Good Enough? 

AI: The False Savior

So according to our esteemed Prime Minister, the panacea for all that ails the country is Artificial Intelligence – a virtual dashing white knight thundering in to save the day. However, before we are deafened by the sound of those galloping hooves, perhaps now is the time for a display of real-world intelligence. If history repeats itself, and no one notices until it’s too late, we only have ourselves to blame.

The “Good Enough” Mentality

If in what seems like a never-ending race to the bottom, driven by the dreadfully destructive mantra that ‘good enough is good enough,” and good enough triumphs, then that’s on us – for AI only accelerates this descent into mediocrity.

Technology’s Hidden Consequences: A Game of Jenga

Technology and its evolution and impact on humanity is like playing a giant game of Jenga. Pulling or pushing one piece has consequences down the line, some hidden, some not. Too much pressure or misplaced confidence, and the whole thing can come crashing down.

The iPod: A Step Backwards in Disguise

In 2001, when Steve Jobs stood on stage and pulled the iPod out of his pocket with the flourish of a magician revealing a rabbit, it marked a cultural line in the sand. That handheld device started a revolution: one small step onto the podium for man, and a giant leap backwards for mankind.

At first glance, the iPod seemed to be a triumph of technology and convenience rather than the start of a slippery slope. A device that would revolutionize our consumption of content. A whole world of music crammed into a tiny stylish package. What a Pandora’s box it would be.

Compromise in the Name of Convenience

You see, hidden in all that high-tech progress there was a sting in the tail in the form of a regressive compromise. We’ve all done it – imagine downsizing and having some oversized furniture that needs to fit into a flat. The sensible option would be to leave some behind – however, Steve Jobs’s solution was to take a saw to the piano and cut it in half.

The iPod did not just redefine music; it redefined its reality. It didn’t compromise on quality but compromised it. Songs compressed into low-bitrate MP3 files became the new standard. Fidelity sacrificed on the altar of convenience, I want it now, on the move rather than at home on my mega-expensive stereo. Who cares that what was once an intimate and immersive experience degrades into background noise?

The Rise of the “Good Enough” Standard

The files and sound were good enough, anyway, they were being played on such dreadful cheap earphones. Perhaps the “lossy compression” that reduced sonic quality by about 29 times was the least of our worries. Such a step backwards would never catch on.

I wish – all too soon, this retrograde technology ruled the roost. With the advent of streaming, the iPod was relegated to that unsupported graveyard in the sky. But just like that game of Jenga, it all but killed the CD player. Convenience over quality. If you think that’s only an anathema to audiophiles, try listening to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon using a vintage CD player, valve amp, and some Roger’s speakers – it will blow your mind – more so if you use vinyl and a turntable.

Convenience at the Cost of Quality

Yet quality should not be the preserve of the connoisseur to be sipped like fine wine. The point is that new technology does not always translate into greater quality, and worse still, like a conjurer’s misdirection, while you were focusing on his shiny new toy, not only did you not notice the drawbacks, you didn’t care.

The Perils of AI in Content Creation

If that wasn’t bad enough, that overpowering philosophy has grown into a monster that is devouring content creation as a whole. Now “good enough” is the ceiling rather than the floor – and then along came AI. It’s been argued recently that if the audience can’t tell the difference between AI-generated and human-generated content – or if they don’t care – then for practical purposes there is no difference.

I disagree, for there is a world of difference, and it has nothing to do with quality and everything to do with responsibility. Generative AI is a tool much like the steam-powered looms the Luddites wanted to smash. As AI-generated content proliferates, the nuance and humanity inherent in art, music, and journalism risk being replaced by algorithms. Calculations optimized for efficiency, profit, and convenience. In fact, the plight of those angry lace makers is the perfect metaphor for what is about to hit the working classes.

The Dangers of Ignoring History

And if we are not careful, if we don’t stop the past from repeating, we will look back and see what we mistook for progress was a step backwards. AI is a tool that must be used responsibly; even if AI has such little impact on quality to the extent it’s almost invisible, its effects will not be.

AI and Job Loss: A Warning for the Future

AI is going to cost jobs, lots of jobs, especially in the fields of artistic endeavor, and lifeboat jobs – those roles that are not part of our careers but keep us afloat when we need saving – and we need to do something about that now.

The Utopian Fallacy: Why We Can’t Let History Repeat Itself

If history has taught us anything, it’s that those futurologists who have consistently promised a utopia of machines liberating us from labor have always been wrong. We cannot allow this to happen again. This is our chance to sidestep a self-made dystopian nightmare before it’s too late.