Episode 85: AI Q&A Part Two

AI is starting to feel less like a tool and more like a demand: adapt right now, train on prompts, and don’t ask too many questions. 

We push back hard on that pressure, starting with the incentives behind the hype. When the business model is shaky, the marketing gets louder, and when the infrastructure is built on data extraction, “data centers” start to look a lot like surveillance centers. That reality matters for creatives, educators, and anyone trying to protect their attention and their voice. 

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Transcript

Welcome Back And Allergy Disclaimer

0:00

Howdy, dear gang of mine. As promised, this is part two of the QA from my webinar, AI and you. And just as a note, uh I have always loved the expression from uh the post office. In the Central Post Office in New York City, there was a massive building, and all across the front, chiseled in stone were these words, and I've always loved it. And it says, Neither rain nor snow nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their rounds. And I will add, for the sake of this podcast, uh neither will allergies. So my allergies are very bad this week, so please bear with me as I as I get through these questions with you. Okay, let's do this.

Why The AI Bandwagon Is Pushed

1:26

And Glenn says, How can we convince AI adopters to stand up for young people and not be seduced by the bandwagon? People have asked my students to spend two hours a day practicing writing prompts. Why do you think they have such a stake in us all following them into oblivion? Well put, Glenn. Bravo. And as I see it, the push to jump on the AI bandwagon has many parts, probably. But I think there are two big ones. And I'll start with number two. And that is because AI is not a stable business model. As a whole, it has not proved its profitability. And the investors, like all the celebrities who are telling us, oh, you gotta learn this or get left behind, they have a big stake in pushing the hype. I think that's a big duh right there, right? Some people gotta make money. And their reasoning goes like this. Here, drink this poison because I make a dollar every time one of you dies. But I think the number one reason, and this is the real push, all these big data centers are not data centers. They are surveillance centers. Call it what it is. We are living in George Orwell's novel. And that hurts my heart to even say it. So now about the business of prompting. I've heard business gurus like Gary Vaynerchuk or Gary V, as he says, um say that there's a promising new career in the future as an AI prompt writer. And yes, that would work well for those who want the full experience of life in hell. So please, please, instead of diving deep into your born skills, uh into your natural curiosity and creativity and working towards getting paid for that, sure, forget all that. There's money in being a robot's assistant. Go get it. It's the same way for creatives uh for centuries. You know, we've been distracted by uncreative bullies who tell us to learn this job that you have quite frankly zero interest in, by the way. Sit behind a desk in a cubicle under shitty lighting merely because it pays your rent, right? Just so you can make your landlord happy. I am in constant amazement at the lack of kind and generous and helpful support for people who want to follow their creative urges.

Prompts, Bias, And Neutral Language

4:31

Now, about writing and about your the advice your students get about writing prompts, the key to writing good prompts, if you really want to know, is to not be yourself. Let me explain. When writing prompts, we often unconsciously put our own fear or our own hesitancy into our questioning. And what I mean is that we will write like a messy human, and this will skew AI results towards your own established biases, which makes AI default to people pleasing or confirming your pre-existing views. But if you were to ask a friend the same question in the same tone, your friend would be able to ignore or see through your fear and come from a more caring and human and helpful place. AI only uses what you give it. Partially because AI ain't your friend. It cannot see through your anxiety or concerns. It only mirrors them back. So learning to write good prompts means learning to write in a neutral language. And does that sound like a healthy thing to teach a kid to do? And, you know, for two hours a day, no less. So yeah, teach your kids to ignore uh any advice.

Write For Meaning And Read More

6:14

So so we all have to learn to write and to speak and to create from the heart. We need to find our voice and let it flow and act freely on it. We need to learn who we are and accept that and come from that place and not conform to what a fucking machine needs. And as for your students, yes, yes, write for two hours, please. But write for meaning. Write for love. Write for the sheer fun of it. Learning to write well and communicating your thoughts and opinions is incredibly important for any creative soul. We need to learn to express our ideas on paper so that others can understand us. Or not, let's not forget that we are not people pleasers, and and and we and our crafts are not for everyone. We're just for the sexy people. So do not learn to write what you think a machine or even others want from you. Write like a crazy person. Write like someone dying to be heard because that's who you are. And read, read, read, read. Read everything. Reading is how we become better writers, by listening to others and how they communicate. Read Ursula Le Guin to understand feminism, anarchy, gender, power, and ecology. Read Charles Bukowski so you know what a madman sounds like. Read the poet E. E. Cummings to learn how to break all the fucking rules. Read Anthony Bourdain to know what the truth sounds like. And please, please, please, read Margaret Atwood. Just just read Margaret Atwood. Reading is a huge part of becoming a good writer. So encourage your students to read. Glenn, your gut is correct. And as Pink Floyd says, leave them kids alone. Let them be kids without any concern of AI or how it works or how to placate the communal brain.

Attention Spans And Cognitive Surrender

9:07

Next question comes from Tom, and Tom says, Hi, James. Hi, Tom. He says, umhow quick and easy consuming of short texts, short podcasts, etc., seem to be a reflection of our diminishing attention span. Important insights need time and room for the thoughts to move and slowly develop. Could you say something on the notion of long form deep immersion and keeping up our intention? Thanks. Tom, you are correct. And if you can't pay attention, you can't learn. And that's the problem today, because we can't pay attention. And our kids are getting that addiction as well. And the quick and easy that social media and now AI offers is both a trap and an invitation to both cognitive decline and cognitive surrender. We are giving up, willfully, giving up our critical thinking and believing that what AI gives us is valid and true. The best way to ensure your own success and longevity in your career is to fuck what society is doing and ignore what lazy and cheap designers are doing. And as far as the notion of long form, deep immersion, and keeping up your attention, see my previous answer about reading. Next question comes from Mark.

Get Seen By Asking Directly

10:56

And Mark says, social media is so full of AI junk. What are the alternative places and spaces to get your creative output into the world in a way that can be seen past the noise? Is there some mechanism from back in the day we can reclaim? Back in the day. Yeah, whoa, back in the day. I love that. Mark, you ask about alternatives to the sloppy noise of AI and social media, and some mechanism to make a connection and be seen past the noise. Listen, my first solo show as a poster designer was in Osaka, Japan. And that happened before the internet. How did that happen? I made it happen. How did I get into the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York before social media? Well, I made it happen. I asked. That's a wonderful story. I asked. I asked for what I wanted, and I followed through with it. So my answer is ask for what you want. Social media is a way to get out into the world. But it is scattershot, more like carpet bombing and not specific. So figure out what you want. Figure out who you want to talk to and go there. Talk to people. I try to ask for what I want. And I don't always get what I ask for. But making yourself visible, learning to say, look at me, look what I can do. That is the skill. Being bold and audacious are skills too. Listen, I try to ask for what I want. But I worked as the creative director for the men's line for Yoji Yamamoto, who I think is one of the most important and fantastic fashion designers on the planet. But but I had no idea I could go ask. They came to me, and they came to me because I was loud, because I made myself present. And after his death, I learned that Anthony Bourdain was a fan of my work. But I didn't ask. I didn't go there. I should have gone there, gone there. I was a fan. His restaurant in New York, Les All was my go-to place. So ask for what you want. You'd never know what you're going to get. And so many answers to all of our questions about how to get something done can be summed up this way. You are a creative person. So that means whatever you need, whatever you want, you should do it creatively. How about this? Have you ever tried sending something in the mail? Jeez, that means so much more now. But in your question, the question of how to be seen, here's another way to think about it. Mark, you should be seen by your discipline and consistency. You should be known for your courage and your presence, by your ability to make meaning and connection. So more than anything, you should be noted by your character. These things still matter. And these are what your audience really wants. Right now, you're thinking, oh man, I wish James Victory could be my mentor, my guru. Hell, I wish he was my coach. Well, you can make that happen.

Make Yourself Visible With Character

15:23

Go to your workisagift.com. There's a questionnaire that will probably help you out, but it'll also give you access to a free call. So let's talk. Let's free you from overwhelm and creative frustration. Let's build your business and help you get paid to do what you love. Again, go to your workisagift.com. Let's talk.

Resistance, Hope, And Finding Others

15:54

This next question is a very heartfelt one, and it comes from Constanza. And Constanza writes and says, the fight against AI starts to sound like too much. Can it be fixed if we are only a handful of us in this resistance? Constanza, I hear you. But there are more of you. There are more of us. And we have to hope to find them and inspire them and instill our hope in them and make them see and believe like you do. We have to find our band of brothers and sisters. How, you may ask. Well, with our work, with our discipline and bravery, and even with our fears, but especially our words. Words, words, words. This entire second half of questions is almost all about words and how we use them to raise the bar for ourselves and others. And your question, Constanza, inspires me to share this from William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare’s Rallying Cry On Words

17:32

It's one of my favorite uses of words. I have a a few uh a few types of books that I collect, but one is speeches. I love famous speeches. And and I always love to move forward by going backwards. And Shakespeare used an historical moment as a centerpiece for his play Henry V. And in it there is a beautiful speech. Let me set the scene a little bit for you. In the year fourteen fifteen, during the Hundred Years War, the English army was stranded in northern France, facing what would be called the Battle of Agincourt. The English are battle weary and exhausted, and facing a fresh French army that outnumbers them five to one. And this is a true story. And in this scene, there is a famous speech, a famous rallying cry, delivered by King Henry to his army on the morning of the battle. It is called the Saint Crispin's Day speech. I have excerpted it here for you. I've shortened it a tiny bit. And please bear with me, because this is Shakespeare, and I have allergies. So let me set the scene for you. It is dawn before the battle, and the king's men are grumbling. They're fearful. And one of them says, Oh that we now had here, but one ten thousand of those men in England. And Henry says, What's that who wishes it so? My cousin Westmoreland? No, fair cousin. If we are marked to die, we are enough to do our country loss. And if to live, the fewer men, the greater share of honor. God's will, I pray thee wish not one more man. Brother, proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, that he, which hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart, his passport shall be made, and crowns for convoy put into his purse. We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us. This day is called the feast of Crispian. He that outlives this day and comes safe home will stand at tiptoe when the day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall see this day and live old age will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors and say, Tomorrow is Saint Crispin's. And then he will strip his sleeves and show his scars and say, These wounds I had on Crispin's Day. This story shall the good man teach his son, and Crispin Crispian shall never go by from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered. We few we happy few we band of brothers for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother and gentlemen in England now asleep shall think themselves accursed that they were not here and hold their manhood cheap whilst any speaks that fought with us on Saint Crispin's Day. I love it. Words, words, words. Constanza, we are enough for this fight.

You Are Not Alone Closing

22:02

Dearest gang, take a breath. Know that you are not alone. I'm James Victory, and I love you, and I believe in you, even if you don't. Thank you for being here.