I’ve been taking human authorship for granted.

Yesterday, a coworker shared a link to a intriguing browser game called Doomscroll. This top-down shooter only utilizes the scroll wheel for movement while your character automatically fires ahead.

In my few runs, I unlocked upgrades and was struck by the odd juxtaposition of the game’s mechanics and headlines I read about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Moreso, I found myself reading a newsletter where the developer, David Friedman, explained that he constructed this entire game using ChatGPT.

“As readers know, I’m not a coder, but I enjoy how vibe coding lets me turn an idea into something real. So naturally, I turned to vibe coding for this,” Friedman expressed.

Friedman elaborates on how he instructed the AI to create a reverse Galaga experience featuring automatic shooting and basic upgrades, revealing an important lesson about the charm of human creativity and collaboration. It brings to light the vulnerability and soul that unique creations possess compared to generated outputs.

This experience leaves me pondering the value of genuine human artistry in gaming and suggests an ironic commentary on the flood of AI in our daily lives. The title itself highlights the cycle of doomscrolling and its implications in today’s society.