By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 02/06/2026We did what we always do when we encounter a work of art: we tried to mentally materialize a facsimile of the feeling the artist experienced while creating the work. 14/ 1231
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 02/06/2026Because the intention of these works was so dilute, we ended up *hallucinating* an intent. We made up an imaginary artist who meant something by every choice in the work, and experienced an emotional affect that we ourselves had created out of (nearly) whole cloth. 15/ 3353
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 02/06/2026As a species, we've been through this before. Think back to those sunsets. There was a time when we all thought of sunsets as being explicitly created by another being, who was in communication with us through the natural environment (some people still believe this). 16/ 2313
null-reference.bsky.social @null-reference.bsky.social · 02/06/2026So it's an illusion of intent. But why privilege that illusion (in terms of 'is it art') over the empathy-engine illusion of narrative art that you talk about downthread? Like, we don't talk about 'hallucinating' Romeo. 032
Andy Barnett @hof1991.bsky.social · 02/06/2026This also explains why country music is so easily copied by AI. Very explicit stories with simple plot lines and limited intent. Regarding intent, AI relies on us to be pattern recognition machines, which we are. 000
