- Kent Larsen on The First AI-Written Mormon Horror Novel: “Let me put that last point more succinctly: When does a tool become a crutch?” Jan 26, 08:08
- on The First AI-Written Mormon Horror Novel: “I doubt I will read the novel, but it is an interesting experiment, and the results show some interesting insight gained into the possibility of Mormon horror. BUT, I’m not sure that its correct. There IS Mormon horror written — the anthology “Monsters & Mormons” (https://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Mormons-Wm-Henry-Morris/dp/0982781245/) in 2011 for example — so I don’t think RLD is exactly right that our cosmology doesn’t allow for horror, if nothing else than because there are malevolent forces beyond supernatural ones. As for the ability of current AI models (with their checkered morality) to produce fiction, I personally think the role that rogerdhansen suggests is the best one now. Expecting AI to produce a finished product isn’t realistic. And for most “artsy types” (I include myself in that group AND I argue that, as creators in embryo, EVERYONE should think of themselves as part of that group), the use of AI is very problematic. There are many reasons for this, including the questionable morality of using the writing of others without permission and the substantial energy requirements (arriving just at a time when we desperately need to reduce the use of fossil fuels). But beyond the morality I think there are at least two issues that make the use of AI to produce literature difficult or perhaps not a good idea. 1. Much of what makes literature attractive and interesting is novelty, something that AI models have a hard time doing because they are drawing on what has already been produced. AND, human beings need practice at novelty. 2. Producing a finished product isn’t necessarily the goal. The idea that machines are more efficient depends on what you think you are doing. If the point is simply to produce stories, then sure, go ahead and have machines do it. But if the point is to develop people who can produce stories, i.e., who can create, then using AI is exactly the opposite of what we should do. While all labor saving devices tend to reduce human capacities over time, and there are trade offs we have been and should be willing to make, I think there is a real problem that arises when we start replacing our creativity. When do the benefits of producing more and faster become overwhelmed by the losses of human abilities? Unlike many other “artsy types”, I don’t want to condemn AI models outright. I think they have a place, and can be used as useful tools (although I have personally used them only a couple of times). But let’s be wise about their use. The output is not always the point. [Also, FWIW, your “author is dead” comment seems to draw on the title of Roland Barthes’ article “The Death of the Author”. If so, I think you have wildly misinterpreted what he said. I don’t believe anyone in the philosophy of literature is arguing that the author no longer matters. The argument is about what the author means for interpreting the text.]” Jan 26, 07:57
- on Adobe Walls and “Slate Sketches”: The Gritty Reality of Building the Salt Lake Temple: “RL, there might be some here: https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/record/ef252f44-8cf3-450c-8020-f30330e3f9cc/0?view=browse” Jan 25, 18:38
- on The First AI-Written Mormon Horror Novel: “AI seems most useful for assistance with basic ideas and literature review. It can provide a different way to conceptualize a specific topic. As for literature, it appears to be useful for suggesting possible plots, particularly if you feed it different parameters. At this stage, AI seems more like an intermediate step than software for producing final product.” Jan 25, 18:37
- on Adobe Walls and “Slate Sketches”: The Gritty Reality of Building the Salt Lake Temple: “Nice write up. Are there any drawings of alternates of what the Temple may have looked like before settled on the final version?” Jan 25, 17:28
- on Adobe Walls and “Slate Sketches”: The Gritty Reality of Building the Salt Lake Temple: “Jonathan, times like these make me wish the combox allowed for images.” Jan 25, 16:42
- on The Church Doesn’t Need Your Panic: A Response to Jonathan Green: “I agree with Brother Deane’s post.” Jan 25, 14:46
- on The First AI-Written Mormon Horror Novel: “RLD: “Our cosmology isn’t very good for horror–our demons are known quantities. There’s a reason we do science fiction and fantasy instead.” That’s a good point. Also, a lot of horror elements are seen as untoward for Latter-day Saint culture. It’s not a coincidence that probably the best Mormon horror writer, Brian Evenson, was pressured out of BYU and left the Church. I’ve used AI to teach my stats class. I used a “reverse classroom” approach where the students would basically come up to me with the problems in their code and I would help them out, but this would mean that most of the class was spent dealing with syntax, whereas now we can literally get to original regression analysis within an introduction course. Of course, as you note AI causes its own problems. My son takes pictures of his homework sheets and has it help him out, but I have to literally go through his search history like I’m looking for porn to make sure it’s not just solving it for him. Anon: That’s one of the big problems, we don’t really know what goes into the black box of AI, so it couldn’t even tell us very well where exactly its inspiration came from. Sute: I do think that as AI automates more things it does force us to really question what defines us and is meaningful. If your identity was tied to being a fast coder, well, that’s pretty shot at this point, and then lather, rinse, and repeat for every other skill as AI generalizes. As somebody whose ideal life would be sitting in a parlor talking to friends and family every evening, I’m fine with that, but I can sympathize with others whose self-image was tied to something that could go the way of the English cottage industries. REC911: I kind of missed Jonathan’s “Jay’s Journal” comment but then looked it up. Looks like an interesting piece of Utah Mormon horror folklore! Odd that I hadn’t heard of it before. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay%27s_Journal.” Jan 25, 14:06
- on Adobe Walls and “Slate Sketches”: The Gritty Reality of Building the Salt Lake Temple: “Last Lemming, because the comparison is with standard Monzonite, of course, not granite. Monzonite has <5% quartz, while Quartz Monzonite is 5-20% quartz. (Plus, there's also a Foid-bearing Monzonite.)” Jan 25, 12:30
- on The First AI-Written Mormon Horror Novel: “I thought I was the only member that ever read Jay’s Journal ! What a blast from the past.” Jan 25, 11:13
