Raising the Bar in the Age of AI

When the Ground Shifts Beneath Us

Every generation of artists has faced a moment when the ground beneath their practice seemed to shift. Painters watched photography emerge. Writers bristled at the film. Musicians saw recording technology alter how songs were heard and shared. Today, our version of this story is artificial intelligence.

Some mornings, I feel curious about it. What it can do, where it might take us? Most days, it feels unsettling, as though something too quick and too clever is nipping at the heels of human creativity. But in the end, I keep circling back to this: the best response is not panic, but discernment.

Choosing Standards Over Speed

AI moves fast. It prizes efficiency, scale, and replication. Artists, on the other hand, can answer with something altogether different: depth. Slowness. Discernment.

When I engage with art, whether it’s mine or another’s, I want to hold it to a high standard. Not a punishing one, but a mindful one. I ask: Where is the risk? Where is the courage? Where is the texture of a human hand and mind? That kind of questioning, done gently, has a way of uplifting everyone involved.

Compassion in the Studio

The truth is, art is tender work. Each painting, poem, or performance is a risk. Every artist knows the vulnerability of putting something into the world that might be ignored, misunderstood, or even dismissed.

And yet, we keep going. That persistence is where compassion belongs. It reminds us that behind every piece of art is a person making meaning against long odds. Machines may be able to replicate style, but they cannot replicate the ache, joy, or longing that drives us to create.

What AI Cannot Do

It cannot hesitate.

It cannot risk embarrassment.

It cannot make a joke so badly timed that it becomes brilliant.

These are the gloriously imperfect, human territories of art. And they’re worth defending by leaning harder into what makes us human.

Uplifting Each Other

So here’s my invitation: let’s treat this moment as a chance to raise each other up. To share our standards with kindness. To encourage each other toward more courage, more depth, more originality, MORE DISCERNMENT.

The way forward isn’t to outsmart the machines. It’s to be fully, gloriously human together.

These blog posts are free of charge. However, they do take time, energy, and a lifetime of artistic experience to put together. If you’d like to buy me a cup of tea as a bit of thanks, I’d appreciate your generosity. Buy Pattie a Cup of Tea.