Love in the time of artificial intelligence: Desperately seeking the human-AI connection

On a visit to my favorite local cafe, Ellie who runs the place asked what I’ve been working on lately. I mentioned that AI is increasingly becoming a part of Media.Monks’ daily processes in my role as creative director, and that I’ve been practicing with the text-to-image model Stable Diffusion by recreating an illustration that a friend requested I make for her wedding.

It took me hundreds of iterations, sometimes with shocking errors in anatomy and unexpected nudity, to reach a result that resembled my original sketch.

So, while I believe using AI is a skill that will be imminently necessary, I told Ellie I sometimes find it draining, because it also dredges up apocalyptic fears, specifically that it will corrode human connection irreparably. With AI able to automate so much and answer so many requests, isn’t the eventual path of least resistance to not have to ask another human again?

“Oh!” Ellie replied. “You should talk to Vince.” And with that, Ellie started me on a journey to connect with neighbors and colleagues who are thinking around the tougher questions about AI, to help me to see new perspectives on how it can shape community and collaboration.

AI can empower community autonomy in new ways

Vincenzo Ferrara, also a regular at the cafe, a Web3 advocate and a developer for decentralized apps, believes AI is going to save the world. Drawing on his enthusiasm for blockchain, Vince pushed against the notion of highly centralized AI controlled by major corporations. Instead, he argued how decentralization can enable more transparent and democratic kinds of decision-making.

He envisions a future where the user-centric data privacy of blockchain will allow individuals to better understand how an AI model will use their data, granting transparency and, potentially, fair compensation for data usage. How might we improve ethics and social responsibility in AI? Blockchain could enable a community voting system to vet a dataset, weighting bias when training an AI model for a more inclusive and accountable future, he suggested.

Enabling smaller teams to do more

How can we at Media.Monks contribute meaningfully to this future? I spoke to Ciaran Woods, senior VP and head of AI enablement at Media.Monks, about his insights regarding the company’s progressive approach to integrating AI technology throughout the entire organization. Steps have already been initiated in departments where it is a natural fit, including illustration, copy, development and the Studio.Monks community of creators.

At its full potential, Ciaran sees AI as the next industrial revolution. Crucially, he highlighted that AI doesn't replace human collaboration and creativity; it enables us to be more creative by expanding the skills and abilities at our disposal. Ciaran said he looks forward to seeing small teams reach bigger outcomes autonomously, "Because with AI, we can celebrate makers more."

Steering toward expansive outcomes

Enabling more collaborative opportunities is a need that can’t be understated, because "providing the environment for AI to thrive" requires manual and multidisciplinary talent, according to Oana Camelia Burca, junior creative technologist at Media.Monks, citing recent projects with the illustration department.

Working directly with concept artists using hand-drawn sketches in Stable Diffusion, and with image-enhancement tools ControlNet and img2img, created much stronger and compelling compositions than Oana was able to generate on her own. This experience was one of many where AI sparked a conversation she might not have had otherwise.

While recognizing that many people feel overwhelmed by AI, Oana stated definitively, “We're going to evolve no matter what. We can stand by, or we can make a stand.” She spoke effusively about the future and the potential of the Labs.Monks, our R&D team, to drive positive impact, emphasizing that, "We are the people who have the power to make a change," taking on AI with the promise of benefiting humanity.

Connecting with the people around me

“Benefiting humanity” couldn’t be a bigger inverse to my initial impressions that AI might eradicate human connection. Oana, Ciaran and Vince illuminated new possibilities of a democratized, community-led digital future I hadn’t considered before.

But the perspective that surprised me the most was from Ellie, all the way back at the cafe.

“If AI is what causes human isolation and extinction, then maybe that’s what’s best for the planet,” she responded. I laughed! In my shock, I felt strangely comforted.

What benefited me the most in my AI research was connecting with friends and colleagues around my neighborhood and the office. AI tools were used in writing this article, but what I noticed repeatedly was that by using the technology their quotes that resonated with me the most were never included in what AI alone produced. Maybe retaining my ability to add that layer of human context and connection as we move into this strange future can be strangely comforting as well.