With the emergence of generative AI tools (ChatGPT, stable diffusion) it's understandable to have questions and concerns about the capabilities and implications of these technologies. But when it comes to AI in the creative process, it's important to remember that these tools can enhance and augment our abilities, not replace them. By embracing and utilizing AI tools, can we open up new avenues of creativity and innovation that would otherwise be impossible? As AI becomes more prevalent, having a solid understanding of these tools will become increasingly important.
One of our Story Xperiential hosts, Paul Topolos, shared that he sees AI as another tool to consider in a long history of technology techniques applied to the creative process. From Norman Rockwell's use of photographs as reference to Vermeer's use of optical devices - technology has always been utilized by creators.
For the past few months we have been brainstorming ways in which we might use AI tools to make Story Xperiential more effective, enjoyable and equitable Here are a few ways we are thinking about it and we want to hear what you think.
Enhance the experience
We hope to use AI tools to enhance the community experience. Specifically, we can utilize AI to analyze and measure feedback provided by users within our community. This will enable us to improve feedback and to fairly distribute the highest-quality feedback across the projects in our program.
Assist with the writing process
Telling chatGPT to “write a great story” will not replace the writing process. Our program is about finding a story which is meaningful & unique to you, and nobody can do this better than you. It will always be the choices you make in the writing process which define your unique voice as a writer. Tools like chatGPT can help you as a brainstorming partner as you go through the process, for example:
Generating writing prompts to inspire your creativity
Assistance generating natural sounding dialog for characters
Research assistance: quickly find information for historical or scientific details
Help with plot development and structure: whether it’s finding a good place for an Act 1 break, or a way to amplify your theme in act 3
Editing: Help compress your story down to the core elements via summarization.
Here is an example:
As you can see, even if you use AI tools with your writing it’s just one part of a lengthy process driven entirely by you.
Assisting with visual ideation/creation
Our program is all about storytelling and so we want to make the process of creating images to tell your story as fast & enjoyable as possible. While we still strongly suggest all users begin with pencil and paper and learn the fundamentals, there are several ways AI can help users in their visual creation process regardless of skill level (especially those who have accessibility issues). For example:
Generate starting points for character design
Generating ideas for background design & world building
Generating alternate ideas based on your original sketches or references
Rapidly drawing existing sketches in new contexts
We have so much to learn ourselves
There is a lot to learn, discover and discuss about how we integrate AI into our lives in a positive way. We probably have more questions than answers right now but we are really excited to explore the possibilities with you. We look forward to having a dedicated livestream early in our upcoming session to go deeper into this issue with working professionals who have used these tools in their practice. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, please reach out to us on Instagram or Twitter with your thoughts, include #storyxperiential so we can follow along. Can't wait to hear from you, Story Xperiential team ps. The images in this email were created using dreamstudio and the text generation was done with chatgpt (both are free to use)
X in a Box, LLC
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