One of my recurring sensibilities over the past year or so is that there is no purity to be had.
And in a culture as impure as ours that’s in the process of falling apart, and remixing chaotically, there will be a lot more effluent floating about.
So one of the things I’m trying not to do is to write people off because of what I perceive to be one bad idea.
With a few notable execrable exceptions who seemingly have nothing but bad ideas https://mastodon.social/@urlyman/115037480518761583
A thoughtful set of reflections, thank you. You urge us (and yourself) to accept that we live in an era of impurity, and to look out for the good strands in the work of those who submit to the evils of genAI.
I will try to learn from your reflections. Not sure whether I can accept those flirtations with the genAI devil. For me the key word is not Purity but Authenticity. Personal authenticity, human agency, personhood --- these are under unprecedented attack and people seem to enjoy it and celebrate it. But you are right, each of us is one big mess of contradictions and I must remain open to those around me.
I have always been a follower of Martin Buber's contradistinction of "I and Thou" vs "It and He". First and second person, not third and third person. Those who understood this distinction have always been in a minority, so perhaps the current moral catastrophy is just part of an ongoing forever-catastrophy!
@the_roamer thank you. You make my thoughts sound more cogent than they appear to myself, so thank you for that!
I agree that we cannot re-embrace personhood via tech that removes us from personhood
Yeah, it helps us making sense of many things, doesn't it. Certainly as regards the current genAI cultural tectonic shift.
I've also used the "I and Thou" idea to make sense of Mastodon! See, eg, here:
https://mastodonapp.uk/@the_roamer/114646867916663363
Or here:
https://mastodonapp.uk/@the_roamer/114439824273622643
Re-reading these old posts of mine I realise how much I love the Fedi, and I remember the absolute liberation I felt when I arrived at these shores in November 2022. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing. Good things can and do happen.
@[email protected] 100% agree. It is sad to see the disappearance of one of the foundational Mastodon conventions. Not having a #QuoteToot facility means that we always speak _to_the other, we don't speak _about_ them to others. "I and Thou", not "I and They". When I arrived here in November 2022, it was these kind of conventions that immediately made me feel at home. Sad to see it go. I will try to adopt your policy of calm avoidance, without getting too upset about it. #noQT #IAndThou #MastodonCulture
Jonathan Schofield
the roamer