A Mirror of a Mirror

Our emergence into the world of AI has had me thinking lately about creativity and artwork.

If the human creative instinct is a mirror of God’s creative ability, then what is AI? If I take the existing parallel that the creation will never become more significant than its creator, can I have some peace as a writer in the face of programs like ChatGPT? Yet the departure from the God-Man-creative parallel is that God is infinite, and therefore, no man will ever be able to out-create God. Humans are finite. Models like ChatGPT learn their language from the average and the genius alike, which means that AI could potentially create in ways that match and outstrip the average human creator. It will never be able to touch those with genius, but it could easily eclipse decent writers and artists.

When God made Adam, He used His breath to enliven the man. A mirror of that God-like spirit remained with Adam and with us as we inherited that image of God. Like any mirror or image, it is not the same as the real thing, and it can be darkened— meaning it may be harder to see the image of God in some or even, at times, in yourself. Human beings can even use their creativity for destruction and debasement. What does this bode for a creative intelligence made in our image? A mirror of a mirror, fallen farther from the spring out of which it flows.

Since AI cribs itself from human creativity, it is quite possible that if human skill narrows and degrades, the content of AI will follow. Possibly. We could be putting ourselves in a position where AI recalls and emulates great writers we have forgotten.

This is the great conundrum of creating something to which the common man can abdicate some (or most) of his intellectual rigor. Those at the top of the curve will still write because writing is a lifestyle, and the pen is an extension of their brain. But for those in the middle and certainly at the bottom of the curve— well, they may never learn the skill because the discipline will not be there. “What’s the use in learning? There’s AI for that?” Still, others may shy away from the practice because they believe they could never write something better than the middling stories produced by AI and doubt they could be geniuses.

I guess my question is, could AI produce a chilling effect on the creativity of human beings? I’m open to the possibility of it being a new and efficient medium; however, those lines of explanation on how this should be done haven’t quite intersected yet. I know from challenging experiences that to be a better writer, one must read and write a lot. Even if the writing is crappy and uninspired. There are only so many shortcuts you can take before you have to question how much of the work is actually your work.

If the advent of AI were to discourage the average man from taking up the pen, I think it would be devastating. In my opinion, writing is the form of creativity that mirrors closest God’s creativity. Genesis tells us He created the heavens (the universe), the earth, and all that is in them just by speaking. Some writers call it magic- that extraordinary symbiosis between writer and reader/storyteller and listener. But I believe it’s more like a divine glimmer. It is the act of the creative image in one human soul and mind eliciting a response from the creative image in another human soul and mind. It is no accident. And it’s much more profound than mere magic. It is this that is missing from AI work. Building AI in our image has done nothing but remove the divine from artwork, which is why AI’s pieces are often said to be “soul-less” and “eh.” Readable. Passable. But nothing great.

It turns out that a mirror of a mirror reflects back nothing but infinite emptiness, and we were created to reflect so much more than vanity.