I’m a creative with many unfinished, or shall I say unstarted, projects. I love writing, developing apps, or anything that allows me to exercise my creativity. However, I struggle with coming up with something from a completely blank canvas.
In high school, I loved writing and thought I’d become a journalist. I was a part of my high school’s newspaper and wrote articles about video games on my Blogspot blog. A teacher giving a ‘pick-your-own-topic’ seemed like it would be perfect, but it was low-key hell for me. With my ADHD, I always had ideas bouncing around in my head, but it was hard to narrow them down. I would start writing a paper and then halfway through, start another topic.
Typically, my first drafts were terrible, and I would procrastinate heavily. Yet, my final drafts always got perfect scores. This has been a theme throughout my entire life. I would have a hard time picking out furniture for a new apartment, but I could easily tell you how to improve yours.
Lately, I’ve been on an AI kick, especially using ChatGPT. From writing basic YouTube scripts to developing basic Python apps, the possibilities are virtually endless. I enjoy doing those things, just not starting from a completely blank text editor.
With AI, I feel like Michelangelo carving the Statue of David. Let’s shave off a piece here and there. I now focus on the important aspects instead of getting stuck in an endless stream of analysis paralysis.
For many creatives, AI can seem like a huge threat right now. Used incorrectly, it can be problematic. But like any tool, its true power lies in the hands of its user. I believe that this new era we are entering will knock down many barriers.
One of those barriers is primitive knowledge, or as I call it, tutorial hell. Babies do not go through tutorial hell when it comes to learning because they can play and receive ample feedback. They are also surrounded by adults who already have a full grasp of the language. They try different variations of words until they realize they are having full-blown conversations.
I think AI can help not only from a bottom-up approach but also from a top-down approach to learning. It can give us the gist of a particular topic or domain and allows us to focus on what really matters. I imagine a future where it’s easy to learn languages with AI because it can generate content relevant to you instead of you having to start from a blank canvas.
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