On Counter-Movements

Art exists in opposition.

Always has. Always will.

Every movement creates its own counter-movement.

In fact, every great artistic movement in history began as a counter-movement.

Victorian novels were a garden of prose. So Hemingway brought a machete to the party.

Realism in painting gave way to photography. Then artists broke reality.

Monet blurred his lilies. Van Gogh made stars swirl. Picasso shattered faces into fragments.

The Beatles gave us sweet love songs and Woodstock answered with freedom in the mud.

1970s rock responded with 10 minute solos. Punk killed it with three chords and a questionable sense of fashion.

MTV gave us beautiful people in beautiful rooms. Reality TV showed us morning breath and bad decisions.

It goes on and on.

Remember when Google Glass was the future? It wasn't.

Metaverse promised a new reality. The world kept the old one.

NFTs were going to revolutionize art. The revolution was postponed indefinitely.

Now AI writes without error. Without soul. Without doubt.

Never a misplaced comma. Never a letter out of place. Never a wandering thought.

Watch what happens next.

Already, writers are keeping their typos.

Brands are speaking in 3 AM tweets.

Imperfect is the new authentic.

This is how culture breathes.

In.

Out.

The counter-movement always shows up. And wins.

Until it becomes what we rebel against next.

So watch out, AI.

Us humans? Breaking things is what we do best.

It’s kind of our thing.