I agree, especially about the art. I will not use AI-generated art for all of the reasons you suggest.
I just enrolled in a clay class with my daughter. I want to feel and see art and connect to the creative process. Your essay here is insightful, accurate, wise, and needed. I hope more people support true art as we always have. Thank you for taking the time to put this on paper.
I feel the mental health challenge of giving over to what seems easy and less creative. The shift is significant.
I have never used Chat GPT, but I have experimented with Google's Gemini AI tool. As you found with Chat GPT, Gemini also has a tendency to just "make stuff up." Especially in complicated searches. It's as if - rather than say "no result found" the algorithms have been programmed to produce "something" even if that "something" is fictional.
Interestingly - if I then repeat the same search but just add aa a final search parameter "and list your sources" - Gemini then omits the previous fictional data.
Anyway - as you say - morality and soul, and creativity, are hard to code for.
I recently purchased "What Art Does" as a present for Meg. She has just started reading it, and gives a good report.
I too have mixed views of Substack. On balance I like it. My experience years ago with mainstream publishing was often negative, and it felt very isolating. Substack has immediacy, and I am greatly enjoying the opportunity to read a wide range of work from a diverse bunch of other writers - not just fellow Poets. I have even made some genuine friends here - an outcome I had not expected at all. I'm also human enough to enjoy the affirmation of thoughtful and sincere comments and compliments on my own work.
The downsides:
Self publication can easily become self deception. Just because I write something doesn't mean it will have meaning for others, and when I decide to hit "Publish" I may well be "publishing" something that doesn't really warrant it, or that may have benefited from a lot of extra work.
There is a temptation to publish "something" just for the sake of publishing something. Even allowing for varied tastes, there is a lot of very ordinary work on Substack.
The risk of skim reading, and loss of depth and concentration. It's a bit like walking into a word supermarket. In supermarkets I get overwhelmed by choice - and often leave without getting things I actually needed because I just can't concentrate. Substack can be like that. I just cannot read everything is puts in front of me.
Diversion into social media - via Notes. Yep, definitely can happen.
My response has been to read a bit less, and put parameters around that. I only use Notes to repeat my own Post each week, or restack work by other people if I really like it.
Also - to just write with my heart, and stop reading and browsing Substack when I'm in a writing kind of mood.
ie. Self control is the key to getting a balance with Substack.
Two other things worry me about Substack though:
1. It's a tech platform, right? It's owned by the 3 men who founded it. So far - I think they have created a space that is largely beneficial and supportive for writers, but it would be naive to assume that will always be the case. If they change their minds, or if they go public and major shareholders push for change, or if they sell to an Elon Musk....... So I have my metaphorical poetical Go Bag ready. I can be out of here - with a copy of all my work - at a moment's notice.
2. Personal problem: I'm wrestling with the pay vs free issue. I started off (and so far remain) entirely "free." I don't have payments enabled at all. That was partly because I just wanted to communicate, and I felt that payment would get in the way of that. It was also probably part laziness - I couldn't be bothered setting up payment. However..... although I'm fortunate that I have other income, I do believe that artists and writers (even Poets!) do deserve to be paid for their work. On the other hand - although I do have various paid subscriptions to other people - I can't afford to take out a paid sub for everything I read. So my thought was "If I make my Substack paid, then people who take a paid Sub won't have that money to buy a Sub from someone else who needs the $ more." But then - increasingly - I also feel uncomfortable that I've used Substack for 9 months now and I produce zero revenue for the owners because I don't charge at all. In fairness - they are providing a service and it will be costing them a lot of money to provide that service, so maybe I should be charging - just so that Substack gets some income. If writers all do their work for "free" then the only way Substack will survive will be if it resorts to taking advertising - which would ruin it. So..... I am considering adding a payment option, for those who want to pay (which could be a total of zero people, lol).
Oh wow…Nearly don’t know how to reply. I think we are largely in agreement :)
I think I have reservations about all the platforms…. I too am enjoying substack at the moment and the connections I can make with others….though I first started writing in the old days of mummy blogging and I loved my imperfect blog…..somehow it found a small engaged audience and the tours of Paris grew out of that writing.
I regard myself as like an emerging artist/writer. I am not seeking a career. I do it regardless. It’s partly a ‘spiritual’ practise. But it’s also good to share work so I have Instagram (visual side) and now Substack.
For me with my particular brain (ADD/ Dyslexia) self control is a daily practise that requires effort and energy. Maybe that is a personal issue with online life but I don’t think I’m alone….it erodes our capacity for focus and presence in the real world. I think I was also suggesting that AI just added another thing to we need to be careful of……ease and efficiency. You know the old idea of use it or lose it…I was proposing AI could erode our capacities in some really important things. Mostly stuff that is hard. Maybe that was the big point.
Anyhow….yes the artists, writers and especially poets deserve to be paid. In terms of paid stuff I seriously never thought anyone would pay me….I just filled in the form as I set up substack with repeating numbers that had good energy….and now several people pay:) Most months I think I should be sending the money back….but my compromise with myself has been to try to write regularly….and be sincere/earnest even if the writing is not as good as I would like….I use the money to subscribe to others that I want to support….seems a win/win:)
Thank you. You have given me a few things to think about….and also given lots of time to reply in such depth. I really appreciate that. And you. Your beautiful poetry ….you deserve to be paid for sure:)
And how synchronous that you gave Meg What Art Does….I think it’s a really smart little book made with all the right intentions:) I’ve been listening to Eno online of course!! with love. Bernadette :)
I'm sure you are correct about AI. Reliance on AI will deskill us in subtle ways, just as the speed and volume of online content tends to reduce our attention span. I now read books not just for their content - but also to retrain my mind for deeper, more sustained, concentration.
"Focus" - as you say. I assume this is even more critically important for you, with ADD, but I definitely notice the impact of the online world on my own ability to concentrate.
Writing is of course also a practise which requires, and promotes, intense concentration and focus.
After writing my comment to you I actually sat down and enabled payment as an option on my Substack. The thought had been bouncing around in my head for a long time and writing about it made me decide to actually do it. Your suggestion to spend the proceeds on other subscriptions is a good one. Or another donation to Médecins Sans Frontières.
My own writing here is more of a re-emergence. I published in various literary journals from the mid 90's to around 2002, and even won a few national and regional awards, and then I ceased all publication for the next 22 years - although I did keep writing.
Meg had been gently suggesting for years that I should share my work more widely. Your may be interested to hear that It was your Substack writing which encouraged me back into publication. I had not come across Substack previously and Meg brought your site to my attention - again with a gentle suggestion that it might be a platform I would find compatible.
So.... in August last year I decided to give it a try, and almost 9 months later I'm still here. I think I have published something every 4 - 7 days in that period. That's a mix of older work from my back catalogue and also very new work. As time goes by there will be less of the latter and more of the former. I'm enjoying the format, including the ability to mix text and image, but I will also look at 3rd party publishing options again.
It's a strange experience because I knew a lot of Australian writers and poets 20+ years ago but I fell out of contact with all of them - something I regret. Quite a few are now no longer in this realm of existence. Australian Poetry seemed a small world within a world 20 years ago. I have re-emerged into a very different and much wider world now and I feel a bit like Rip van Winkle. I'm not sure if I will ever have any kind of "profile" in Oz poetry again, or not, but gaining a local profile back when I had one seemed to require a lot of networking and literary politics - which is one of the major reasons I stopped publishing. I didn't see poetry as a competitive sport, and I still don't.
So... like you, "It’s partly a ‘spiritual’ practise." The surprise for me is that I have met a new range of other Poets and Writers, and made some friends, and that has enriched my life.
Hi Bernadette,
I agree, especially about the art. I will not use AI-generated art for all of the reasons you suggest.
I just enrolled in a clay class with my daughter. I want to feel and see art and connect to the creative process. Your essay here is insightful, accurate, wise, and needed. I hope more people support true art as we always have. Thank you for taking the time to put this on paper.
I feel the mental health challenge of giving over to what seems easy and less creative. The shift is significant.
Hi Bernadette
I agree with all you say.
I have never used Chat GPT, but I have experimented with Google's Gemini AI tool. As you found with Chat GPT, Gemini also has a tendency to just "make stuff up." Especially in complicated searches. It's as if - rather than say "no result found" the algorithms have been programmed to produce "something" even if that "something" is fictional.
Interestingly - if I then repeat the same search but just add aa a final search parameter "and list your sources" - Gemini then omits the previous fictional data.
Anyway - as you say - morality and soul, and creativity, are hard to code for.
I recently purchased "What Art Does" as a present for Meg. She has just started reading it, and gives a good report.
I too have mixed views of Substack. On balance I like it. My experience years ago with mainstream publishing was often negative, and it felt very isolating. Substack has immediacy, and I am greatly enjoying the opportunity to read a wide range of work from a diverse bunch of other writers - not just fellow Poets. I have even made some genuine friends here - an outcome I had not expected at all. I'm also human enough to enjoy the affirmation of thoughtful and sincere comments and compliments on my own work.
The downsides:
Self publication can easily become self deception. Just because I write something doesn't mean it will have meaning for others, and when I decide to hit "Publish" I may well be "publishing" something that doesn't really warrant it, or that may have benefited from a lot of extra work.
There is a temptation to publish "something" just for the sake of publishing something. Even allowing for varied tastes, there is a lot of very ordinary work on Substack.
The risk of skim reading, and loss of depth and concentration. It's a bit like walking into a word supermarket. In supermarkets I get overwhelmed by choice - and often leave without getting things I actually needed because I just can't concentrate. Substack can be like that. I just cannot read everything is puts in front of me.
Diversion into social media - via Notes. Yep, definitely can happen.
My response has been to read a bit less, and put parameters around that. I only use Notes to repeat my own Post each week, or restack work by other people if I really like it.
Also - to just write with my heart, and stop reading and browsing Substack when I'm in a writing kind of mood.
ie. Self control is the key to getting a balance with Substack.
Two other things worry me about Substack though:
1. It's a tech platform, right? It's owned by the 3 men who founded it. So far - I think they have created a space that is largely beneficial and supportive for writers, but it would be naive to assume that will always be the case. If they change their minds, or if they go public and major shareholders push for change, or if they sell to an Elon Musk....... So I have my metaphorical poetical Go Bag ready. I can be out of here - with a copy of all my work - at a moment's notice.
2. Personal problem: I'm wrestling with the pay vs free issue. I started off (and so far remain) entirely "free." I don't have payments enabled at all. That was partly because I just wanted to communicate, and I felt that payment would get in the way of that. It was also probably part laziness - I couldn't be bothered setting up payment. However..... although I'm fortunate that I have other income, I do believe that artists and writers (even Poets!) do deserve to be paid for their work. On the other hand - although I do have various paid subscriptions to other people - I can't afford to take out a paid sub for everything I read. So my thought was "If I make my Substack paid, then people who take a paid Sub won't have that money to buy a Sub from someone else who needs the $ more." But then - increasingly - I also feel uncomfortable that I've used Substack for 9 months now and I produce zero revenue for the owners because I don't charge at all. In fairness - they are providing a service and it will be costing them a lot of money to provide that service, so maybe I should be charging - just so that Substack gets some income. If writers all do their work for "free" then the only way Substack will survive will be if it resorts to taking advertising - which would ruin it. So..... I am considering adding a payment option, for those who want to pay (which could be a total of zero people, lol).
Best Wishes - Dave :)
Oh wow…Nearly don’t know how to reply. I think we are largely in agreement :)
I think I have reservations about all the platforms…. I too am enjoying substack at the moment and the connections I can make with others….though I first started writing in the old days of mummy blogging and I loved my imperfect blog…..somehow it found a small engaged audience and the tours of Paris grew out of that writing.
I regard myself as like an emerging artist/writer. I am not seeking a career. I do it regardless. It’s partly a ‘spiritual’ practise. But it’s also good to share work so I have Instagram (visual side) and now Substack.
For me with my particular brain (ADD/ Dyslexia) self control is a daily practise that requires effort and energy. Maybe that is a personal issue with online life but I don’t think I’m alone….it erodes our capacity for focus and presence in the real world. I think I was also suggesting that AI just added another thing to we need to be careful of……ease and efficiency. You know the old idea of use it or lose it…I was proposing AI could erode our capacities in some really important things. Mostly stuff that is hard. Maybe that was the big point.
Anyhow….yes the artists, writers and especially poets deserve to be paid. In terms of paid stuff I seriously never thought anyone would pay me….I just filled in the form as I set up substack with repeating numbers that had good energy….and now several people pay:) Most months I think I should be sending the money back….but my compromise with myself has been to try to write regularly….and be sincere/earnest even if the writing is not as good as I would like….I use the money to subscribe to others that I want to support….seems a win/win:)
Thank you. You have given me a few things to think about….and also given lots of time to reply in such depth. I really appreciate that. And you. Your beautiful poetry ….you deserve to be paid for sure:)
And how synchronous that you gave Meg What Art Does….I think it’s a really smart little book made with all the right intentions:) I’ve been listening to Eno online of course!! with love. Bernadette :)
Hey Bernadette
I'm sure you are correct about AI. Reliance on AI will deskill us in subtle ways, just as the speed and volume of online content tends to reduce our attention span. I now read books not just for their content - but also to retrain my mind for deeper, more sustained, concentration.
"Focus" - as you say. I assume this is even more critically important for you, with ADD, but I definitely notice the impact of the online world on my own ability to concentrate.
Writing is of course also a practise which requires, and promotes, intense concentration and focus.
After writing my comment to you I actually sat down and enabled payment as an option on my Substack. The thought had been bouncing around in my head for a long time and writing about it made me decide to actually do it. Your suggestion to spend the proceeds on other subscriptions is a good one. Or another donation to Médecins Sans Frontières.
My own writing here is more of a re-emergence. I published in various literary journals from the mid 90's to around 2002, and even won a few national and regional awards, and then I ceased all publication for the next 22 years - although I did keep writing.
Meg had been gently suggesting for years that I should share my work more widely. Your may be interested to hear that It was your Substack writing which encouraged me back into publication. I had not come across Substack previously and Meg brought your site to my attention - again with a gentle suggestion that it might be a platform I would find compatible.
So.... in August last year I decided to give it a try, and almost 9 months later I'm still here. I think I have published something every 4 - 7 days in that period. That's a mix of older work from my back catalogue and also very new work. As time goes by there will be less of the latter and more of the former. I'm enjoying the format, including the ability to mix text and image, but I will also look at 3rd party publishing options again.
It's a strange experience because I knew a lot of Australian writers and poets 20+ years ago but I fell out of contact with all of them - something I regret. Quite a few are now no longer in this realm of existence. Australian Poetry seemed a small world within a world 20 years ago. I have re-emerged into a very different and much wider world now and I feel a bit like Rip van Winkle. I'm not sure if I will ever have any kind of "profile" in Oz poetry again, or not, but gaining a local profile back when I had one seemed to require a lot of networking and literary politics - which is one of the major reasons I stopped publishing. I didn't see poetry as a competitive sport, and I still don't.
So... like you, "It’s partly a ‘spiritual’ practise." The surprise for me is that I have met a new range of other Poets and Writers, and made some friends, and that has enriched my life.
Love from us
D and M :)
In short you seem to have crawled into my mind unawares & spoken my thoughts out on to the page.
Thank you 🙏🏻
Glad that it resonated! That idea of meeting in person to write in Kyoto feels more and more like a good idea 🤲
I have no idea how to tell if it’s live or Memorex .Thank You
Haha! Not being American I did have to look that up….