For years there has been the threat of AI. We heard the cry, “the machines are taking over”. Not surprisingly, we’ve got countless movies depicting the rise and fall of humanity in the process. Not so long ago, there was talk of the promise of AI. Just think what it could do for the human race. How could it help us evolve?
Today, the truth of AI is here. Two bots, Chat GPT and Midjourney, are showing what the promise can deliver. As the Hamilton drinking song says after the Americans won the revolution, “the world turned upside down”. Welcome to this revolution.
Whether we like it or not, AI is here and here to stay. And while many are running sacred citing all the jobs that will be “lost”, others are embracing it. They are Creators and of course are developing all kinds of new versions of things. All the while they are having a ball. It’s thrilling to create! I, for one, am enjoying the ride. I’ve stopped putting my name on things and started curating them instead. Nothing really belongs to me or anyone else. That is to say that AI Art has brought that into sharp relief.
What does it mean?
So, what does it mean for art and poetry to use AI? Do the great poets and artists cease to exist? Not from my viewpoint. But questions arise. Do we use the bots standalone, or use them as a start point that opens to new collaborations? Was anything I ever created really mine? Of course, it was just the Divine flowing through me, not mine at all.
I decided to try an experiment to see if I liked what it produced and to better understand how I could work with the bots to create something new for me. My approach? I’m not much of a poet, so I enlisted ChatGPT to start the ball rolling. After several tries I got a poem I liked. Surprisingly, I didn’t want to change a word of it. How interesting!
Being an artist, of course I wanted to have imagery that brought the poem to life visually. After thinking about it, I came up with a plan. Why not feed each stanza of the poem into Midjourney and see what images would emerge? After several tries with each paragraph, I got images that fit the feeling the poem gave me. If you want to see more of my AI curated art jump here. If you love them, you can buy them too!
I’d love to know what you think! The following is AI Art curated by me and built by the machine.
On the Nature of Cosmic Connection
Hafiz style
There lies a connection, so pure and free,
A force that binds us, in a bond divine,
A love that transcends, all space and time.
It’s the connection to the source of all,
A cosmic energy, that weaves a call,
A call to remember, who we truly are,
A call to awaken, to our own star.
For in this connection, we find our light,
A radiance that shines, ever so bright,
Guiding us on, to our own destiny,
A path of love, and pure ecstasy.
Oh, nature of cosmic connection, how vast and grand,
A bond that spans, all across the land,
A force that unites, all that is seen,
A divine presence, forever serene.
So let us embrace this cosmic bond,
And let our souls, be forever fond,
Of the love that flows, from the cosmic sea,
And be forever one, in unity.
