Not many of us ever get the chance to do something truly heroic, but early in the 21st century the game GUITAR HERO was released. And via plastic guitar and whammy bar, some of my previously non-descript friends vaulted to Rock Star status within our social network. Derrick was even able to complete Dragonforce’s “Through the Fire and Flames” on Expert, so we were convinced that, although his GPA began with a decimal point, his legendary performance on the Playstation 2 would cancel out his failing grades.
I never really got into the game myself, but I enjoyed watching Derrick. And I still enjoy watching my wife play…we particularly like “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” since the topic of love has arguably even more pathos when sung in a trilling falsetto.
But I remember one night when we were all hanging out, and I actually had a REAL guitar. And while Cameron was playing “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas on Guitar Hero, I started playing it on the actual guitar. People thought it was sort of cool that I could play…but they were MUCH MORE IMPRESSED that Cameron was able to finish the song with 98% accuracy on the video game.
I think that’s sort of where we’re at right now in regards to AI. People ravenously fawn over AI-generated educational resources and impersonal Chatbot-derived compositions. Then when someone actually demonstrates ingenuity, initiative, and creativity, they give it a cursory smile before re-dedicating themselves to seeing what they can get Claude or Grok to accomplish for them.
AI is a potentially useful tool, and it does require a certain skill set to leverage the various Large Language Models. Playing “Through the Fire and Flames” on Guitar Hero requires IMMENSE skill. But without Dragonforce first playing the song on the REAL GUITAR, we couldn’t appreciate the Plastic Guitar Heroes. And when plastic people use AI to write their content, draft their emails, and “think for them,” that’s anything but Heroic.
