AI Just Blew My Mind. You Have to Try This. For Real.

Just two weeks ago, I got an email from Google that read:

Fresh features, endless possibilities.

Craft compelling stories

Create custom, illustrated stories with read-aloud narration. Just describe what you want, and Gemini will create a unique 10-page storybook. 

Try Storybook

So, I did.

I gave Storybook this prompt: “10 year old twins Taj and Z are always forgetting to turn the lights off in the house. This annoys Papa. Help them remember to turn off the lights.”

That’s it. 

I just sat back and let the generative AI machine, or “Robot” as it's known in our family, work its magic. No more than two minutes later, I had this:

A full 10-page children’s book with illustrations, including kids who look not dissimilar from our own. I didn’t describe the children or their father, Kiran, who is of Indian ethnic heritage. The Robot had come up with this on its own. Or perhaps it looked at the photos I’ve uploaded to Google over the years? Entirely possible.

Then I clicked “Listen,” and the Robot read the book aloud. Well. It didn’t sound like a Robot at all. It sounded like a woman reading, with proper inflection and everything. 

Mind blown.

When Kiran and I showed it to the Joy Boys, they said, “Woah! So cool!! I want to make one.”

I mean, it’s not a great book. It doesn’t make me want to get to know the characters more. But for something generated for free, in less than 2 minutes, from one short prompt? INSANE.

I don’t know about you, but I find this level of Robot creation both awe-inspiring and terrifying. It of course makes me worry about losing my job, and the future careers of so many creatives. We no longer need artists, writers, composers or magicians to make illustrations, books and music.

But at the same time, I feel confident that people will continue to want to create. Creativity is, at its core, arguably our most powerful human asset. Will we collaborate with the Robot? Or will it make our brains so lazy that we just rely on a few clicks to have it create for us?

One thing is for sure: The Robot can’t know and tell our deepest stories, the ones that formed us into the people we are today. And having the Robot write for us has zero value in terms of helping us reflect on our journey, heal old wounds, or connect with other people on a heart level. The Robot may have knowledge, but it does not have wisdom. Wisdom comes from lived human experience. 

There are still plenty of reasons to write.

Aloha,

MeiMei

TIP OF THE WEEK:

Tip of the Week: Try Storybook

I strongly encourage you to give this latest Google tool a try. Simply click on this link, give the Robot a short prompt, and watch it turn your idea into an illustrated children’s book.

Whether you like and trust the Robot or not, it is here to stay. Perhaps it's best that we at least try using it to understand what it can do. Am I right?