Thus Machine Learning
Whence then the new way forward? I'm thinking what we're looking at is similar to when windowing operating systems came in, then the web, search engines, then yes finally Facebook and Twitter. What do all of these little twists and turns have in common?
Whatever else, each of these little steps gave people a way to interact with and through computers than they otherwise had. To use a computer prior to windowing OS's meant a blinking cursor that gave no information whatsoever. You had to ask someone to show you the way. Windows at least had a funny little pointer and some clicky responses. Same thing with the web versus the internet over telnet and BBS's. Yahoo and Google in turn made it possible to find more of these funny little visual objects.
Then Facebook and Twitter made it possible to talk to other people. Forums and blog comments, sure, but just like DOS and VAX and Unix all existed and were perfectly cromulent before Windows and MacOS...
Point being, machine learning systems give folks another route to interact with and via computer. It's already here: Siri, Google Home, they're useful as hell if you play with them. And of course I've hit the limits of what they'll let me get away with; if I find a way to trick the little beast into giving me voice access to its operating system, oh boy are we on our way. But I'll settle for what it has steadily grown more capable of.
The weird part being that, just as with all these other analogous steps, we'll see folks treating them as both bigger and smaller changes than they are. Bigger as in no, Francis, we're not any closer to Skynet today than yesterday; smaller as in discounting the flood of crap that's already being felt at short story markets. I've no doubt at all that there are plenty of quick-built autobooks on Amazon as we speak.
Some of these are better steps than you might think. If nothing else, form letters now might have a little personality. And yes this is a big help to folks who approach anything longer than a text message with anxiety (and that's far more people than care to admit it). Auto-complete a word-fragment or two at a time is distracting to me.
But I recognize well that there are many people for whom writing is a chore, at best. We're already living through a round of the "death of email", an accident of that text messages and tweets require a more terse approach. Yes it's somewhat of an irony that this will result in more email that doesn't get read or is misunderstood through clicking away halfway through the first paragraph, but what are you gonna do?
Visual artists may yet end up with something similar to Spotify and similar, some sort of clearing house approach with guaranteed pennies per month for access to train the latest and greatest art program. But there'll be pain to get there and no guarantees anyone would take the practical. Not to mention that there's apparently not even a hint of extending Discord or Getty Images to such a possibility. Just sue and pray.
Of writers I've my doubts that something similar could reach either proposal or acceptance. There's too large a gap between the haves and the have nots, and a waiting on my lottery ticket to pay off attitude among most of the have nots. Point being... nah, there's no point.
Will it stop you from writing? Or making art of any kind? That's the only answer that matters. Twenty years from now the kids will use it to create new forms of art. The current short story editors rejecting machine-written work out of hand are right to do so. Now.
Their successors will need to have different attitudes. Because the future writers certainly will. Can you imagine a radio station refusing to play music that has samples in it? That's where we're headed; I just wonder who's gonna blow up a stack of computers in Commiskey Park?
Actually, let me go ahead and say that point again: Sampling and re-mixing have been part of music for going on 60 years now (and yes it really did start with the Beatles, if only accidentally. The Who and then Pink Floyd circa Syd Barrett did it on purpose). If your playlist includes rap, contemporary music of pretty much all varieties, or electronic music of any era, you'd best be looking in the mirror before you dismiss machine-generated writing or visual art. Because it takes a lotta damn gall to hike up your skirt and start screaming now that they're coming for your art after musicians have been forced to accept the same phenomenon without recourse or acknowledgement from the rest of the art community. But I guess a little bit of hypocrisy goes a long way? Solidarity baby, at least for the write sort?
Of course I'm going to take that pot shot. The class snobbery at the heart of publishing (English language) is as viciously small-minded as it's ever been. Some few niches have been carved out for those who've taken advantage of the e-book opportunity; will they even now draw up the bridge behind them? Historically that's the way to bet. It's time to practice our sneers folks, it's always best to make sure the younger folks have ways to easily memorialize their elders. It's a sign of respect what what?
What about me? My biggest issue right now is that I'm struggling through a year of burnout and now recovery. The rise of machine learning is interesting for a variety of reasons; it means as little as to why I put my fingers to the keyboard as does programmed music for what I do with the guitars and other instruments sitting around the house, i.e. not a whole hell of a lot. Excepting inspiration of course, but that's a story of a different horse.
