11 Comments
User's avatar
DE's avatar

Thanks. Which one will write your new GOP party candidate news letter?

<nudge>

Expand full comment
Ned B.'s avatar

Thanks for passing along these tips. Will play with some of the recommendations.

Expand full comment
Daisy Moses Chief Crackpot's avatar

Turf, I think the whirled of ya but when it comes ta AI... just noooooo!!!!!! (nooooooo!)

(Also it gives wrong answers...n'uther story fer an'nuther time--and it lies! It's reconsty-tooted human-ergo-fallible kulchur-all collage, cobbled 2gether from both stolen talent... an' stolen lack of it, from brilliance an' stoopidity, from love...an' hate... Only thang I can say in its favor is...it's fast.

But as I larned long ago from a wise film production instructor you can only pick TWO outta three re: fast, cheap, an' well-done! If it's fast & cheap it'll suck. Pay real human-beans ta do proper work at a decent "celery" an' you'll git quality (but it won't be fast!)

This good'n plenty short take sums it up fer me/myself/&moi:

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2025/08/contrariwise-when-a-i-is-b-s/?

Expand full comment
Turfseer's avatar

Hey Daisy, I hear ya—and I love the righteous fire in your rant (truly, it’s a work of art!). But I gotta say, my experience with AI is more “hit or miss” than your flat-out “nooooooo!!!” Sometimes, yeah, it takes a lot of coaxing, shaping, and rewriting to get the material usable (kind of like editing a stubborn intern who read one too many Reddit threads). But other times? It’s surprisingly on the money—like it read my mind and did a decent first draft while I grabbed coffee.

You’re absolutely right that entering a prompt doesn’t make you a novelist—no more than buying a paintbrush makes you Rembrandt. But used with discernment, AI can be more like a supercharged thesaurus with attitude… or a brainstorming partner who doesn’t get offended when you tell them their idea’s garbage.

Is it flawed? Sure. Does it lie? Sometimes, yeah—just like every politician who ever said “this will be temporary.” But I’d argue it’s not a replacement for real creativity—it’s a tool. And like any tool, it can build or destroy depending on who’s wielding it.

(Also: if AI can be a fast, cheap first pass, and I’m the one supplying the quality control… then maybe I do get all three. Shhh, don’t tell your film instructor 😄)

Anyway, thanks for sharing that piece. You know I love the grumpy contrarian voices just as much as I love the shiny toys.

Expand full comment
Daisy Moses Chief Crackpot's avatar

happy ta share but.... wull.... I'll stick ta my grumpy contrarian take on AI but the problem is it ain't a tool like any other...

An electric drill is quicker than a manual crank one but it duz not feed on yer mind!

Even a computer keyboard is just a way fer yer work ta go from mind to screen but again, it duz not feed on yer mind!

A food processor may chop faster than a hand held Ginsu!--but again, it doesn't steal yer thoughts or feed on yer mind....

But AI? It's a succubus that's preyin' on yer original thoughts an' stealin' yer own creative idears & input! Sure it spits out sumthin' that ain't half bad--based on what you put in it an' others too that it can now use for or against you an' any'buddy else. Don't put it past it either! No other tool duz this! I kinda joke 'bout "evil" but if there IS evil, man oh man, AI is it!

This'iz gotta be the most dystopian statement ya made:

"like it read my mind and did a decent first draft while I grabbed coffee"

yer cheerin' it READ YOUR MIND? OMG noooooo!

yer a moosical poet and a poetic writer... you don't NEED AI! By all means write, muse, an' make yer coffee while no robot-tick brain takes over fer ya.... you think it's givin' YOU sumthin'....but really it's a THIEF! Don't let 'im in yer home or yer mind! (mah 2 cents plain! lol)

Expand full comment
Turfseer's avatar

Ha! Daisy, I’ll give you this—you do “grumpy contrarian” better than anyone alive. And I get it, truly. AI does feel different from a drill or a food processor because it’s not just cutting wood or carrots—it’s chewing on language, which makes it spooky-close to chewing on us.

But here’s where I part ways with ya: if it’s a succubus, it’s the laziest one I ever met. Half the time it coughs up garbage I’d never sign my name to, and the other half it spits out something that saves me a few hours of grunt work. Then I wrestle it, reshape it, beat it into something actually mine. If anything, it’s a clumsy apprentice, not a soul-thief.

That “read my mind” line? Yeah, maybe that did sound a bit dystopian—but trust me, no demon bot’s crawling through my brainpan. Sometimes it just happens to stumble onto a phrase or rhythm that syncs with my intent. Other times, it’s like asking it for poetry and getting back the back of a cereal box.

So nah—I’m not handing over my muse. Just giving her an unruly intern to keep busy while I make the coffee.

Expand full comment
Daisy Moses Chief Crackpot's avatar

addin' the word NOW to "a clumsy apprentice, not a soul-thief"--the soul suckin' "aspic" is bein' prepared--for some it's "there" (think 'bout the folks it convinced ta join the "blue whale" which is really dark stuff)... okay, I hear ya Turf, just caveat emptor an' be ready ta dump yer diggy-tail when it starts waggin' ya... ;-O

Expand full comment
Turfseer's avatar

Fair enough, Daisy—point taken. I’ll treat it as the clumsy apprentice for now, but keep my boots ready in case it grows fangs and starts waggin’ me instead. 😉

Expand full comment
Daisy Moses Chief Crackpot's avatar

ya got it! (fangs 'er bristles! an' donut fergit The Sorcerer's Apprentice wherein assistant Mickey gits over-confydent an' triggers sum purdy dark non-stop magic...magick! that couldn't be arrested--all meanin's--'til the Master Wizard arrived back--AI is far worse than dancin' brooms tho an' even the Masters programmin' this stuff cain't control it any longer.... A tale/tail of lifeless objects that should not be given life let alone agency!...) jus' beware that mouse trap ;-) an' apt parable with occult/masonic overtures just like AI! (yi yi)

Expand full comment