AI, Energy and Picasso’s Bull

How valuable is “taste”?

𝗔𝗜, 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗼’𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗹...

These three subjects have been on my mind over the weekend. As AI tools improve (at a blistering rate), the ability to explore and generate novel content keeps getting easier. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 “𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩” 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 “𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨”? 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙨 (𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚) 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮?

Contemplating that question brought back memories of Picasso’s Bull series (below).

What I remember captivating me about the series is the 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 “𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰” 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. The final image may not be as rich and detailed as initial versions, but the “truth” of what it is remains clear.

What does this have to do with the question?

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲. And 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗼𝗿 “𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲”, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. Using Picasso’s Bull as an analogy, the ability to find the essence amidst the detail, and wisdom to know which version of the series most appropriate for the moment becomes an art of its own.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲) 𝗶𝘀 “𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲” 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?