AI

Yesterday, I was searching for a poem. At St Michael’s, we always include a contemporary reading alongside the scriptures and though it is often so hard to find one, I truly value the practice. It says The Divine is still speaking and we may find revelatory words anywhere. I’d hunted amongst my usual online poetry sources to come up with nothing quite right. So in need of the afternoon not spend reading rather than the zillion other things on my list, I turned to Prof Google. I put in a few words after “poems about…” and within seconds (literally) I was reading the perfect poem.

Perfect. Nuanced, wise, measured, meaningful. I copied it in preparation to use it with copyright and then searched for the author. Nope. None to see. What I did see was this: “AI Overview - Here is an original short poem about … [my topic]”. AI Overview. AI Overview?!?! Artificial Intelligence, managed by some human Google controller, had searched, in milliseconds, from some data centre draining local water supplies and gave me, from original poems from original authors somewhere, what the algorithm regarded as an *original* poem. It even offered to write more on any theme I had in mind.

No! Did the authors get named? Paid royalties? Told that their poems were being picked at by a computer somewhere and taken in slices to construct something???? Because the poets’ words were so gorgeous in the first place, the algorithm response was quite beautiful. I did wonder for a moment if I should celebrate and use it. Then I stopped!!!. What daylight robbery. To what end? I wasn’t a medical practitioner seeking a diagnosis of a rare combination of symptoms. I wasn’t a creating a marketing plan from direct information I fed in, or a travel itinerary from confirmation emails in my inbox. I was simply searching for a poem. It wasn’t life or death to me, or even critical to my life. This is some of what AI is doing.

We have every reason to celebrate the technology and every reason on the planet to make it intensely accountable.

Below is an image, drawn by me, of real documents used for a Council meeting.

Please contact me if you would like prints. The following formats are available. All prints on paper are sold on ivory mounting board. Frames may be ordered. Prints on canvas are stretched on wood.

Art Prints: Art Prints are created with laser printers onto quality wood pulp art paper.

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Embellished Giclee Prints: Embellished Giclee Prints are customised by me adding details, textures, or hand-drawn elements to make each cotton paper print unique. The result is a print that combines the advantages of digital printing with a personal touch.

Giclee Prints on Canvas: Giclee Prints are inkjet sprayed onto artist canvas material. This gives the print a texture and appearance similar to a traditional painting on canvas so that they resemble original paintings.

Embellished Giclee Prints on Canvas: Embellished Giclee Prints on Canvas are customised by me adding details, textures, or hand-painted elements to make each print unique. Embellishments added on top of canvas give the print a more three-dimensional painterly effect.