Urban Legends - Jumper. Karol Weber/Gedeon
Since the GPT chatbot went into full swing, there has been no shortage of claims that it will replace more professions. Copywriters were rumored to be the first to go. But what about creators? Can comic scriptwriters be send packing?
This is one of those questions over the answer to which one can only speculate. One is tempted to quote a famous saying: one rabbi will say yes, and another rabbi will say no. And there is not a bit of sarcasm or mockery here, because opinions are indeed divided.
While some are scare that artificial intelligence will soon replace lyricists - for the time being, they are mainly talking about applied texts - and IT workers, others claim that the value of humans in each of these industries is beyond discussion, and AI is just an algorithm.
Urban Legends - Jumper. Karol Weber/Gedeon
If you're here by chance, led - nomen omen - by algorithms, chances are that you associate comics with insignificant color pictures, laced with a bit of text. Meanwhile, comics are a form of artistic expression that combines words and images. And like epic works, it can be weak, but it can also rise, despite the popular nature of the work, to literary heights. In the end, a comic book is often the result of a collaboration between a screenwriter and an illustrator, although sometimes both roles are taken on by one person. In a team, it is the comic scriptwriter who is responsible for creating the plot, the world depicted, the dialogues, and the descriptions - a kind of didascalia - that will allow the cartoonist to understand how the author sees a particular place or character.
A comic book screenwriter must be characterized by a specific range of skills, in which the use of language is at the forefront - he must simply be able to write correctly and in an interesting way. Moreover, he must be able to be flexible in his work. After all, a story set in post-apocalyptic worlds will sound different, a story set in the Wild West will sound different, and a story set in late communist Poland will sound different. It is the linguistic stylizations that give color to stories, which is why it is so important to know and use them consciously. At the same time, a comic scriptwriter needs a rich imagination to create worlds that readers will find interesting. The same is true of characters: they must be built interestingly enough to evoke emotions in the viewer.
That's right, emotions. We are getting to the point where it seems, however, that AI doesn't stand a chance with humans for the time being. Feelings, emotions, and sentiments are very complex psychological issues that largely influence our choices or actions. The mechanisms of their formation are not always recognizable, sometimes they are based on deeply hidden desires or memories. And since man, despite belonging to the species homo sapiens sapiens can be a highly individualized being in his psychological layer, it is difficult to expect an algorithm to work him out quickly and efficiently. Although, on the other hand, we are worked out by e-commerce algorithms, encouraging, more or less effectively, for example, online shopping....
Emotions are one thing, but it takes cooperation to bring a comic book to publication. And that is with the illustrator, and that is with the publisher or editors. Here chat alone, at least for the time being, will not manage. This is because you need the ability to communicate, to discuss, to expose the qualities of your work, or defend your arguments. It is also sometimes necessary to compromise, and negotiate terms - and these are very human activities and require personality, sometimes clout and charisma.
To be fair, we also asked the question to... AI. What did the artificial intelligence answer us? Well, interestingly - and perhaps a tad however scary - it is of the same opinion. "Artificial intelligence has the potential to assist and facilitate the screenwriting process, but the replacement of screenwriters fully by artificial intelligence is unlikely. Currently, there are AI-based tools that can generate simple stories or help create specific scenarios based on certain inputs. However, creating complex and engaging scenarios that combine emotion, ideas, character depth and originality is still an area where human creativity has a significant advantage."
So, the verdict is in: artificial intelligence is an interesting tool, and can help with exploration, analysis, or idea generation in moments abandoned by venom. However, it cannot, at least for now, replace human creativity, empathy, and imagination.
Wooden heart. Karol Weber/Artur Biernacki
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