Why We Write
I have promoted the work of the CPX ( Centre for Public Christianity ) before, especially their podcast. This week, in an interview that had much that was compelling on other subjects, Oliver Burkeman made what i think is an incredibly important point about Artificial Intelligence (link to podcast episode in comments). I work in a field (higher education) that has experienced a great deal of upheaval about developments in AI. Oftentimes the response feels desperate or even panicky about the potential of machines writing like human beings. I have heard too many weak statements that claim that computers will never write like human beings and that AI is some kind of scourge. Burkeman, in a significant recasting, says that, in the end, it is not really a question of whether AI could generate a novel like those of Austen, Dostoevsky, Dickens (insert other great authors here) or could generate poetry. Rather, he says: "The important thing about a novel written by a human is, not that it...