No-Code Steps to an AI-Assisted Pandemic Memoir

Digital innovations such as desktop word processing, photo and video editing opened up new technology-assisted creative possibilities for those without specialist training in design, publishing, photography and film. Spreadsheets created new informational management capabilities for people who previously wouldn't have worked with domain-specific tabular data like accountancy worksheets. Similarly, tools like RunwayML, an online graphical-interface platform for machine learning tools like video editing and text generation, open up machine learning techniques like StyleGAN to those without data science skills, offering a new wave of creative exploration. This paper describes the methods for creating the multimedia AI-assisted pandemic memoir Pelican Stairs and discusses further ramifications for the commodification of machine learning tools for artists.