may _25

▲ highlights: "Chariot Boys" // AI usage protocol? // audio snippets for a new way for you to experience this art letter

May 13, 2025

hey,

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cheers,
ål // ≧◉◡◉≦

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// things to share »

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⍟ <artwork on the spotlight: Chariot Boys/> When you visit the Pyramids of Giza, it’s very likely to end up at the camp where you can either ride a camel or take a chariot to a lovely view spot. The camels and horses are “operated” by kids. They are between 5 and early teens. They take you to the spot and then offer to take some photos, flawlessly facilitating the process by inviting you to take poses and have fun. They ask you many, many times if you are ok, if everything is ok. And they really expect your tips, they are very important to them.

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✐ <what is your AI usage protocol?/>

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I am not as radical as Beth Spencer (yet?), but she’s got a good point. I do not have my own AI usage protocol/policy yet, but I am curious about crafting one in time. For now, I have some thoughts I would like to share with you, and I would be super happy if you share yours after reading this.

+ I want to know how to work with AI applications. During the last several months, it was for the first time that I started using Chat GPT and researching how it can be helpful.

+ Whatever can be a google search, doesn’t need to be an AI prompt. I am not sure how much energy and computer power Chat GPT uses, but it surely is much, much more than a quick search. And you can always add a keyword like “reddit” if you’re looking for real, human answers to your inquiry.

+ I still hate the aesthetics of AI visuals. They are super easy to recognise, annoyingly generic, and absolutely disrespectful to visual artists. So, until that issue is solved properly, it is a very strong NO for me.

+ Working with text and Chat GPT for research excites me. If I ask it to find and summarise information, it gives lots of false or biased shit. But if I ask it to browse and summarise information from a particular source (and double check its results), it helps me even see things I wouldn’t at first glance.

+ I excuse myself when using it for writing generic stuff to save time. Arrogantly, I feel that because I’ve learned how to write and spent so much effort in training myself (for instance, I wrote my Master’s thesis without a single AI prompt), I can cut myself some slack sometimes. But writing is an essential human skill - in no reality this skill should be delegated, because it is really important for learning to think, to summarise and understand your research, and to get better at communicating with others. The idea that young people will be robbed of this ability freaks me out. I find it extremely dangerous!

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▶▶ <take a look at my Unsplash/> Speaking of Adobe Illustrator, I’ve spent lots of time there during the last few months. I joined Unsplash’s illustrator programme, so I can sell some visual art, because no one buys my stuff anyway.

For now, it is quite small-scale, but it helps me cover my monthly Adobe subscription (which changes every year, hello, Black Mirror). So, you can have a look at the recent vector illustrations I made for Unsplash.

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