A Young Artist in Lisbon
My friend's 5-year-old son sits comfortably at the edge of a table inside a bustling Lisbon cafe.
He's using an iPad loaded with AI to make art.
By sending messages, the child gives instructions to the AI app, and it generates masterful images of the young artist's description in milliseconds.
He chuckles as the machine spits out his newest creation, this time a cartoonish image of a dragon playing a bunny in a board game.
I asked if he knows how it makes the images, and he says "I don't know, but it's fun".
Smart kid.
His Closest Friend
His father then shares with me that his closest friend is also an AI.
He hands me a plush toy containing a two-way voice box loaded with the latest machine learning model. By squeezing the toy, it triggers a voice, allowing me to have a full spoken conversation, with the toy responding in real time.
Together, this 5-year-old, his AI plushie, and his AI artist on his iPad make an artistic trio which could rival any Brooklyn based art studio.
This isn't a vision of the future, this was yesterday.
The New Normal
As I write this newsletter in the dead of night, I imagine he's fast asleep cuddling his AI plushie closely, imagineering tomorrow's digital creation.
To the young boy, these things are not magic. They are normal.
They are an extension of his will to manifest his artistic visions.
They are an embodiment of his desire to have a relationship with his not-so imaginary plushie friend.
Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, this is the new world we now live in.
A world full of digital best friends and silicon based co-creators. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, always ready to chat and play.
Be Like the 5-Year-Old
Unlike the boy, when I speak to adults about this new technology, I don't hear chuckles, or enthusiasm. I get a lot of questions, and rightfully so.
Funny enough, after having trained over one thousand people in this new technology, I've never once been asked, "Is it fun?". And the answer is: heck yes it is!
While there's a lot to think about, I encourage us to be like the 5-year-old. Don't be afraid to make some new digital friends, or get re-acquainted with new ways to make your art. Whatever that art may be.
The future belongs to those who are willing to embrace these new ways of doing things. And what better way to embrace new things than to make some new digital friends?
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