Crochet and AI
I was surprised last weekend to see my photo in the October 31st edition of the Valley News with the article entitled “What must remain human?’ Dartmouth Conference opens without a clear answer. I am the woman crocheting in the photo and who is mentioned in the article. I appreciate the connections the author, Molly Hughes, makes about the inability of crochet to be mechanized, unlike knitting or weaving. This is one of the reasons this craft is appealing to me. I appreciate that I can crochet squares in public without having to carry a large amount of work with me at a time. It helps me remain focused. And, it is also a nice conversation starter, as it was at another session during the conference.
The most interesting crochet-related moment in the conference for me occurred in the last session of Thursday night entitled Arts, Ethics & AI. During that session the panelists discussed how AI can be used to create while maintaining art’s essential humanity. There I was, listening and creating, knowing they were discussing my exact experience. I say this because, with full disclosure, although I will make every stitch of my project myself, I did consult AI in its creation regarding the arrangement of the colors and the squares. AI was imperfect in this case, and I did quite a lot of editing before finalizing the design. Nevertheless, my creation would not be the same without it. I am fortunate to live in such an interesting time.