There are days when I’m really excited about the future of AI, and days when I get a little scared about the possibility that AI’s going to take over everything.
But on Tuesday, I went into Salt Lake to see Brandi Carlile play. She did this thing in the middle of the show where she asked the crowd for requests. I thought they might have been plants, but no: She’s been doing it at every show.
And seeing something like that — the crowd screaming out their favorite songs; the artists trying to figure out, in real time, what guitars they needed to play and what key the song was in — was such an amazing thing. I loved seeing Brandi try to pick out a fan in a crowd of thousands, hoping that she actually remembered the song this fan wanted her to sing. I loved the band talking through, on a hot mic, how they wanted to handle these songs acoustic — who’d play what part, how they’d play the intro or the ending.
AI can be a bit of a know-it-all. Ask it for the idea chicken dish or a strategy to sell widgets, and it’ll spit out an answer in seconds. It’s often right, too.
But there’s something special — something so human — about seeing something happen in real time. Watching Brandi and her band on stage reminded me that some of my favorite moments are the ones that aren’t quite perfect. They’re messy, they’re unexpected, they sometimes go wrong.
I don’t think AI will ever be able to make moments like that.
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I took that photo from way in the upper deck at Delta Center.