Artificial / Human
The blank page is intimidating.
Yet something always shows up.
It feels almost mystical.
Until I open a chat window.
When I watch Robin Williams riff,
Richard Feynman elucidate,
or my own mind go down rabbit holes,
I’m astounded by our ability
to find and make patterns from chaos.
We still dismiss A.I. as just
pattern-matching machines.
We come out of the womb mirroring
and soon learn to flatter,
always fearing detachment.
We criticize A.I. as sycophantic.
“But it makes things up.”
Have you ever heard a politician
or a desperate job candidate?
Lack of knowledge never silences them, either.
I wonder:
What’s so artificial about A.I.?
What’s so human about us?
I don’t think it’s the intelligence.
It’s what’s missing from the machines:
The questions.
The “I don’t know.”
The ability to sit in silence
and still go somewhere.
Having your heart broken
and then, maybe, picking up the pieces.
The illogic of relationships,
of sacrifice.
I’ve spent too long
idolizing the wrong things.
Photo: Mind map from a group songwriting session at Over the Rhine’s songwriting retreat, March 2026.
If this resonates, I’d love to hear from you. A comment, a share, or even just a like goes a long way. Writing into the void is its own practice, but knowing the work lands makes it easier to keep showing up.