Why ai is empowering
You may have heard the quip “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!” as both a defense of mediocrity and of plagiarism. But those who are well read understand that the genesis for the popularity of this epigram is actually a polemic against those who would imitate others in art. As is often the case, the entirety of the adage is rarely quoted, which is: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to genius.” As a whole there is an implied back-handed condemnation of those who imitate greatness, not an affirmation of plagiarism or mediocrity.
The adage is often attributed to Oscar Wilde who expressed a similar sentiment several times in several different ways. But, according to the editors of Quote Investigators the original statement appeared in a published work in The Spectator edited by Joseph Addison in 1714. (The detailed histography of this quote at quoteinvestigator.com is well done.) The sentiment of Addison’s statement is much more poignant in its criticism of imitation.
But, of course, those who might reference this sentiment as an argument against imitation or plagiarism or the use of AI, are guilty of the exact misstep the quote is seemingly criticizing. Those who seek to criticize the use of AI have a much easier road to travel than those who defend the use of AI in knowledge work and creative work. They are able to lean on (dare I say, plagiarize) a plethora of Ludditic anecdotes and ivory-towered pronouncements from past moments of medium and technological adoptions.
When music moved from live performances to recorded music, John Phillip Sousa railed against the dangers of recorded music. He believed “canned music” would replace live performances and lower the overall quality of musicianship. While there may be a few purists who would argue that his prophetic pronouncement came true, most would argue that the opposite happened. A hundred years later we now have more live performances than ever before and the types of music along with the musicianship has improved dramatically.
So, when those in power attempt to stop people from using AI to do their work by banning its use, belittling those who use it, or other means of coercion, they are in good company. However, they are on the wrong side of history. The draw of AI is that it in fact does allow a person to imitate those who are much better than they in many different areas. Yes, it would be nice if everyone could play, draw, code, or write like the geniuses of the past and the paragons of our day. But it isn’t realistic. And those of us who have not just encouraged excellence, but demanded it, are to blame.
In a culture where perfection is expected and celebrated, the only response normies have is to attempt to rise to that level of perfection by any means necessary. Every area of culture is gripped by a pursuit of a standard of excellence that has always been a rare occurrence but expected now in everyday interactions and experiences. We see a brilliant moment of creativity or performance or success and we decide it should be available to everyone so they can experience the beauty, excellence, and transformation. And, when they experience those brilliant moments, they too want to create magical moments that are lauded by the culture or produce excellence beyond their current capacity. AI gives them the medium to do so.
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