Automatic for the people

As someone known for reflecting deeply on the craft of the artist (not least in his recent book with Sean O'Hagan, Faith, Hope And Carnage), Nick Cave was always going to have some strong opinions about songs written "in the style of Nick Cave" by chatbot ChatGPT. And sure enough, his response on The Red Hand Files to one such composition makes for entertaining reading.

Cave's argument is that whatever ChatGPT comes up with - whether now or in the future - can only ever be "a replication, a kind of burlesque" rather than the real thing: "Songs arise out of suffering, by which I mean they are predicated upon the complex, internal human struggle of creation and, well, as far as I know, algorithms don't feel."

Some people will no doubt scoff at Cave's (understandably) defensive, slightly pompous reverence for the creative act - but I think he does have a point, one for which rabid techbros have no answer.

Nevertheless, Cave refers to "the emerging horror of AI", and it's a horror that's dawning for many of us who live by the written word - albeit in less obviously creative pursuits than songwriting.

BuzzFeed, for instance, have announced that they're ramping up their use of AI, having recently ditched 12 per cent of their workforce. That stocks subsequently surged only underlines that it's very likely to be an increasing trend.

Writers won't be entirely redundant in this brave new world, though. No, many will be reassigned the role of editors, tasked with reading through the AI-generated content to check for errors and inconsistencies - and inevitably paid at a much lower rate.

Not that everyone is fearful of the future. Times columnist James Marriott has blithely claimed that the growing use of AI should actually be welcomed because it will knock artists off their "privileged" perch.

Not only does Marriott appear to be under some kind of spectacular delusion about what life is like for your average "creative type" in the UK in 2023, following years of assault by Tory governments, but he also seems oblivious to the fact that his own status as a spewer of bilge for a right-wing publication would be under threat.

ChatGPT might not be able to craft a convincing Nick Cave song, but it (a) doesn't have feelings and (b) is already well capable of knocking out a tight 500 words of rancid boilerplate drivel. Enjoy your unemployment, James.