“Any intelligence welcome”

There is something mildly surreal about Parsiana turning to algorithms as in "Any intelligence welcome” (Editorial Viewpoint, March 7-20, 2025) to conjure up bloodied lions and bygone professions. But the images, alas, did resemble the earnest efforts of a particularly imaginative child with a new painting set.

I’ve always felt your magazine’s strength lies in its prose — exacting, occasionally exasperated but to the point, fretful about those who still don’t get it. Is an image always needed?

I hope your forays into Gen AI (generative artificial intelligence) never replace those sepia-toned treasures that adorn your pages — the portraits of plucky industrialists, errant uncles, wayward aunts and the occasional rogue. And if AI is used with a light touch, even the traditionalists might look the other way.

ZUBIN AIBARA

Bülach, Switzerland

aibarazubin@gmail.com

The editors note:

Illustrations are not always essential but they help in creating reader interest and curiosity. They are not a substitute for "sepia toned” photographs or images drawn by artists. But they are readily available and free of cost.

Having read your editorial "Any intelligence welcome” (Parsiana, March 7-20, 2025) on artificial intelligence I would like to share that ChatGPT is transforming the lives of some of my friends. One of them, an ardent lover of Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry, requested it to compose a poem on nature in Tagore’s style, and the result was quite amazing!

We certainly won’t need a Cyrano de Bergerac (character in an eponymous romantic comedy written by Edmond Rostand) any more to write love letters on behalf of his friend! ABAN MUKHERJI

mukherji.aban@gmail.com