Creative Coding in the Age of AI

The author reflects on Vera Molnár's embrace of the computer as a co-author and contrasts it with today's AI tools, arguing that the Astra trailer's "just state a wish" framing hollows out the craft rather than democratizing it. They contend that earlier technologies lowered barriers mechanically while still requiring people to wrestle with ideas, whereas AI replaces cognitive parts of the creative process and smooths out the happy accidents that make work feel one's own. The piece closes by calling for deliberately reintroduced "functional frictions" so makers stay in the loop, while acknowledging the author's own use of LLMs for brainstorming and editing.