Why AI is the Evolution of Universal Creativity
The Illusion of Ownership: Why AI is the Evolution of Universal Creativity
Recently, I took one of my published poems and ran it through an AI-backed music platform.
The result was, frankly, better than I expected.
When
I shared it with a professional in the music industry, his response was a
backhanded compliment: “The song is good, but the creativity is questionable
because of the AI element.”
This critique didn't offend me, but it did make me pause.
It forced me to ask a fundamental question: What is creativity, really?
Is it a spark of
divine individual genius, or is it simply a new way of rearranging what already
exists in the universe?
The Myth of the "Original"
Creator
We often credit individuals for breakthroughs that were already present in the fabric of reality.
Take the Fibonacci sequence, for example.
Leonardo of Pisa is credited with it because he was the first to document it in the West, but he didn't "create" the math.
The sequence exists in the spiral of a shell, the petals of a flower, and the patterns of galaxies.
It is a
discovery, not an invention.
As writers and artists, we like to believe we are "creating" from scratch.
In reality, we are borrowing from the collective human experience, the Universal Knowledge.
We cobble together words, sounds,
and concepts we’ve inherited from those before us and claim ownership through
patents, copyrights, and "creative" tags.
AI as a Mirror of the Universe
The fear surrounding AI stems from a misunderstanding of what it actually is.
Many see it as a "theft" of human effort.
However, if we view the world through the lens of collective intelligence, AI is simply a duplication of the universe in action.
It is a tool that accesses the sum of human data, our
shared history, language, and melody, and reflects it back to us in new
configurations.
No single person owns the alphabet, yet we write books.
No one owns the scales of music, yet we compose songs.
If AI helps us tap into that reservoir
of universal knowledge more efficiently, why do we suddenly find the output
"questionable"?
Letting Go of the Tag
The "Creativity" tag is often used as a barrier to keep people out of the "artist" circle.
It suggests that if the process was too easy, or if the tool was too powerful, the result is less soulful.
But if the
end product moves a listener or inspires a reader, does the origin of the
arrangement matter?
We are entering an era where ownership is becoming secondary to utility and impact.
By clinging to the idea of individual creativity, we are holding
ourselves back from the next stage of evolution.
The truth is simple: Everything we have is borrowed from the universe.
AI is just the newest way we are learning to share it.
Perhaps the best way forward isn't to defend
our "creativity," but to let it go and see what we can build when we
stop worrying about who gets the credit.
I believe my perspective aligns beautifully with the concept of "Multiple Discovery", the hypothesis that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple people.
It suggests that ideas are "in the air" and belong to the
time, not just the person.
As a writer of both poetry and technical aviation/investment books, I have a unique bridge between the "soulful" and the "systematic."
That’s likely why I am so comfortable seeing AI as a
system rather than a threat.
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