Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Lately, when I tell people that I am a writer, the conversation inevitably turns to artificial intelligence. People want to know if AI will replace journalists and take up everything, from newspaper writing to books. I don’t think it will be, and that’s why.
AI can be a useful tool. I use an application led by AI to transcribe the interviews that I make for my columns. Of course, it makes mistakes and I have to recheck transcription, but it’s always useful and saves me time. But even if the technology improves, I do not see AI replacing myself as a storyteller.
Narration is an intrinsically human function that feeds and requires connection, empathy and learning to be significant. It is a human who will appear at the scene of a natural disaster to document the stories of tragedy. It is a human who will sit down with a scientist to ask thoughtful questions about important research and extract a relatable story. It is a human who has emotional intelligence to maintain space for trauma the worst days of someone’s life with the intention of doing good through their lived experience. Vulnerable narration honors our collective humanity. I am not convinced that AI can be formed to reproduce this experience.
Humans are wired for connection and we are wired for belonging. A robot on places taking notes cannot sympathize with survivors in the face of difficult moments like a human colleague. We need sisters and brothers standing together, faced with life as fatal and sensitive to understand what our lived experiences really mean for humanity as a whole.
Perhaps in the future, an intelligence focused on AI locked up in a human robot shell will be the first to arrive following a disaster to offer immediate assistance and extract data. But the stories? They belong to humanity. The stories offer a context and are shared in the name of the healing of communities looking for solutions and solidarity.
If social media was the digital beta test for a practical connection in an algorithmic world, we see every day when it fails. Social media do not hold a real space. We scroll through our flows and offer a sad face, an emoji of care followed by a face emoji that laughs in the space of 30 seconds on morning coffee. These reactions are not empathy measures. They are performative in their connection attempt. Above all, social media invite immaturity based on instinctive rage. We let it increase self -indignation. It is a bad substitute for human connection which is in the form of a hug or a helping hand. However, even in my conscience, I am also guilty. Lately, I undertake less and less.
My hope as a consumer of social media is that society will come to a point where vitrioli and the inauthentic atmosphere of all this will redirect us to more human conversations in real community spaces. The content has focused on clicks which is aimed at our biases in the search for profit is only used to delete the integrity of any possible connection to have in an online interaction. These manipulations fail to add value or meaning to any digital space.
Facebook groups are popular to bring people together around common interests. I belong to a few gardening groups where I see people trying to pass images generated by AI like their own backyard. Some share weird stories to trigger a debate. These installers are called in the comments. It’s such a strange place to be dishonest, and I don’t understand the goal.
Most people want authenticity in their quest to belong. They want human manufacturing content that does not allow them all the time to feel confused.
Perhaps we can decide that AI can work well as a tool to strengthen productivity while recognizing that things that make us only human – like narration and journalism – are better left to humans. If we can do it, then humanity may have a chance.
Do you know someone who does nice things to make the world better? I want to know. Send me an e-mail to [email protected]. Consult the weekly YouTube videos from Bonnie on www.youtube.com/bonniejeanfeldkamp.
