Are you having conversations with AI?
Here are some of the ways you can begin your journey into the ai maelstrom. It feels crazy and wild now, but we’re just getting started. It’s important for you, for artists and non-artists alike, to get to know AI. It’s coming. If you’re avoiding it, you’re wasting time living in fear or resentment that might hurt your options in the near future, as AI becomes the dominant workforce too.
Think Excel or Photoshop are deep rabbit holes of learning? Did they change accounting or photography? Yes, I’d say they both transformed their industries. AI is doing a similar thing, but it’s only reached the low-hanging business motions so far. Let’s look at where AI is actually saving money.
With the launch of ChatGPT over three years ago, the rest of us got to experience what only data scientists and futurists had been able to experience. The world of commercial AI (lies, hallucinations, and data theft) awakened.
I had the fortune of being at the head of a global creative team spinning up a new branded website for a multinational data center REIT, called Digital Realty. The cool part, our daily standups became demos and “here’s what I found it can do” moments for all of us. I just happened to be on a team with a bunch of really smart designers, writers, programmers, ux thinkers, ui architects, and we bloomed into the world of ChatGPT.
State of AI in 2026
In my understanding, limited by my American-centric knowledge base. I try the open source and alt versions when they become available. Here’s the current AI landscape as I think about it.
- Image Generation
- Text and Summaries (technical documents)
- Ideation use Human Prompts and the time to jump into the hole with Alice and the Mad Hatter.
For me, and this is my personal story of AI acquisition.
Generative Images and Video
- Midjourney – is adding “style templates” and “playing with an ability to create a character that can be used repeatedly, without 1,000 token prompts.
- Gemini – using Nano Banana Pro
- GROK sux – do not use – not recommended
- ChatGPT for deep and ongoing “projects”
Textual, Research, and as a Google Replacement
- Perplexity
- Gemini
- ChatGPT
Systems and Personal Management with AI
- Agentic AI – so far is a myth (more like human uses AI, redoes prompt, repeat infinitly)
- CRM – for data mining and pulling contact information off websites or job descriptions.
- Chatbot on web, phone, or text
- AI girlfriend, AI fitness coach, AI therapist (all HIGH risk behaviors – AI lies, makes stuff up, and makes massive mistakes.
Do not attach AI-dependence to your mental or physical wellbeing in any way. That’s easy advice, I think.
John McElhenney – artist
Artistsway.ai < go
From the minds of
