story behind the pianist--their upbringing, talent, preparation, and skill--things that a robot cannot have. We watch chess grandmasters play chess at a way lower level than the best engines. We spend more money on the hand-spun silk cloth rather than the factory-produced one. We do all of these things despite probably not thinking much about why. And maybe the why is illogical or even wrong, but it doesn't matter. That's just the way humans today are. 
+
+This might not be the case forever. I really believe we are at a turning point in history because, for the first time, artificial creations are starting to be able to do the most "human" things better than humans. In 100 years, the kids growing up will have grown up with all of this AI-generated content-- it won't be a surprise to them anymore. Maybe, they won't care at all about whether something was human- or AI-generated. Maybe watching a purely AI-generated Spiderman 1000 with crazy explosions will be all the hype. I can only imagine the consequences this might have. What happens in a world where human creativity is outpaced and outmatched by AI? What happens when the floor for creativity is so high that almost no one reaches it? Will humanity be diluted into oblivion? Would this mean the AIs practically have control over our lives, even if indirectly? Or, will our current values survive the test of time? We can only speculate. 

content/shorts/2024-03-26-overthinking.md

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 There are a few things in life that I am good at. Out of all of them, I’m the best at overthinking. Despite never even wanting to do it, I have become a master. With my unintentionally dutiful training, I have become the best at the thing I want to do the least. 
 
-Through analyzing my personality over the years, I became more aware of how often I overthink the most mundane situations. From interactions with my friends, texting my girlfriend, or working in group projects, I’ve always had a persistent tendency to imagine that I have somehow been perceived in a bad light. It’s not that I worry that things I said were taken the wrong way, I also begin to regret saying the things I did. It’s a constant cycle of worry where I believe I’ve done something that would make people like me less.
+Through analyzing my personality over the years, I became more aware of how often I overthink the most mundane situations. From interactions with my friends, texting my girlfriend, or working on group projects, I’ve always had a persistent tendency to imagine that I have somehow been perceived in a bad light. It’s not that I worry that things I said were taken the wrong way, I also begin to regret saying the things I did. It’s a constant cycle of worry where I believe I’ve done something that would make people like me less.
 
-These thoughts are typically baseless, too. I’ve been told if I didn’t really do anything, I have nothing to worry about. But, staring at that unread message never fails to make me wonder what I could have possibly done wrong. It makes me find scrutiny in the simplest of actions. I won’t say it’s completely bad, either. It makes me reflect on what I’ve done and allows me to understand myself better. No doubt I am able to navigate more sensitive situations with more care and attention. But more often than not, it’s self destructive. It makes me question my relationships, my self confidence, and my capabilities. Hypothetical situations can ruin my mood and cause me to mentally spiral despite not being a reality. I will these doomsday into existence by allowing them to affect me. 
+These thoughts are typically baseless, too. I’ve been told if I didn’t really do anything, I have nothing to worry about. But, staring at that unread message never fails to make me wonder what I could have possibly done wrong. It makes me find scrutiny in the simplest of actions. I won’t say it’s completely bad, either. It makes me reflect on what I’ve done and allows me to understand myself better. No doubt I can navigate more sensitive situations with more care and attention. But more often than not, it’s self-destructive. It makes me question my relationships, my self-confidence, and my capabilities. Hypothetical situations can ruin my mood and cause me to mentally spiral despite not being a reality. I will these doomsday scenarios into existence by allowing them to affect me. 
 
-I become too careful at times, where I hide my thoughts and actions under a veil of uncertainty and fear of judgement. It prevents me from opening up or following my own values and principles. It makes me unable to be honest with myself in the moment. I’ve realized that it likely isn’t something I can fix or should fix. My neurotic tendencies make me the person that I am.  Becoming more stoic carefree person would really change parts of me that I don’t think should change. And even if I wanted to, I feel like there’s a ceiling to how much I can change my heart. However, there’s clearly room to grow. I should find the confidence to not be completely consumed by overthinking. Ideally, it could just be a lens to guide me through situations without melting me down. Then, I could harness just the positive aspects of something I consider negative, which could help me embrace my weaknesses. Or maybe, this is just me overthinking.
+I become too careful at times, where I hide my thoughts and actions under a veil of uncertainty and fear of judgment. It prevents me from opening up or following my own values and principles. It makes me unable to be honest with myself in the moment. I’ve realized that it likely isn’t something I can fix or should fix. My neurotic tendencies make me the person that I am.  Becoming a more stoic carefree person would really change parts of me that I don’t think should change. And even if I wanted to, I feel like there’s a ceiling to how much I can change my heart. However, there’s clearly room to grow. I should find the confidence to not be completely consumed by overthinking. Ideally, it could just be a lens to guide me through situations without melting me down. Then, I could harness just the positive aspects of something I consider negative, which could help me embrace my weaknesses. Or maybe, this is all just me overthinking.