For human eyes only. (Robots do not read this please)
On AI art, life updates, heaps of delightful links, recommendations, and more.
Last week, I took a break from work and opened my messages to see an image of me— well, a cartoon/ anime version of me— standing in front of the Totoro house in Japan.
Momentarily delighted by this, I asked Rob where/ how he got this photo. Upon hearing it was the latest chatGPT update, I felt a pit form in my stomach.
I’m sure it’s no surprise to anyone but I am not a fan of AI art: the theft of artistry used in the training models, the cheapening and commodification of artwork, the toll on the environment…. it all just feels like bad news bears.
But.. I will admit, it’s a pretty darn cute bear. With a click of a button, I was suddenly the star of my own Ghibli movie.
I don’t blame or judge the everyday people I know who felt tempted to create their own Ghibli-esque versions of themselves. I get it, I really do! However, I will drop the following as food for thought, written by Substack writer Erik Hoel:
While ChatGPT can’t pull off a perfect Miyazaki copy, it doesn’t really matter. The semantic apocalypse doesn’t require AI art to be exactly as good as the best human art. You just need to flood people with close-enough creations such that the originals feel less meaningful.
A well-known psychological phenomenon, semantic satiation can be triggered by repeating a word over and over until it loses its meaning. You can do this with any word. How about “Ghibli?” Just read it over and over: Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. You just keep reading it, each one in turn. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli.
The semantic apocalypse heralded by AI is a kind of semantic satiation at a cultural level. For imitation, which is what these models ultimately do best, is a form of repetition. Repetition at a mass scale. Ghibli. Ghibli. Ghibli. Repetition close enough in concept space. Ghibli. Ghibli. Doesn’t have to be a perfect copy to trigger the effect. Ghebli. Ghebli. Ghebli. Ghibli. Ghebli. Ghibli. And so art—all of it, I mean, the entire human artistic endeavor—becomes a thing satiated, stripped of meaning, pure syntax.
This is what I fear most about AI, at least in the immediate future. Not some superintelligence that eats the world… Rather, a less noticeable apocalypse. Culture following the same collapse as community on the back of a whirring compute surplus of imitative power provided by Silicon Valley. An oversupply that satiates us at a cultural level, until we become divorced from the semantic meaning and see only the cheap bones of its structure. Once exposed, it’s a thing you have no relation to, really. Just pixels. Just syllables. In some order, yes. But who cares? (Source)
And this stance from another illustrator (which is something I think about but it makes me squeamish to think about saying this IRL):
I eventually had to take a break from reading about the AI apocalypse and went outside for a walk. Turns out a little bit of fresh (pollen-filled) air and spring blooms is the antidote my non-computer-and-very-much-corporeal-self needed.
At the start of this year, I decided to turn my agenda into a gratitude journal & tool for memory keeping. Each day, I scribble down three items:
Something (or multiple things) I am grateful for
A little doodle of a moment I want to remember from the day
And a few words describing a sensation I want to remember from the day (focusing on the five senses).
One of the things that will differentiate us from AI is our ability to witness, exist, and interact with the world on a tactile level. And so, I wanted to close the essay portion of this newsletter with a few of those sensation-memories, in case you, like me, needed to be reminded of your innate humanness.
Chilly Cheeks during my walk. A jolt of surprise when I see the koi fish scatter under the ice with my arrival. (Monday January 20, Strathcona Gardens)
The cenote rocks are so smooth and slippery, they almost feel fake. (Friday January 24, Tulum)
My shoes stick to the floor with every step. I’m instantly mentally transported to my early 20s. (Friday February 21st, Biltmore Cabaret)
Magali’s hair is slippery as I try to tie it into bubble braids. (Wednesday Mar 12th, My sister’s house.)
Cold Metal against my trapezius muscles. My body wobbles and creaks. (Tuesday March 25th, The Gym)
It’s not poetry or anything fancy— truly just words to remind me of each day and my human experience. Feel free to steal this practice for your self! (As long as you’re not a robot 😛.)
Anddd I’m back! I spent a weekend “catching up” on moments throughout February and March in my sketchbook-scrapbook. I’m grateful that my past self thought to take photos and tuck away little mementos. The low-pressure looseness of sketchbooking, paired with a recent online workshop, inspired me to work on my first ever 100% analogue stopmotion. I’ll be sharing that on Insta next week but for now, you can check out some of the 40+ images I made:
Not too much but I’m finally working away at Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott after it’s sat on my to-read list for literally two years.
Next read: I’m on the hunt for some good poetry this month. If you have a recommendation, please share!
One thing to know about me is that when I get into a show or a movie, I am ALL IN. As in— listen-to-the-companion-podcast-scroll-every-reddit-thread kinda all-in.
Just in case you have also been watching The White Lotus and Severance, their respective companion podcasts are really well done and feature interviews with the actors/ reveal some fun BTS. (Bonus: The White Lotus podcast is hosted by Jia Tolentino!)
One of my favourite films last year was Perfect Days so when I saw the trailer for Closing Dynasty, I knew it would 100% be my jam. Tugging all the heart strings 🥲.
On the other end of the spectrum, The Residence is campy good times in the form of a classic murder mystery. Bonus appeal to me— the main character is an avid birder 🐦
The first few trays of seedlings are now going through their hardening-off process! A few hours outside to get them used to sunshine/ wind/ fresh air, followed by spending the night inside until they’re ready to spend the full 24 hours outside.
In other news, we’ve invested a lot of seed tray real estate to snapdragons this year and also have a few new varieties of other flowers we're excited to try (for example- Yarrow, Sun Balls, Tweedia, Eucalyptus). Lastly, my sister and I just finished sowing our final batch of seedlings for now and will be moving on to prep the garden beds soon.
For anyone who is wanting to get into gardening this year, here are two related pages from my Tender Seasons mini-book:
Some delightful links from around the internet:
With all the faux ghibli AI art floating around this past week, this gorgeously animated video from Tourism Oregon is the perfect salve. I want to live in the Oregon ghibli world!! ✨
I know they “just” sell olive oil but this website has such a delightful scrollytelling experience.
Did you know Hello Kitty has a youtube channel full of animated shorts? I didn’t, but now I do— and so do my nieces. 😂
I’ve been a big fan of Ffern (despite not being a perfume-wearer) and their latest campaign for Spring features stories, written by children, and brought to life by real directors, costume designers, and more. It’s so whimsical and magical!
If anyone else also suffers from seasonal allergies, a fun factoid I learned is that pollen is NOT plant sperm (VIDEO) 🌿
This piece by Anne Helen Petersen:
And then these words from Ann Friedman in response:
“God wants us to walk, but the devil sends a limo.” …I got kind of obsessed with the metaphor. In a limo, you're partitioned off so you don't see who's controlling the car, or the work that goes into driving.
More delightful scrollytelling! This one is an article for anyone who was obsessed with Animal Crossing (or Stardew Valley) in 2020. 👾
How beautiful are these words by Ankita Shah:
In a world that wants mastery or monetisation as the outcome of every fleeting interest, temporary obsessions are little rebellions. Their purpose is to restore order in the playground that is your life.
And for those who prefer to do their reading on IG, you can scroll through here: