Tag: Technology

Creative abundance in the form of an artist surrounded by an abundance of materials
Posted in AI and Creativity

We’ve Entered the Era of Creative Abundance. Here’s How to Thrive in It

Posted on by Mike

If you’d told me twenty years ago that one day I’d be creating stories, images, videos, and audio with the help of a machine that lives in my browser, I’d have smiled politely, nodded, and quietly assumed you’d had a funny turn. 

Yet here we are. I’m seventy-five, tapping away in my little shed at the end of the garden, watching as creativity spills out of me faster and more joyfully than it ever did when I had a school to run and assemblies to plan. And the strange thing is, I’m not overwhelmed by this new era. I’m energised by it. 

Because despite the noise, despite the panicked headlines, despite the grumbling in certain corners of the writing world, something extraordinary is happening. We’ve entered the age of creative abundance. And abundance changes everything.

Continue reading “We’ve Entered the Era of Creative Abundance. Here’s How to Thrive in It” →
AI robot sat at a desk writing, with books piled up either side of him in large piles
Posted in AI and Creativity

Why Ignoring AI Won’t Save Creativity, It Just Lets the Worst of It Win

Posted on by Mike

I’ve just come back from a conversation with a few writer friends, the sort where you expect to chat about books, ideas, how to self-publish your latest book, but instead you find yourself knee-deep in an argument about AI before you’ve even taken your coat off.

They’re lovely people, sharp minds, a great sense of humour, but the moment I mentioned something I’d been experimenting with that morning, faces tightened in unison. Someone actually groaned, which is not an uncommon reaction when I mention “AI”. One friend said she refused to “touch all that AI nonsense”. Another muttered that it was “ruining everything”. And there I was, sitting with my tea cooling in my hand, thinking: If we’re reacting like this now, what on earth will the conversation look like a year from today?

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If Imagination Knocks, Why Not Fling The Door Open?
Posted in AI and Creativity

What Kind of Art Does Midjourney Make From a Single Quote?

Posted on by Mike

If you are a regular visitor to this blog you will know that I love to experiment, play and have fun with all things AI. With that in mind I thought I would delve into my favourite AI image generator – Midjourney.

What Inspired Me?

I was recently staying at a hotel and the notepad in my room had inspirational quotes on the bottom of each page. I wondered what Midjourney would do if I simply put an inspirational quote in as the prompt? How would it interpret the quote?

Here’s what I got…

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An older man working in a warm, glowing garden shed as creative holograms of writing, audio, and video float around him.
Posted in AI and Creativity

Why I Believe AI Will Replace Some Creative Jobs, And Why That Doesn’t Scare Me

Posted on by Mike

The Question Everyone Tiptoes Around

Whenever the topic of AI and creativity comes up, someone inevitably leans forward and whispers, almost conspiratorially, “But surely it won’t replace real writers and narrators?”

I sip my tea, tilt my head, and say, “Well… it might.”

I don’t say this with doom in my voice. No shaking fists. No Shakespearean cries of “Woe, the end is nigh!” Just a gentle shrug and a kind of affectionate curiosity, the sort you might feel watching a magician pull a toaster from a top hat. You’re not horrified; you’re simply thinking, “Well, I wasn’t expecting that… do it again.”

Because after two years of building an AI-powered creative life in my little garden shed, surrounded by old books, knick knacks, notebooks, and a slightly judgmental spider, I’ve learned this:

AI probably will replace some creative jobs. But it won’t replace creativity, and it certainly won’t replace the peculiar, irreplaceable quirks of being human.

Instead of running from it, I’ve chosen to walk right up to the machine, give it a biscuit, and say, “Right then, let’s see what you can do.” (And what it can do is rather astonishing.)

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An older man smiling at his laptop while AI-generated characters glow into existence around him.
Posted in AI and Creativity

Yes, I Think AI Can Write Better Stories Than Me. Here’s Why That Doesn’t Scare Me.

Posted on by Mike

A Humorous Confession to Start Us Off

There was a morning not too long ago when I typed what I believed was a cracking first line, something sharp, moody, and self-assured, and I leaned back with the satisfied air of a man who still knows how to swing a hammer. Then, with the casual bravado of someone who believes he’s in no danger whatsoever, I asked the AI to “have a go too.”

What appeared on my screen wasn’t just good. It was annoyingly, almost cheekily good. It had rhythm. It had a spark. It had that little shimmer of confidence you get from someone who turns up to the party already knowing they look great. I remember staring at it and thinking, “Alright then… show-off.”

And that, rather unexpectedly, was the moment I realised I could either pretend this hadn’t happened or just admit the truth: sometimes the AI writes better short stories than I do. And instead of spiralling into panic, a curious part of me, the same part that once got me into teaching, podcasting, writing, self-publishing, and YouTube, quietly leaned forward and said, “Now this is interesting.”

Continue reading “Yes, I Think AI Can Write Better Stories Than Me. Here’s Why That Doesn’t Scare Me.” →