PHRANTONE 11-2023

7 June 2023

Dear Phran Klub,

A few weeks ago, I taught my first workshop on artificial intelligence (AI). “This is as world-changing as the introduction of the Americas to Western Europe,” I said. “It’s more consequential for humanity than electricity, automobiles, or the launch of the internet.”

None of the participants had tried AI art for themselves yet. In fact, I still see lots of shrugging about it. I produced the workshop because the images I’ve created using Midjourney and DALL-E have utterly blown my mind.

You may be wondering, what about ChatGPT? Did I enlist AI to write these words? I did not. But why hesitate to invite its help to co-create them?

This letter is personal, that’s why. Still, I’m not turning down the gift of a magic paintbrush. AI is a massive upgrade to our creativity toolkit, just as the printing press exploded literature, photography revolutionized portraiture, and GPS turbocharged agriculture (see: corn mazes).

AI is here for us. I’m here for it, and I’m buckling in for the ride. Check out the quote in the last paragraph on the flip side of this page. It’s just a taste, but I like it.

Frankie with a P-H (and an A I)

P.S. Update! Remember the game prototype I included in Phrantone #03-2022, with the numbers? It’s been licensed! Look for it to debut in the UK in early 2024.