Via Kottke, we are directed to a thoughtful essay by Josh Collinsworth comparing the quest for the Philosophers’ Stone (previously here and here) with the present obsession of spinning straw into gold through creating art with artificial intelligence—with parallels to other useful commodities precious by medieval standards yet now considered nearly disposable for their ubiquity and effortless extraction, like salt and spices or clean water—like how aluminium foil was once such a rarity until the refinement process was perfected, thanks in large part to this forerunner of chemistry. Making the valuable commonplace for the temporary enrichment of a few is nothing sustainable. The value of creative expression is derived by the work that goes into it, the artist and their motivation, not the output itself, derivative, uninspired and only glancingly aesthetic (with diminishing returns) in application. It’s a doomed venture—this approach—but perhaps like these earlier pursuits will eventually yield useful results re-directed towards turning a real scarcity into something abundant, or maybe getting rid of something we have too much of.
synchronoptica
one year ago: the literature of Prairie Dawn (with synchronopticรฆ), a pirated television signal plus Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year
thirteen years ago: the Pope’s biography of Jesus plus PfRC goes social
fifteen years ago: tuition rate hikes in the UK plus seasonal traditions
