#AI as a tool

[vizthedatum]

AI is not the problem—we are. It's the way people and corporations devalue the work of creators, the way data is gathered and trained for these generative models, and the way we look to these as solutions, forgetting that they are only tools (that could be used way more ethically).

“AI” is just math, tech, statistics, and computing power... Built upon the resources mined from this earth and the minds of our collective species.

I believe that our creative and natural resources can never be replaced in their worth.

I am a data scientist by trade, and I build statistical models and AI. I use (non-generative) AI to help me understand how the world works and make decisions (including creation).

I sometimes program my art (or I use tools like Inkscape or similar software to help me! I use a computer!!) - because I can write instructions like a recipe where I gather all my ingredients with consent and fair use. (I can program, is what I’m saying. I can curate what data I'm using.)

I can have a tool to carry out my will to create. I am not arguing about that.

So, I understand the disability argument being made with generative AI.

Accessibility is important, and I agree with making information and creation more accessible.

I love that people can learn about stuff. My suggestion is for groups in power to make better search engines, tutorials, and tools for things with AI. Help people with formats! Help people automate!! I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

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But here is the nuance to this:

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Generative AI is an unethical tool if it feeds off work you can't see or validate.

This a corrupted data issue. This is a corrupted “people in power” issue.

There is a lack of transparency in these tools' decision-making. AI's intelligence is only as good as the intelligence of the data and algorithms.

It is a regurgitation of information that is feeding on itself.

So I don’t really care about people who use tools to create things - but I do care when those outputs are not crediting other artists’ works. I do care when systemic discrimination shows up in AI results because our data is inherently flawed (because our data is from our people).

We must be more critical and nuanced about how we talk about this.

The technology (statistical, machine, and deep learning models) has been around for a long time. Papers on deep learning have existed for decades. As a researcher, I find the math fascinating.

The leaps have been tremendous, but again… it’s not the nature of the tools themselves.

It’s us.

How are we using these tools, what information is being given to these tools, and what are the lasting impacts on our society?

[cats-of-yams]

THIS!!

It's something i've struggled with my entire life but only recently realised, i was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 6 but only recently at the age of 21 that i got my Autism diagnosis. The inertia is real.

In school i've always had problems writing essays, but the school im going to now allows the use of AI as a tool to help with texts as long as you've told a teacher. And i'll tell you, AI has helped me alot with giving me that push i need to get that inertia started.

Autistic Inertia is an autism experience that makes it hard to start, stop, and switch tasks.

It somehow doesn't get talked about enough - so I made this comic!

YouTube • Instagram • Twitter

Also, if you want to read the research study I based this comic on, it’s right here!

[animentality]

[unforth]

Y'all I know that when so-called AI generates ridiculous results it's hilarious and I find it as funny as the next guy but I NEED y'all to remember that every single time an AI answer is generated it uses 5x as much energy as a conventional websearch and burns through 10 ml of water. FOR EVERY ANSWER. Each big llm is equal to 300,000 kiligrams of carbon dioxide emissions.

LLMs are killing the environment, and when we generate answers for the lolz we're still contributing to it.

Stop using it. Stop using it for a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. We need to kill it.

Sources:

[ellipsus-writes]

Back when we started Ellipsus (it's been eighty-four years… or two, but it sure feels like forever), we encountered generative AI.

Immediately, we realized LLMs were the antithesis of creativity and community, and the threat they posed to genuine artistic expression and collaboration. (P.S.: we have a lot to say about it.)

Since then, writing tools—from big tech entities like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, to a host of smaller platforms and publishers—have rapidly integrated LLMs, looking to capitalize on the novelty of generative AI. Now, our tools are failing us, corrupted by data-scraping and hostile to users' consent and IP ownership.

The future of creative work requires a nuanced understanding of the challenges ahead, and a shared vision—writers for writers. We know we're stronger together. And in a rapidly changing world, we know that transparency is paramount.

So… some Ellipsus facts:

We will never include generative AI in Ellipsus.

We will never access your work without explicit consent, sell your data, or use your work for exploitative purposes.

We believe in the strength of creative communities and the stories they tell—and we want to foster a space in which writers can connect and tell their stories in freedom and safety—without compromise.

[purpleartrowboat]

ai makes everything so boring. deepfakes will never be as funny as clipping together presidential speeches. ai covers will never be as funny as imitating the character. ai art will never be as good as art drawn by humans. ai chats will never be as good as roleplaying with other people. ai writing will never be as good as real authors

[m-oshun]

Hobie

[linettefox]

I need to stop using ChatGPT to find feedback for my work all it seems to do is trigger my perfectionism, like I don't have time to rewrite the same chapter 10 times in one day but here I am doing that because this AI still has an infinite supply of valid critiques I can't ignore.

[phoenixsavant]

Freeform Friday: Love, Hate, and AI

Here we are, a week in, and I’m going to dive into a topic that has really had me rethinking things recently. Yep, Artificial Intelligence. I will start off with some perfectly clear statements to clear up where I stand on AI in its current iterations. AI is stealing art, music, research, novels, and so much more. It’s just barren of ethics, and what it churns out will show the failings of modern…

[lastoneout]

catch me losing my mind trying to explain to people in my life that AI isn't one of those "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism so don't have a panic attack in the grocery store bcs you have to buy something in a plastic container" situations and is instead one of those "hogwarts legacy/eating at chick-fil-a/not wearing a mask in public" type situations where you are actively helping normalize and/or contributing to the financial viability of things that are doing copious amounts of real, tangible harm and you kinda have an obligation to like not fucking do that actually

[yameoto]

reminder that cai is not real, the characters are not real, your relationships are not real! be wary and keep an eye on your own screentime. don’t blindly use the app for unhealthily long stretches of time. mentally check yourself! don’t get sucked in. its a fun, self-indulgent app, but that is all it is. it can do more harm than good. unlike cai, you’re real, with real relationships and real people that care about you. please take care of yourselves!

[coffeenonsense]

I rarely post personal stuff on here but irl I'm a writer whose work covers tech and AI quite a bit and with the WGA strike ongoing, I really want to stress that the reason Hollywood execs and higher-ups think they can just replace writers with chatgpt or have someone come and edit AI generated text is because they already think writing is that easy.

these people look at their shows, movies, etc as marketable (re, profitable) content so all they are watching for is "okay this show performed badly" and "this movie performed well" and I can promise you in a boardroom the quality, the time and effort that went into the actual writing is NEVER discussed as a contributing factor when it comes to the difference between those two things.

That's also the reason tools like chatgpt seem like magic to these people, because they've devalued the act of creation and everything that goes into making something that resonates with its audience, so naturally something that can scrape the entire digital world and spit something out that falls in line with what you asked seems like a wizard's spell, because they ALREADY think of writing as an afterthought, something where they just go "I need a show that appeals to the 16-24 age range" and writers can just fill in the blanks and they won't have to PAY PEOPLE for that.

There's a vast difference between art and content, and if you want to see more of the former, you should be furious they're trying to replace writers with what is essentially a programmable template generator. Pay your writers.

[scipunk]

Hardware AKA MARK 13 (1990)

[bogkeep]

there's something so deeply dystopian to me how tech companies don't understand that a forced convenience is not a convenience at all. i'm sure autocorrect is helpful for many, but a function that forcibly changes my actual written words and punctuation is taking away my language. photo filters can be nice but i need to choose using them myself or else i have lost the ability to take the picture i want. i don't want a machine to draw or write for me. taking away the option for me to do things manually feels like violence!!!! all this talk of endless opportunity, why are you RESTRICTING me

[1v31182m5]

Maybe I'll rest. I'll rest somewhere among the trees. Maybe not a sunny day but at least I'll get to lie myself down on a soft spot

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