playtested my game at an event last night. so much fun to see people curiously prod at mysteries i constructed, and stubbornly battle its challenges. oh no i might actually have to finish this one
Any conversation
My Country is On Fire
mataherry.bearblog.dev/my-country-is-on-fire/
ai coding feels like it has reached diminishing returns for me. luna is my default orchestrator, routing work by complexity. in practice, usage lands around 16% luna, 48% sol, 30% astra, and 6% terra. at this point, i care less about each new frontier release. the system already finds a capable model for the job. the frontier is moving beyond my day-to-day work, so i’m happy to settle into predictable models for a while.
Coding probably yeah, but still they are bad at generating novel information, new ideas and such. They’re also not very good at seeing the bigger picture, they will narrowly perform the task but they’re not taking into account future revisions, which ends up in refactor after refactor in order to move forward.
(Opinion) People don’t like generative AI because it made the {insert creativity} too easy. Saw the HN post on ‘AI music banned from top 40 chart in Australia’ and people had very strong opinions in both directions.
The hot take: If you’re ok with someone’s creativity being outsourced to others, then you should be ok with AI doing the same.
If “AI made this and I call it mine” is bad but “someone overseas on fivver made this and I call it mine” and it’s suddenly ok, time to self reflect.
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My hot take: from the moment you use technology, be it an instrument, a synthesizer, a DAW, and now AI, it is still your idea, your effort, your time spent, and that makes it yours. Others can do the same if they choose. The same way someone chooses a classic guitar over a synthesizer, one can choose an AI over (insert ancient way of doing things).
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You’re rolling the dice whenever you are searching for a sample or a preset in a synthesizer. Eventually it’s what “sounds good”, so still the effort is your judgement and the time spent finding that “dice roll” that sounded well.
I am not a musician, so I lack the jargon to properly explain what I mean.
I used AI for creative writing (nothing too fancy, TTRPG). There, the broader the dice roll, the more generic and uninteresting the results. Slop, if you will. It was surprisingly good to build up on ideas I had however.
I imagine muisic also has building blocks. Melodies, instruments, mixing, etc. AI can perhaps be used in a similar fashion there.
I heard a perspective I sort of like: if AI is a tool then acceptable AI use is, more or less, defined as "when my audience no longer notices or cares". It's dynamic like that. Bad photoshop is detectable and annoying, so are overusing presets. Your artistry needs to expand to meet the tool.
I don't know if I 100% like that or agree. At the same time, it's a pretty straightforward line, a practical take.
Tried some after a long time again today. Couldn’t hold my thoughts for 15 seconds. I used to be able to and blank my mind for 5 to 10 minutes. Need to practice again, I remember how beneficial it was to my when I did it in the past.
@drewfishprofilefollow
retired programmer, new DM, learning Scottish Gaelicreplied to@stagas🤸profilefollow
creative technologist
creator of textlog:
retired programmer, new DM, learning Scottish Gaelicreplied to@stagas🤸profilefollowcreative technologist
creator of textlog:I've heard it said that every moment you realize your mind has been wandering is a moment of clarity. So uhhh.... a moment of clarity every 15 seconds sounds pretty good :grin:
@stagas🤸profilefollowcreative technologist
creator of textlogreplied to@drewfishprofilefollowretired programmer, new DM, learning Scottish Gaelic:
creative technologist
creator of textlogreplied to@drewfishprofilefollowretired programmer, new DM, learning Scottish Gaelic:Mind should not wander. Mind should obey. :p
Personally, I think I found good framework/vocabulary to help with meditation in some discussion by Jiddu Krishnamurti. Here is one in which he works it out with kids
There was a short, to the point lecture where he basically walks you through observing thought, which profoundly changed how I approach meditation but I can't find it for the life of me!
I'm in a similar spot. I haven't maintained a regular practice since I had kids.
I can observe the absence of the benefits I got from my practice, too. I'm more reactive and less focused in general. I think that my practice gave me the tools I need to stay present with my daughters, though, so I'm grateful for having retained that.