Screenwriter joins initiative to discuss AI's impact on human thought

Screenwriter Anna Brotkin identifies as "technology-critical" rather than "technology-averse," a stance that has led her to join the nascent 'Ihmisen tekemää' (Made by Humans) initiative in Finland. This project, spearheaded by media company Rapport and supported by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, seeks to stimulate dialogue and establish lasting frameworks for human cognition, authorship, and economic generation in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

“

I am not technology-averse, but technology-critical.

Seppo Honkanen, chairman of Rapport's board, emphasizes that the challenges posed by AI are fundamentally human and societal, not merely technological. While specific details of the project's digital structures and platforms are forthcoming, Honkanen assures that the initiative is not anti-AI. Instead, it aims to create "concrete, mainly digital structures, a new kind of space for thinking."

Brotkin likens her relationship with AI to smoking, stating that just as she never felt the need for a daily cigarette, she has not integrated AI into her work because she is content with her current life and methods. She acknowledges that many colleagues use AI for brainstorming or research, but she remains skeptical about its capacity to genuinely improve human thought processes. For Brotkin, the value lies in the struggle with complex ideas, and she sees even the mundane aspects of her work as integral to the thinking process.

“

I am skeptical about whether artificial intelligence improves thinking.

While Brotkin may not personally require the digital spaces the 'Ihmisen tekemää' project promises, she values the conversation it aims to foster. She advocates for discussions about what society will do with the time potentially saved by AI, questioning the relentless pursuit of efficiency. Brotkin believes that in the early stages of the AI boom, it is crucial to examine AI's impact on human thought and to consciously decide what aspects of our thinking we want to delegate and what we want to preserve.

“

I don't want to do my work more efficiently. The work is precisely about grappling with difficult and slow thoughts.