I asked ChatGPT to Define Afrofuturism
Is artificial intelligence software going to write a better college essay? No. In truth, after really looking at it, I can say Open AI ChatGPT can write a bland essay based on a simplistic prompt I would never use.
So, while I think there are great conversations to be had about how the tool of AI might aid someone who knows something about a subject generate something, I’m less concerned about being replaced by the machine…right now.
So, if the possibility that technology might aid me (or anyone else) is producing something is worth exploring, I decided to consult ChatGPT about Afrofuturism. I wondered what would happen if I asked the machine to “Define Afrofuturism in Simple Terms.”
You can see the results right here.
ChatGPT Defines Afrofuturism
ChatGPT Contines….
Let me start by saying I don’t think this answer is bad. The emphasis on Afrofuturism as both “ a cultural movement” and “artistic aesthetic” is a common trait across multiple experts defining Afrofuturism. The list of key elements offered is consistent with what I and others have said about Afrofuturism. Indeed, the emphasis on reclaiming, thinking beyond oppression, and using creativity to resist oppression is central to why Afrofuturism matters to people around the world.
What the definition falls short of is understanding the complexities linked to the critical foundation of Afrofuturism. Those ideas, which ask us to consider how modernity is defined through colonialism or call attention to a hierarchical system of exploitive power don’t come through clearly enough. While the emphasis on Afrocentrism might be understood as reflecting this idea, I think such an approach missed a crucial element of Afrofuturism that offers liberation to all. Yes, Afrofuturism is rooted in a critical examination of western society born of the African Diaspora experience, but understanding how that experience informs the black perspective on freedom promises to create a more equitable system for everyone. This is the legacy of the U.S. civil rights movement we live with every day and Afrofuturism offers the possibility of a similar transformative standard around freedom.
If we can teach the machine to understand that, it can do a lot to help people trying to understand a complex subject see the possibilities they have not imagined.
