In Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” Victor Frankenstein follows the pattern of humanity’s creation. He creates life from a dead body, borrowing bits and pieces from people who already lived rich, fulfilling lives. At the point of his success, Frankenstein looks upon his monster not with pride, but with disgust, fearing the evil he brought upon the world.
But, where Frankenstein felt remorse for his actions, we feel pride in ours, believing where he failed, we have succeeded in creating life, just in the form of generative AI.
The idea of robots doing everyday tasks for us is no new idea. People have always dreamed of ways to make life easier, from inventions like the air conditioner to the microwave oven, modern living continuously moves towards an ideal reality where we barely have to lift a finger.
In theory, this path to progress is a dream come true, and truthfully, AI has made certain aspects of our lives easier. AI has made life a lot easier by handling a lot of the little tasks we used to spend time on. Whether it's recommending movies and products, helping with scheduling or even answering questions with smart assistants, it’s all about saving us time. In healthcare, it helps doctors make faster, more accurate decisions, and in business, it keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes. By taking care of the routine stuff, AI gives us more time to focus on what really matters and be more productive overall.
That last paragraph? Only the first sentence was written by me. The rest was written by ChatGPT, which generated it in a couple of seconds, in theory “saving me time.” However, reading it back, it feels like something is missing. All the words are on the page, in the right order, in the correct syntax. Obviously it lacks my voice, but it makes up for that in ease of use, right?
People are always creating — always making things, always adding their own touch to every step of life. Whether it's a story you’re recounting to your friends where you add little reactions and faces to make it funnier, or a sandwich recipe you’ve made a million times before that you changed a little for today’s meal, our every movement is unique.
From this I’d argue creation is integral to living, even in the smallest of ways.
Every piece of human writing has value because a person took the time to write it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a thousand page book, or a little note you snuck into your partner’s lunch. It can be a short memo from work, or an annoying discussion post you finished last minute. All of these pieces are imbued with fragments of our character. Each one uniquely enhanced with a hint of our perspective.
Anyone who’s ever had the lyrics in their favorite song impact them can vouch for the importance of having a voice behind the written word. A person with a tattoo of a word that is meaningful for them knows that there’s a story behind those letters — intentionality in the construct.
By using AI features like ChatGPT, writing becomes just another task, soulless without its human companion. Where we should feel dread and disgust, we instead celebrate the mismatched patchwork abomination that cruelly stitches together better, more well-thought-out products of human ingenuity.
It isn’t just writing under attack, but art, too. How can we trivialize something as impactful as an artist’s rendition of a sunset, or a painting of their friend, by insisting AI’s ease of use makes it obsolete?
If AI is the future, then it shouldn’t be removing us from the path to get there. We are our choices. If those decisions are reduced to a three second interaction with a screen, then what are we?
Andres Arguello is a UF English and psychology junior
