The reason you’re reading this letter today is because I was bored 30 years ago.
My curiosity led me to spend significant time in the university computer lab, exploring Usenet and the early web for interesting content. Eventually, I wanted to create rather than just consume, so I learned HTML, built a basic web page, then a better one, and eventually a full website. This amateur collection of web pages resulted in a journalism internship with a magazine’s online arm that ignored us web geeks. It was the start of my journalism career, which eventually led to my current role.
None of this would’ve happened without my boredom and curiosity, especially towards tech.
The university computer lab might not seem like a hub for creativity, often associated with artists’ studios or writers’ workshops. However, major creative advancements, like the web and its offspring, often stem from technological breakthroughs.
While prominent inventions like photography and the printing press are obvious examples, creativity’s technological roots span various art forms—oil paints, theaters, musical scores, electric synthesizers. In arts, possibly except pure vocalization, technology is integral.
Yet, creativity doesn’t solely depend on technology. It flourishes when artists use it to express humanity. We often praise art with words like “soul,” “heart,” and “life,” while criticisms include “sterile,” “clinical,” or “lifeless.” Even sterile art, if loved, usually makes a human point.
In saying this, I believe AI is and will be a tool for creativity, but true art remains driven by human ingenuity—not machines.
I might be wrong, but I hope not.
This issue, entirely crafted by humans using computers, examines creativity and the artist-technology relationship. Our cover by Tom Humberstone, and articles by James O’Donnell, Will Douglas Heaven, Rebecca Ackermann, Michelle Kim, Bryan Gardiner, and Allison Arieff, explore this theme.
Creativity spans beyond the arts; it’s central to human progress and problem-solving. We highlight this in articles by Carrie Klein, Carly Kay, Matthew Ponsford, and Robin George Andrews. (Want to know about nuking an asteroid? This is the issue for you!)
We’re also fostering our creativity. Future issues will have new features (like Caiwei Chen’s “3 Things”), more reader feedback, and answers to tech questions. Share your creativity: newsroom@technologyreview.com.
Thanks for reading.