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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   17326 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 12, 2026

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Yeah, it's a hard topic, and a scary one. I was considering linking this post from tumblr:

recently my friend's comics professor told her that it's acceptable to use gen AI for script-writing but not for art, since a machine can't generate meaningful artistic work. meanwhile, my sister's screenwriting professor said that they can use gen AI for concept art and visualization, but that it won't be able to generate a script that's any good. and at my job, it seems like each department says that AI can be useful in every field except the one that they know best.

It's only ever the jobs we're unfamiliar with that we assume can be replaced with automation. The more attuned we are with certain processes, crafts, and occupations, the more we realize that gen AI will never be able to provide a suitable replacement. The case for its existence relies on our ignorance of the work and skill required to do everything we don't.

And in some ways, it's a funny and illustrative story, and if AI freezes at exactly this state, I'd expect that we'll see a bunch of people very proud of their predictive prowess. And then it's also a funny and illustrative story, because 'can compete with you for every skill but your one or two specific areas of focus' describes the entire process of employing skilled labor everywhere.

recently my friend's comics professor told her that it's acceptable to use gen AI for script-writing but not for art, since a machine can't generate meaningful artistic work. meanwhile, my sister's screenwriting professor said that they can use gen AI for concept art and visualization, but that it won't be able to generate a script that's any good. and at my job, it seems like each department says that AI can be useful in every field except the one that they know best.

As a teacher, I've given basically the same guidelines to my students: in a writing class, use of AI-generated text is cheating comparable to plagiarism, but students are permitted (as long as they're upfront about it and get my approval first) to use AI for non-text creative projects.

In my case, it's not because I assume that 'jobs I'm unfamiliar with... can be replaced by automation.' It's because the class and the assignment is intended to teach writing skills, not art skills. It's because I am a good writer, and able to teach writing skills; it's because I am an abysmal artist, and not competent to teach art skills. As long as they're dedicating their full effort to the actual class material, I don't mind if they use shortcuts for peripheral tasks. It's not about my estimate of what AI and automation is capable of; it's about my estimation of what I am capable of, and what I expect my students to be capable of.

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