I have to admit, I’ve always thought of the Luddites as a rather romantic movement, born out of a worthy, emotionally solid cause but essentially as futile as King Canute’s most infamous effort. And yet, as 2025 gets going, I find myself wondering whether we are facing a similar situation: I am of course referring to AI.
I know, I know, the genie is out of the bottle and there’s no way of coaxing it back in. But I do wonder why we all seem to be putting out a red carpet for the latest tech to walk into the wild west.
As Keir Starmer announces that he wants the UK to offer the finest, plushest carpet to the big AI bods, there are, no doubt, industries where AI could and should be embraced: maybe it can indeed do a number finding potholes, but certainly if its power can be harnessed to find the key to any number of medical mysteries, from MND, to MS then of course we should be vacuuming the carpet and treating errant wine stains.
"If the creative process is the fun bit, why are we rushing towards letting tech take over?"
But when it comes to the creative industries, maybe we should be more cautious.
One of the arguments put forward for pretty much any new advance is that it will allow us more leisure time. And what do we do with this leisure time? Well, aside from eating and drinking too much and indulging in a few other short-term highs, a good number of us fill our time with some form of creative pastime. Whether it’s knitting, writing poetry, ceramics, you name it, we are all surely agreed that making something, creating something, is good for the soul.
So, this is the part I don’t really get, emotionally: if the creative process is the fun bit, why are we rushing towards letting tech take over? Why on earth do we want to watch TV made by AI, listen to music made by AI, look at art made by AI?
So maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the Luddites. Does anyone fancy starting a new club: welcome to the Neo-Luddites?
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
