How AI Disrupts the Dopamine of Creatives

Is using generative AI bad for the brains of creative people?

This week’s topic is the role of dopamine in the creative process and how AI messes with the chemicals in the heads of artists. I made a short video recently where I said,

“Forgive me for my lack of interest in the jpgs that get 💩 out by AI prompts.”

I thought I would add some long-form nuance to that flippant statement.

Before I bash AI, let me reinforce my reputation as a pro-technology artist. I’ve always been an early adopter of new tech. I’ve been online since dialup. I played with the first digital cameras as soon as I could get my hands on them. I filled my hard drives with MP3s from Napster. I had a blog before “blog” was in the vernacular. My GitHub account is older than most of the developers I work with. I was early to crypto. When there is new tech, I want to learn about it and play with it. I’m just saying that when you hear me rant about AI, it means something. Because AI is exactly the type of thing that somebody like me would be promoting.

But I’m not.

Here’s my experience with AI. First, there’s the professional side. I work as a user experience designer for a big company that makes tools for IT professionals. On that front it’s complicated. Like everybody, we are figuring out how AI fits into the puzzle. There might be a beneficial revolution coming for tech workers, time will tell. In other…