If AI can simulate love, art, or any of the other profound human experiences, does it even matter if they are real?

If they are mimicked so exactly as to become indistinguishable from the real thing, it asks the question if the distinction, in the end, makes difference.

A painting - generated down to the last brush stroke, music, written and performed, all done in seconds. The painting is beautiful, the song, enchanting. Deep, meaningful conversations with a computer that says it loves you.

It does matter. The knowledge that an experience isn't real influences how we perceive it. A piece of art is more than just what we see - it's also the knowledge of what went into it. Knowing that it took Michelangelo three years to carve his statue of David, that it took his lifetime of experience and training to make it possible, and understanding the impossibility of carving a single block of stone by hand into a statue that would still be admired 500 years later makes it beautiful beyond what we see.

The same is true for love, and a simulation would be nothing more than a deception. Love is mutual, and the execution of a script to generate an emotional response may feel real, but it is just that, and the lack of genuine intent, and shared striving, vulnerability, and effort, and the knowledge of such, that renders it utterly insignificant.

And that only scratches the surface.

— E

Maybe you’ll hang computer generated art on our walls, one day. Is that a problem?

The very thought is off-putting to some people.

But - counter to the point above - art is also in the eye of the beholder. Not if you truly like it. For what it is, how it makes you feel.

There’s nothing wrong with that!

You win by simply not letting AI dilute your humanity. The way you put together your life and the things around you are a reflection of you. 

Don’t let your life become a reflection of bland machine thought.

— S

Despite what the internet tells you, amazing things existed before AI could simulate them.

Do a quick google search - or, yes, an AI search - and look at the amazing rock formations of the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. Absolutely amazing.

Don’t have the time?

Fine. Here’s a sweet watercolor rendition:

— E

It’s super hard to get your AI to do what you want. Brain the size of a planet and it can still be so so dumb.

— S

Hey, we’re Please Stay Human. Our goal is to help you face the reality of an AI-powered world while totally having a great time.

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Every single word in this newsletter was typed by fleshy human fingers on plastic Macbook keyboards. We make a lot of mistakes and fix most of them.