The Illusion of the Simple Prompt
By Paul Baraka
Without clarity, AI becomes noise.
And if the noise feeds the noise, the signal gets lost.
Models will keep training on shallow content, on recycled ideas, on empty repetition.
The result? Diminishing returns. Creative entropy.
The illusion of infinite generation without real evolution.
This is just another step in our cultural evolution.
I use AI voices now. I prompt choirs, soundtracks, even emotions.
But once I find the direction, I go back and look for real voices.
The ones who can sing live.
The ones who can move people with breath and presence.
Because this is not about choosing between human and machine.
It is about finding the resonance between them.
Yes, the industry is changing.
Voice actors are already feeling the shift.
Even I, as a lifelong musician, can now generate in seconds what might have taken me weeks, months, or even a lifetime to compose.
But here is what people get wrong.
They keep saying it all happens with a simple prompt.
That is false.
It may begin with a simple prompt, but the real depth comes later.
Prompting is not typing. It is sculpting. It is listening.
The ones who will thrive are not those who push buttons.
They are the ones who know what they want.
The ones who feel what is missing.
The ones who can shape the formless into form.
In this new era, prompt engineering is just another word for vision.
So yes, visionaries will survive.
Storytellers will rise.
Artists who adapt will endure.
And the rest of us — including people like me, who once saw themselves as "just musicians" — will have to grow or fade.
I am trying.
I am still here.
I am searching for the signal in the noise.
And I know this: the noise will be almost unbearable.
But somewhere in it, a new kind of music is being born.
About the Author Paul Baraka is an award-winning composer, sound designer, and visionary storyteller. With over 30 years of experience across film, television, and interactive media, he now explores the frontier where ancient signal meets emerging technology. Through sound, spirit, and story, he helps illuminate the creative path in an age of AI.