Last year, I noticed that the price of doing business with our host Wix doubled. I was kind of surprised, because everything was static on the web-building side, if anything, Wix was offering LESS than what it did, creating images-wise, than it did 5 years ago.
But in the last year, AI has exploded behind the scenes at Wix. Wix now offers AI for titles, AI for writing, AI for images, and now, starting this morning, AI-generated post ideas.
Let's review AI's 3 suggestions:
Exploring the Legacy of Unknown Music Pioneers?
Our May 4th article about Gary Floyd generated over a thousand hits. AI is like: Just write another article like that. Uh, Gary Floyd is dead, that well is dry.
Navigating NBA Controversies
I hate the NBA, but not quite as much as I hate the WNBA. 5 of my last 12 articles have had an NBA reference in it. The fact that AI thinks I should write about the NBA MORE, literally makes me furious. If AI was my boss, I'd quit my own blog.
Exploring LeBron's Activism Legacy
Did you even read that last paragraph? I am going to be as honest as I possibly can with you. I think that LeBron James is one of the fakest people in the public eye today. I hold him in low regard, not as a basketball player, but in terms of being a billionaire. Donald Trump, Bill Gates, LeBron James, and Elon Musk are all phony baloney billionaires who all try to manipulate their public images.
I am not going to follow any of AI's suggestions.
But here's the ruse. I believe every article needs an image or a video as a reference point. I have embraced AI's Image Generator because we have been deathly afraid of being sued, not based on our content, but from images we've stolen and manipulated.
Like thieves trying to go straight, AI's Image Generator had been a godsend.
The core of the website is still the writing. As far as my columns go, it's simply good, old-fashioned mental anguish in all of its glory.
I have published over 1,200 articles and have over 200 more in drafts. (Which is very inefficient.)
Here are the last 10 Drafts I've started on that may, or may not, see the light of day.
The Logistical Case Against Open Enrollment
Pearl Jam, Collectively, Need to do MORE Drugs
An Obscure Tribute to Dave Jerden
The Loneliest Ukrainian Soldier
Bottom 10 Sequels on Tubi
Was LeBron Recruiting Donovan Mitchell?
Best Show on Adult Swim by Year
Beacon of Speech Endorses: The REAPER
RIP Hall and Oates Inc.
6 Kinds of People God Cannot Save
Now don't get me wrong, Beacon of Speech does have some recurring themes, but as soon as I feel I write about a topic too much, I try to move onto the the next topic.
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Beacon of Speech partner Ted doesn't contribute to the Blog often, but he doesn't trust AI either. He still owns a flip phone and doesn't have a home computer. He barely trusts 1990's technology.
But part of me is depressed at the prospect of Beacon of Speech becoming a slave to the algorithm and eventually replacing the human element. What do I mean by that? Right now we are disciplined in our work ethic, what I think is what I write. What if one day I got lazy and just used the AI button to generate content based on my own articles in the past? What if some insane billionaire bought the rights to Beacon of Speech, then fired me? Could they generate 10,000 more articles based on the 1,200 we have already written? In theory, yes. Currently we pride ourselves on being the embodiment of free speech. Where are the free speech lines in an AI world?
Or, more succinctly:
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