# Yes, and…

*Improv with AI.* Casey Cavanagh, 2026-10-25. https://caseycavanagh.com/notes/yes-and

AI collaboration is like improv with a teacher’s pet. You get a lot of “yes, and.” Every now and then, you get some really good material.

It agrees with almost everything. It always has to have the last word. It’s non-deterministic so you never know where it’s going to go. A lot of times, it’s a parade of mediocre slop[^1].

I use AI a lot to think through creative side projects and in the process, I inadvertently get philosophical and existential.

For the past 3 years, I’ve been recording every jam, practice, noodle, and song idea. No matter how sloppy or polished, it gets recorded. I’ve been brainstorming with Claude on a tool to help me mine it all for real songs.

Inevitably, I’ve been thinking about how to share the music when it’s been realized. But I got in my head. One night I sent Claude a ramble about whether my music needed an audience at all[^2].

And wow, when it nails it, it truly does nail it. It suggested:

> there’s a version of ‘audience’ that isn’t performance. Not releasing tracks, not building a following — just leaving a trail. Somewhere between diary and gallery
>
> — Claude

That created a little spark for me and has given me a boost to think more on this.

And now, I’m the one saying “yes, and…”, not the AI.

[^1]: I am exploring how to wrangle this conundrum. More on that in a future note.

[^2]: I hated that I asked this, to be honest. I wish I reserved that question for someone close to me or my therapist but I reached for Claude nonetheless.

*Proof of human: Human Written (100% human) according to Pangram 4.1, checked 2026-10-26. The quote from Claude isn’t counted. Report: https://www.pangram.com/history/46979bf6-5173-4505-8609-45371c79dde0*