Reading the Substack AI Report (image credit, thanks). This is a summary of survey results from 2000 publishers on that platform about their views and use of AI. These are “writers, artists, podcasters, and video creators, from around the world” who “publish in a wide range of primary categories, including Culture, Technology, Literature, Politics, Art & Illustration, Humour, Education, and more”.
A useful conclusion: “While the public conversation often centres on content generation and its implications for art and authenticity, publishers on Substack are often using AI tools in more varied and nuanced ways.” I.e. instead of using AI to generate posts and/or images, they are “leaning on it for productivity, research, and to proofread [their] writing.”
Specifically, those using AI “bring it to a diverse range of research and creative workflows… They’re primarily using AI tools for knowledge work (research, writing assistance, ideation) rather than for content generation”. Later in the report is this: “Several publishers expressed interest in tools that could help them better understand and grow their audiences – specifically around analytics, engagement, and audience insights.”
Two graphs – “How publishers are using AI” and “Key differences in publisher AI use by age” – are really quite revealing. The overall impression the report gives is positive: “Publishers saw how AI could boost productivity but reflected on creativity as a fundamentally human act of emotional and intellectual transformation.” But there is also an in-depth discussion on concerns about AI, from its training to its potential impact on “creative style and instincts”.
Interestingly, one of my research papers in the mid-1990s was on the emergence and increasingly widespread implementation of computer-assisted animation in the 1980s, and artists very much felt the same way back then, i.e. the “fear vs faith” divide as Kurt Juman describes it in his response “The Mirror Has Awakened” via Medium.
(Day 61 #WarmWinterRead #WWR25 via @librarieschangelives)
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 