My usage surrounding AI this week has led me to reflect not only on how we view AI but also on any new form of technology and digitalisation. Coincidentally, I consumed media this week that had many elements surrounding technology and how we either embrace it or fear it. This led to the conclusion that we adjust to what was once considered threatening and repeat this cycle when something more advanced inevitably comes along.

In an episode of Mad Men (2014) I watched this week, Ginsberg becomes distressed over a new computer being brought into the office in 1969. At that time, some people felt threatened by the existence of computers, while others saw them as an amazing new technology that would change their lives. Ginsberg sees the machine as a harmful creation that will lead to the end of humanity and creativity. More than five decades later, when computers have become common commodities in office spaces, their presence is ubiquitous in many parts of the world. Now, AI represents the modern-day cycle of fear and hope surrounding technological innovations.

The more we interact with these new technologies, the more we learn that they are not as threatening as we might initially think. We begin to understand their limits, weaknesses, and strengths. That process makes interacting with new technologies like AI innovations much more interesting—such as the prompt battles we performed in class. By working as a team, we saw how much control we had over the outputs of the generative AI, which was more than I initially believed. Through these prompt battles, I saw just how much individuality is required to create unique and different AI-generated art through prompts. By applying our own visions of creativity and personal touches, we created unique images. Some were more similar to each other than others, but the individuality and unique ideas made some stand out more. It also showed how far AI still has to go, revealing how specific we had to be and how careful we needed to be with wording our prompts to get the desired outcome. Still, the AI had trouble grasping some ideas and creating things without errors.

Through the class prompt battles and reflecting on how technology is portrayed in the media, such as the episode of Mad Men, it became clearer to me that interacting with technology is a straightforward way to understand just how easy it can be to adjust to these new technological advancements by realising that they are ‘more mundane and less predictable than we imagine it’ (Ervik 2023: 53).

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