so this is a thing

The dog robots are supposed to be autonomous, threehalves is explicitly only for being piloted by a human. The giant horns make it difficult for this machine to enter through doorways, and that is the point. Coupled with the built-in weak points, it is very easy to disable this thing, so it can't be used by the police or the military effectively.

at first i was like "it's imagination," but it isn't just imagination. i can do my imagining and then still ask the robot to create it for me. no, it's specifically the act of creation, when a human being imagines something and then makes it a reality. this is the core human function that is made better and more powerful through practice. that essential practice of making the imaginary real is what you deprive your one and only miraculous human brain of when you ask the chat robot to do it for you.

stop and look around you. how much of your surroundings did not exist before a human imagined it and then made it real. unless you're out in the wilderness, probably most of it. all human made objects. food. houses. the prevalence of 90-degree angles. we live in a world that would not exist if human beings did not imagine it and then create what they imagined.

and the thing that hit me just now is that the power of any given human to imagine and then create what they imagined is the power to create what reality we all live in. we can all imagine better worlds, but there will be no better world without the practice of creation. when you use generative ai to create something for you, you do not get that practice. you do not gain greater power to shape your own reality. you give away your power to practically influence the world, and to do so from your own lived experience.

any creative will tell you the creative process is a major struggle, and i think there's a subset of ai-users who are just wannabe creatives who were never gonna be up for that struggle because they don't actually want to create, they only want the recognition of having created. there's nothing to be done about these people. but i think we also don't talk enough about the major hit to our already struggling education system (to speak specifically about america here for a sec) that was covid, and how insecurities around intellectual ability are at an all-time high, and it's worth meeting people where they are at and saying hey, i get why using this feels good, and where you are at is not your fault.

because something that happens to me every time I start a hobby like that is I start to notice problems that could be solved with my new ability to Make A Thing about it.

we had a drafty window so I sewed a big tube of fabric and filled it with polyfill so I could set it on top of the window sash. my wife's lunch bag was falling apart but she couldn't find another one that was the right size so I measured it and sewed her a new one with the same dimensions. my hands get very cold at work but I still need to type on a keyboard so I knit myself fingerless handwarmers. I'm sure if I got into ceramics or woodworking I would go absolutely mad with power over the ability to make specific objects.

and sure, I could have just bought most of those things. but they wouldn't have been as nice because they wouldn't have been tailored to solve my very specific problems. nice wool sweaters are so expensive to buy, and usually they look pretty boring, or they're itchy, and they don't last very long. hand-knit sweaters are a dream in comparison. you have total creative control over them.

there are a lot of arbitrary distinctions between what counts as Art and what counts as "crafts." but for me, they are the same. writing in particular follows that same process of "hm I wish this existed, but I don't think it does. I guess I will make it??" and it's definitely easier when other people are interested and supportive of what I'm doing, but in the end I'm solving a problem for myself.

In D&D terms, the longer you go without doing things the more of a hit you take on capability. You lose levels because you haven’t practiced

shout out to the public library of my hometown in italy which is F R E E for italian citizens, even those who left, and allows me to borrow ebooks in italian

shout out to queen's public library for allowing non-US residents to get a card so i can borrow shitty romantasy ebooks in english and complain about them

Modern fantasy creatures and people being exposed to new lifestyles and developing dreams and goals that don’t fit with their species or their culture in the slightest.

A dwarf who was born in a mine, grew up in a mine, and can count the number of times they’ve been surface-side on both hands. One of these times, they witnessed an airshow. They go home and tell their parents: “Mom, Dad, I want to be a pilot.” “What’s a pilot?” “We’ll, y’see…” And a brief explanation later… “YOU WANT TO DO WHAT? WHERE DID WE GO WRONG? DAMN IT, ROK, I TOLD YOU THAT THE SUN WOULD GO TO HIS HEAD. NOW HE THINKS HE CAN FUCKING FLY, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!

An elf who has a deep interest in geology and underground exploration signs up for a dwarven digging mission. Shows up first day all long limbs and being seven feet tall, and has to become a 90 degree angle to get through the door. “Hey guys! Who’s ready to look at some rocks? Am I right? Well, it’s a tight fit, but I bet I can do it if I squeeze. Ooh, I know some great digging songs by the way.” The dwarves immediately try to find a way to fire the elf without being sued for racial discrimination. “I told you we should have been more careful about the ad.” “I put in it Gold and Gems Monthly, Brek, how was I to know elves read that kind of thing?” “OHMIGOSH, GUYS COME SEE WHAT I FOUND!” “Your turn, Nik.” “I swear to God, if it’s another goddamn stalagmite again…” 

A centaur whose herd migrates to a coast area and sees the ocean for the first time. “Greyhoof, I’m going to be a fisherman.” “What?” “I’m going to sail the seven seas; I want to be a sailor.” “Blackmane, you’re half horse, you can’t sail.” “I can learn.” “You can’t climb their weird ropes things. What would you even do on the ocean?” “It’s called rigging and I’d be a fisherman, obviously, like I told you.” “YOU’RE A CENTAUR, YOU CAN’T SAIL!” “YOU DON’T KNOW THAT. DON’T TRY AND DESTROY MY DREAMS, GREYHOOF, I CAN DO ANYTHING I SET MY MIND TO. I BELIEVE IN ME.”