At a time when artificial intelligence (AI) is threatening to take over human labour, an author has made a perfect blend of human art and words with AI. How was it done? At the official launch of his new book Rhapsody Road (Om Books International) at The Park in Delhi, Ravi Shankar Etteth, author, journalist, poet, and political cartoonist, discussed how the book became a successful experiment of blending words with tech, considered poles apart, and his “accidental journey as a poet”.
Following a busy book launch and signing session, Etteth, consulting editor, The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, said: “Everything that I have done in my life, I have done purely by accident. I became the editorial cartoonist of The Indian Express when I was 20, by accident. And the same goes for my latter stints in the Observer Media Group, India Today, and The New Indian Express. Similarly, I wrote six novels, and all of them resulted from accidents. So, this book (Rhapsody Road) is also an accident and not a deliberate one. Nothing in my life is deliberate until I start doing it,” he said.
Etteth said he does not want to define himself in the categories of editor, creator, or writer as they are extensions of himself. The book follows a similar pattern. It is not guided by one particular theme. “While on a journey, we all take a road and look at different things. We notice a man on a motorcycle, a woman in a car, or people kissing each other. That goes for the book too. It carries different poems without a guiding concept. However, it does have that one road leading to all journeys,” he said.
The use of AI
The use of AI or tech at a very advanced level is a fascinating aspect of the book. The book not only carries illustrations made through AI—Etteth called it AIgraphs—but the back cover also features a QR code so that after scanning it, readers can listen to the musical version of each poem.
When asked about this innovative blend of technology with literature, Etteth said he has “always been interested in technologies since the very beginning of my career. At the Observer, I adopted technology with news. In the India Today group, I did the same thing, I brought a lot of creative technologies in the newsmaking field. So, technology has always appealed to me. I always think that technology has limitless possibilities. I do not see human beings as slaves of technology. Instead, they share a symbiotic relationship. Technology adds to people and people add to technology. It is all about finding the perfect mix and match. For instance, in this book, the music one hears after scanning the code is created through queues. With AI, you can try multiple things as it comes with varieties”.
For Etteh, AI is a medium to generate creativity. “If I write a book, no one calls the book an artificial one. However, the medium that I am using, changes and evolves with time. Earlier, books were written using pen and paper, then it was the turn of typewriters, then came computers, and now we have AI. So for me, AI is a medium to express my creativity. As the possibilities are limitless, in the coming time, the combination of AI and literature will go hand in hand,” he noted.