[al_borland]

I think we’ve lost a lot as a society as we’ve moved away from shared experiences. Recently I heard Weird Al say this is why he doesn’t make many songs these days. Everyone has their niche, fed by their algorithm, and there aren’t as many artists/songs that are universally known anymore. The same is true in many areas (TV is becoming a big one). Growing up, I wasn’t an N’Sync fan, but due to the monoculture, I still knew who they were and several of their bigger hits.

I think the same is true with children’s stories that teach them about life. There is a lot of value in the shared experiences to get society on the same page, and to be able to understand metaphors as an adult. I would find it quite odd if I referenced a boy crying wolf, and someone didn’t know what I was talking about because they grew up with bespoke AI stories to try to teach them that lesson. Or flip it, if they tried to reference a story from their childhood and they found out they were the only one who had ever heard it. That would feel quite isolating. I think that makes the world a less connected place, which isn’t a good direction, imo.

People can say what they will about the monoculture, and it isn’t perfect, nor should it be the only option, but I do think it has a lot of value when it comes to binding society together and helping people find common ground. That was/is the value in religion as well, a shared set of stories that can bind large groups together to teach them about the world and operate together with some harmony through shared understanding. Throwing that away in favor of AI at such a young age seems like it would be problematic at scale.

[pat-storyborn]

Well, The Boy Who Cried Wolf is, coincidentally, one of the stories I first recreated with TaleCraft. The coolest thing to me is refreshing what I think are dated stories from our childhood. I believe they can have a second youth in the era of generative content. I take the core of stories and mix them with others — this makes them interesting and challenging for me too. Again, AI is a tool, possibly the greatest one ever invented; it is up to us to use it to create a beautiful world for ourselves — but, as always, time will tell if our nature will prevail.