I think ultimately AI will lose. I have faith people will reject the slop being pushed out by artless losers who are just out to make a quick buck. However, I fear for the artists who will suffer for the next few years while all the powers-that-be greedily double down on AI garbage. “AI” is just the next metaverse, nft, crypto, destructive silicon valley scam. It’ll blow over eventually, but not without ruining some lives first.
It’s become increasingly obvious that these “generative AIs”, “LLMs”, whatever you want to call them, rely entirely on stolen work. There is no way they would ever be able to legally afford to pay for all the “training data” (AKA art) that they’ve stolen for their scam, they have said as much. IMO governments need to stop dragging their feet and stop this mass theft ASAP. Hopefully this happens sooner than later and we can move on.
The point about stolen work is completely accurate -- GenAI art is mass copyright violation, and that's become clearer and clearer with time. We can only hope that governments do take action, although (given the differing laws around the world) it might be impossible to stomp it out altogether. That's the dream, but we'll have to cross our fingers.
As for AI images losing in the long run, it does feel like there's been a real turn against them in the past year. Many in the public are suspicious of them, and that seems likely to increase as they're used for more and more fraud, forgery, disinformation and job-cutting. The question is whether companies will care when it's so cheap to generate stuff instead of paying for it. If the PR problems and stigma get bad enough, and people's contracts get tough enough, we might see AI use start to fade. Hollywood's screenwriters have already struck a big blow against it, so we'll have to see. Let's hope!
Solid coverage of the issue! Time will tell whether modern audiences want just a disposable, cheap thrill or real human connection from their entertainment, but I think it's always our job as artists to provide folks with the best possible options and keep the fire burning for those who need it. Especially children.
As an illustrator who has had to sustain myself via my UX/UI Design day job, I had always hoped that technology would help us with mundane tasks so that we would have more time to pursue creative endeavors like music, literature, and art. Instead, AI driven tech companies went after the creative market, which was already undervalued and underpaid.
Today, not only is my illustration work having to compete with AI-generated garbage, but my day job is being threatened as companies believe that especially User Interface design can be replaced by AI. To quote Pepé Le Pew, "Le sigh."
It really is a disaster. The human cost is already huge, and the results of these kinds of moves have been subpar at best. Hopefully governments start waking up and realizing that they need to protect jobs (and society in general) from all this.
The beautiful thing about being more "human-ier", as @kyle T Webster put it, is we have a point of view. Humans are capable of the creative act, "I saw this incredible (or horrific) thing, this is how I see it, and I made this for you. Enjoy." That's not replaceable. And to have a point a view people want to read, listen, or watch, one must experience life, deeply. How? By living it. Inwardly, or outwardly. I think for some folks, A.I will only amplify their authenticity, because the inauthentic will be as obvious as it is right now when someone in a room is being disingenuous. The group can always tell.
Completely agreed. A lot of this GenAI work is backfiring -- like you put it, it feels disingenuous. It doesn't come from a perspective born from human experiences, and so you don't get that sense of meaningfulness (why THIS shot? why THIS brushstroke?) that human artists bring to every part of their work. GenAI can produce "content," and that's about it. Artists can do a lot more than that!
Still in the “being human-ier” theme. Let them take the content part of all of this, let’s try and not worry about it that much. We got tricked into believing it is important. It is not.
One question, a few days ago I sent you a segment of a regional animation by mail, is it called Aventuras en la Isla del Coco, did you receive it or is it another way, how is it done?
Thanks for the question! We checked and couldn't find the email -- it's possible that Substack's spam filter ate it. Feel free to try again, or alternatively send us a DM! Looking forward to checking it out.
Remember CEOs and Executives are easier to replace by AI and the company gets a huge cash return to hire artists and create wonderful art
Best idea ever!
We do, indeed, need to be more "human-ier." It's the only way!!
Absolutely!
I think ultimately AI will lose. I have faith people will reject the slop being pushed out by artless losers who are just out to make a quick buck. However, I fear for the artists who will suffer for the next few years while all the powers-that-be greedily double down on AI garbage. “AI” is just the next metaverse, nft, crypto, destructive silicon valley scam. It’ll blow over eventually, but not without ruining some lives first.
It’s become increasingly obvious that these “generative AIs”, “LLMs”, whatever you want to call them, rely entirely on stolen work. There is no way they would ever be able to legally afford to pay for all the “training data” (AKA art) that they’ve stolen for their scam, they have said as much. IMO governments need to stop dragging their feet and stop this mass theft ASAP. Hopefully this happens sooner than later and we can move on.
(rant over, obviously I hate this stuff lol)
The point about stolen work is completely accurate -- GenAI art is mass copyright violation, and that's become clearer and clearer with time. We can only hope that governments do take action, although (given the differing laws around the world) it might be impossible to stomp it out altogether. That's the dream, but we'll have to cross our fingers.
As for AI images losing in the long run, it does feel like there's been a real turn against them in the past year. Many in the public are suspicious of them, and that seems likely to increase as they're used for more and more fraud, forgery, disinformation and job-cutting. The question is whether companies will care when it's so cheap to generate stuff instead of paying for it. If the PR problems and stigma get bad enough, and people's contracts get tough enough, we might see AI use start to fade. Hollywood's screenwriters have already struck a big blow against it, so we'll have to see. Let's hope!
Solid coverage of the issue! Time will tell whether modern audiences want just a disposable, cheap thrill or real human connection from their entertainment, but I think it's always our job as artists to provide folks with the best possible options and keep the fire burning for those who need it. Especially children.
This is absolutely the thing -- we've got to at least try. Not trying means that the empty stuff wins by default. As hard as it is, it's essential.
As an illustrator who has had to sustain myself via my UX/UI Design day job, I had always hoped that technology would help us with mundane tasks so that we would have more time to pursue creative endeavors like music, literature, and art. Instead, AI driven tech companies went after the creative market, which was already undervalued and underpaid.
Today, not only is my illustration work having to compete with AI-generated garbage, but my day job is being threatened as companies believe that especially User Interface design can be replaced by AI. To quote Pepé Le Pew, "Le sigh."
It really is a disaster. The human cost is already huge, and the results of these kinds of moves have been subpar at best. Hopefully governments start waking up and realizing that they need to protect jobs (and society in general) from all this.
The beautiful thing about being more "human-ier", as @kyle T Webster put it, is we have a point of view. Humans are capable of the creative act, "I saw this incredible (or horrific) thing, this is how I see it, and I made this for you. Enjoy." That's not replaceable. And to have a point a view people want to read, listen, or watch, one must experience life, deeply. How? By living it. Inwardly, or outwardly. I think for some folks, A.I will only amplify their authenticity, because the inauthentic will be as obvious as it is right now when someone in a room is being disingenuous. The group can always tell.
Completely agreed. A lot of this GenAI work is backfiring -- like you put it, it feels disingenuous. It doesn't come from a perspective born from human experiences, and so you don't get that sense of meaningfulness (why THIS shot? why THIS brushstroke?) that human artists bring to every part of their work. GenAI can produce "content," and that's about it. Artists can do a lot more than that!
Still in the “being human-ier” theme. Let them take the content part of all of this, let’s try and not worry about it that much. We got tricked into believing it is important. It is not.
This is very true.
One question, a few days ago I sent you a segment of a regional animation by mail, is it called Aventuras en la Isla del Coco, did you receive it or is it another way, how is it done?
Thanks for the question! We checked and couldn't find the email -- it's possible that Substack's spam filter ate it. Feel free to try again, or alternatively send us a DM! Looking forward to checking it out.
I already managed to send it to Twitter, I hope it has been helpful
It has been -- thank you!