#ai co-worker

[reallytoosublime]

AI co-worker refers to an artificial intelligence system or tool that collaborates with human employees in a workplace, contributing to tasks, decision-making, and overall productivity. The concept of an AI co-worker is to augment and support human workers rather than replace them. In this video, we'll be exploring AI co-workers and why your next colleague will be an AI.

As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, it's becoming increasingly evident that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a pivotal role in the workplace of the future. The notion that AI will be your next colleague is no longer a distant futuristic concept; it's a reality that's rapidly unfolding. Here's a long description of why your next colleague will likely be an AI:

Efficiency and Productivity: AI is a game-changer when it comes to efficiency and productivity. It can automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more creative, strategic, and high-value tasks. This means that AI isn't just a tool but a collaborator that enhances your work.

Rapid Technological Advancements: Over the past few decades, AI has evolved from being a theoretical concept to a practical tool. With advancements in machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, AI has become more capable and versatile. It can perform tasks that were once exclusive to human workers.

Data Analysis: AI has a remarkable ability to analyze vast amounts of data at incredible speeds. It can identify patterns, trends, and anomalies that might be impossible for humans to detect. In roles that involve data-driven decision-making, AI can be an indispensable colleague, offering insights that can shape strategies.

Personalized Assistance: AI-powered virtual assistants like chatbots and voice-activated assistants have already made their way into many workplaces. They can help schedule meetings, answer routine questions, and provide personalized support, acting as a constant, readily available colleague.

Customer Interaction: In customer service and support roles, AI-driven chatbots and automated response systems can handle routine customer inquiries and issues. They can also provide instant responses, ensuring customers receive assistance 24/7.

Enhanced Creativity: AI algorithms are being used to enhance creativity. In fields like music, art, and content creation, AI tools can collaborate with human colleagues, suggesting innovative ideas and even generating content, while humans provide the creative touch.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation: AI doesn't stop learning. It adapts to changing circumstances, improving over time. This adaptability is a valuable trait in workplaces that require keeping up with evolving technologies and market trends.

#aicoworker#aitechnology#aisystem#aiworker#aimentor#howaiworks#aitools#coworker#aicolleagues#aitech#workingwithai#aicopilot#aiinbusiness#ai#aitechnology#artificialintelligence#machinelearning#aiworkerjobs#aiworkerproductivity#openai#coworkerai#artificialintelligencecoworker#aitryingjobs#thefutureofai#aialgorithms#aijobs#technology#limitlesstech

AI Co-Worker: Why Your Next Colleague Will Be an AI

[youtubemarketing1234]

AI co-worker refers to an artificial intelligence system or tool that collaborates with human employees in a workplace, contributing to tasks, decision-making, and overall productivity. The concept of an AI co-worker is to augment and support human workers rather than replace them. In this video, we'll be exploring AI co-workers and why your next colleague will be an AI.

As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, it's becoming increasingly evident that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a pivotal role in the workplace of the future. The notion that AI will be your next colleague is no longer a distant futuristic concept; it's a reality that's rapidly unfolding. Here's a long description of why your next colleague will likely be an AI:

Efficiency and Productivity: AI is a game-changer when it comes to efficiency and productivity. It can automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more creative, strategic, and high-value tasks. This means that AI isn't just a tool but a collaborator that enhances your work.

Rapid Technological Advancements: Over the past few decades, AI has evolved from being a theoretical concept to a practical tool. With advancements in machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, AI has become more capable and versatile. It can perform tasks that were once exclusive to human workers.

Data Analysis: AI has a remarkable ability to analyze vast amounts of data at incredible speeds. It can identify patterns, trends, and anomalies that might be impossible for humans to detect. In roles that involve data-driven decision-making, AI can be an indispensable colleague, offering insights that can shape strategies.

Personalized Assistance: AI-powered virtual assistants like chatbots and voice-activated assistants have already made their way into many workplaces. They can help schedule meetings, answer routine questions, and provide personalized support, acting as a constant, readily available colleague.

Customer Interaction: In customer service and support roles, AI-driven chatbots and automated response systems can handle routine customer inquiries and issues. They can also provide instant responses, ensuring customers receive assistance 24/7.

Enhanced Creativity: AI algorithms are being used to enhance creativity. In fields like music, art, and content creation, AI tools can collaborate with human colleagues, suggesting innovative ideas and even generating content, while humans provide the creative touch.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation: AI doesn't stop learning. It adapts to changing circumstances, improving over time. This adaptability is a valuable trait in workplaces that require keeping up with evolving technologies and market trends.

[mpregstuff]

Boldly Expecting Office Life | In a bustling office, a young man confidently embraces his unique journey with an 8-month pregnant belly. Dressed in a crisp shirt, he sits at his desk, radiating both strength and vulnerability. Around him, colleagues gather, offering encouragement with smiles and supportive words. The atmosphere is charged with a mix of curiosity and camaraderie, breaking the mold of traditional expectations. This isn't just a day at the office; it's a celebration of individuality and the unexpected roles we all can play. As he navigates paperwork and baby preparations, the camaraderie shines through, proving that even in the most ordinary settings, extraordinary stories can unfold. Here, every moment is a chance to challenge norms and redefine masculinity in the most engaging and relatable ways. More images are also available at https://mpregstuff.com.

[roman-ai]

[inertia-writes]

a laugh that lives on

You felt like a midsummer evening

Bursting skies & yellow hues.

As if you'd gotten drunk on sunlight

And left me intoxicated too.

It started small, quiet & warm

I'd never heard a laugh like yours,

All I knew that it had me hooked

And it'd left me wanting more.

And half of my (rehearsed) jokes

And one-liners I'd kept on saying,

Were just means to evoke

That melody I'd kept on craving.

For it was a rather contagious thing

That rippled through the air,

Like a song you'd play on repeat

To which nothing else compared.

And no matter where you are,

Or where you decide to go,

That wondrous laugh of yours

Is a sound I'll always know.

[dykevalkyriecain]

I don't care what internet commie says otherwise dear God talk to somone other than ai therapy bots at least you can sue a therapist for malpractice oh my god

[hamthezombie]

My co-worker as soon as I sit down at my desk this morning: "Have you seen this new AI chat program????"

[igradeed]

I Grade Ed Improves Student Productivity in Us

IGrade ed is a revolutionary AI tool on the Cloud. AI writing tool, assignment management tool to manage the projects you create with AI and many more.

[spacedace]

My company's CEO practically holding my coworkers and I at gun point to us AI putting up signs like this while making direct unblinking eye contact and going through the same exact speech he's been giving word for word, beat by beat for weeks now talking about how much more efficient we'll be if we use AI and how it much it helped him woth little tasks like typing up this notice for him and have we tried AI? We should try AI! How much AI are you using? Can you use more AI? Can you be AI? Can you merge with it? Can you hear the call to become one with the Great Devourer? The Holy Amalgamate that we should all surrender to? Can you? CAN YOU?

...

Great meeting team! Anyway make sure to fill out those employee engagement surveys by the end of the week! Oh, and you should use AI to do it!

[alexiajjk]

jungkook fic recs list (part 3) ౨ৎ

i’m more than a month late i’m sorry :’( but part 3 is finally here!! i hope you enjoy these stories, all of them are sosososo good and well written! the authors are amazing <3 minors dni!

⭑ part 1, part 2

a- angst f- fluff s- smut

series (completed)

candles & flames by @taegularities

enemies to lovers, royal!au (a, f, s)

He wasn’t supposed to be yours. His foolery wasn’t supposed to target you. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

an abundance of luck & a sprinkle of fate by @borathae

ceo!jungkook x sexworker!reader, strangers to lovers!au, bdsm, hurt and comfort (a, f, s)

"When two souls, with different reasons for why life has broken them, find together, it needs a whole lot of a luck and a little bit of fate to make them see that maybe healing together isn’t as bad as it sounds.” 

the farmhouse by @solecize

childhood friends to lovers/small town au (a, f)

every summer on your grandpa's farm was real-life magic to your younger self, who left a piece of her heart in amber valley when the years went on and the town became nothing but a faint childhood memory. soon enough, you become rocked by his death and realize the dead end in your bustling city world. this leads to you making an abrupt decision. despite knowing nothing but designer purses and the corporate ladder, you uproot your entire life to take over your grandfather's old farm in the town you were desperately trying to remember - alongside a familiar face from your youth that permanently finds his way into your heart.

sinful lust by @oddinary4bts

bisexual boyfriend!yoongi x female!reader x jungkook, snippets of life!au (a, s, a bit of f)

in an attempt to spice up your bedroom life with your boyfriend Min Yoongi, you suggest bringing another man into the action. Yoongi seems reluctant at first, but when you mention his friend Jeon Jungkook, he can’t deny his attraction. All that’s left to do is to convince Jungkook into participating...

evolution of a lover’s heart by @jeonstudios

college au, fuckboy au, bet au (a, f, s)

the rules are simple: first one to take the virginity wins

blackout by @jjungxkook

best friends to lovers, roommate au, college au (f, s)

Utility bills shooting up like this should be an international crime. Luckily, Jungkook has the perfect idea(s) to save up money and make your night sinfully unforgettable.

how many by @yoon-kooks

jungkook x tattoo artist!reader, bad boy!au (f, s)

To Jeon Jungkook, you're just the cutie who sits across from him in art class. He doesn’t have a clue that you're also the hidden face of his favorite tattoo artist on social media. When the bad boy notices you've taken a surprising interest in his ink, he dares you to explore every inch of his body until all of his tattoos are accounted for. Tempted by his irresistible smile and delicate touch, you might even let him in on your little secret.

series (ongoing)

something about you by @ahundredtimesover

friends au, vacation au, semi slow burn, romcom-ish vibe; ays jk; PE teacher!jk and researcher!oc (f, s?)

You and Jungkook have been friends for a decade. And while he’s the charming and dependable, often reserved boy-next-door, he’s also just been a friend - a constant in your life, a part of a whole, and someone who’s seen all the flawed and probably unattractive sides of you.

A resumption of your friend group’s out-of-town trips has caused you to spend more time with him. And somewhere in between the morning coffee in the forest, running around in the snow, and watching the sunset on a boat, he’s become something more. And you’re not quite sure how to deal with it.

teach me how to love by @kookooluvr

fwb!au, co-workers!au, professor!jungkook, professor!reader, fwb2l, slow burn (a, f, s)

jeon jungkook, a fellow professor at yonsei university, is your friend, co-worker, and secret bed buddy. you have rules set in place to make sure there are no misunderstandings in your little arrangement. the #1 rule is as clear as day; no catching feelings. simple, right? wrong. let's see how un-simple it gets when a certain economics professor falls for an emotionally unavailable political science professor.

bad decisions (ao3) by @alphabetboyluvr

bartender!jungkook x female reader | strangers-friends-lovers, fwb (a, f, s)

it’s simple: write your deepest darkest fears on origami birds and string them up on jungkook’s ceiling. when they fall—which they inevitably will, thanks to his cheap daiso washi tape—you have to face the fear. set it free. the issue? you’ve a fear of intimacy. jungkook, a fear of rejection. and you’ve both got the capacity to make some incredibly bad decisions.

oneshots

petal to the metal by @luxekook

jewelry-maker jungkook x florist reader, idiots to lovers (a, f)

every sunday, the farmers’ market took place in the center of town. vendors from near and far traveled to sell their crafts, their produce, their teas. as the local florist, you figured that running a booth each weekend would boost your business and bring in new clients. at least, those were your reasons in the beginning. but, now? now, you returned just for the handsome jewelry-maker whose booth was next to yours. 

the kids aren’t alright by @sketchguk

fwb!jeongguk x pastor’s kid (p.k)!reader, f2l, fwb au (a, f, s)

sneaking around with jeongguk during your christian retreat is complicated when you’re both dedicated to your jobs as co-youth group counselors at your father’s ministry.

paddle with me (two-shot) by @yoongsgguktae

campcounselor!au, e2l, pwp (s)

when your camp leader forces you and jeongguk as partners in a team building activity. with frustrations and anger flaring during your journey down the river, how will all this pent-up emotion get released?

mind in the gutter by @kpopfanfictrash

bowling!au, workplace!au, rom-com (s)

Starting over is never fun. Especially not when you decide to take the phrase fully to heart; new job, new city, new coworkers and new relationships. When you are dragged to a happy hour by your new co-worker, Taehyung, you end up sitting beside a (very) cute, (very) shy IT worker named Jungkook. Several drinks later, he mentions he is in a professional bowling league with his friends and you rather enthusiastically invite yourself along. As time passes and you begin to grow closer, you still find it impossible to read Jungkook. Working in the same company and seeing each other so often, it is only so long before one of you snaps. But who?

sleepover by @personasintro

best friend's brother au (f, s)

Jeongguk is your best friend’s little brother who invites you to have a sleepover at his place. Nothing can happen, right?

[reasonsforhope]

Green energy is in its heyday. 

Renewable energy sources now account for 22% of the nation’s electricity, and solar has skyrocketed eight times over in the last decade. This spring in California, wind, water, and solar power energy sources exceeded expectations, accounting for an average of 61.5 percent of the state's electricity demand across 52 days. 

But green energy has a lithium problem. Lithium batteries control more than 90% of the global grid battery storage market. 

That’s not just cell phones, laptops, electric toothbrushes, and tools. Scooters, e-bikes, hybrids, and electric vehicles all rely on rechargeable lithium batteries to get going. 

Fortunately, this past week, Natron Energy launched its first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. 

“Sodium-ion batteries offer a unique alternative to lithium-ion, with higher power, faster recharge, longer lifecycle and a completely safe and stable chemistry,” said Colin Wessells — Natron Founder and Co-CEO — at the kick-off event in Michigan. 

The new sodium-ion batteries charge and discharge at rates 10 times faster than lithium-ion, with an estimated lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Wessells said that using sodium as a primary mineral alternative eliminates industry-wide issues of worker negligence, geopolitical disruption, and the “questionable environmental impacts” inextricably linked to lithium mining. 

“The electrification of our economy is dependent on the development and production of new, innovative energy storage solutions,” Wessells said. 

Why are sodium batteries a better alternative to lithium?

The birth and death cycle of lithium is shadowed in environmental destruction. The process of extracting lithium pollutes the water, air, and soil, and when it’s eventually discarded, the flammable batteries are prone to bursting into flames and burning out in landfills. 

There’s also a human cost. Lithium-ion materials like cobalt and nickel are not only harder to source and procure, but their supply chains are also overwhelmingly attributed to hazardous working conditions and child labor law violations. 

Sodium, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1,000 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. 

“Unlike lithium, sodium can be produced from an abundant material: salt,” engineer Casey Crownhart wrote ​​in the MIT Technology Review. “Because the raw ingredients are cheap and widely available, there’s potential for sodium-ion batteries to be significantly less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts if more companies start making more of them.”

What will these batteries be used for?

Right now, Natron has its focus set on AI models and data storage centers, which consume hefty amounts of energy. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that one AI model can emit more than 626,00 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. 

“We expect our battery solutions will be used to power the explosive growth in data centers used for Artificial Intelligence,” said Wendell Brooks, co-CEO of Natron. 

“With the start of commercial-scale production here in Michigan, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for efficient, safe, and reliable battery energy storage.”

The fast-charging energy alternative also has limitless potential on a consumer level, and Natron is eying telecommunications and EV fast-charging once it begins servicing AI data storage centers in June. 

On a larger scale, sodium-ion batteries could radically change the manufacturing and production sectors — from housing energy to lower electricity costs in warehouses, to charging backup stations and powering electric vehicles, trucks, forklifts, and so on. 

“I founded Natron because we saw climate change as the defining problem of our time,” Wessells said. “We believe batteries have a role to play.”

-via GoodGoodGood, May 3, 2024

--

Note: I wanted to make sure this was legit (scientifically and in general), and I'm happy to report that it really is! x, x, x, x

[oifaaa]

Never been more disappointed in a person then just now when one of my favourite co-workers sent me a ai ghibli of himself forcing me to once again remember the average person doesn't see anything wrong with using ai art

[https-bakugo]

Co-Worker Izuku / (i.midoriya x GN! Reader) (Headcannons)

♡ cw / tw : -

Co-Worker Izuku who seems to have developed a teeny tiny little crush on one of his fellow teachers. He just can't help himself! With the way you carry yourself and speak of your students in such a loving and caring manner, he was bound to fall eventually! Cut the poor man some slack.

Co-Worker Izuku who nervously asks if you want to share your lunch break with him, looking for any excuse to spend private time with you. The lunch itself moves smoothly, and Izuku’s glad that he had the chance to make you smile during it.

Co-Worker Izuku who doesn't notice the fact that his students have begun to notice something different about their teacher. He seems to be in a world of his own lately, his thoughts seem scattered and it’s when one of the girls points out that he seems to be suspiciously red in the cheeks when he’s around you - that's when the rest of the class put two and two together. 

Co-Worker Izuku who pathetically begs his class not to tell, telling them that he’d do anything for them to keep their mouths shut. He knows it's futile to try and argue with teenagers who have potential blackmail material. He knows there's no hope for him but he desperately wants to cling onto the last few moments he has by your side in ignorant bliss.

Co-Worker Izuku who stutters and stumbles over his words when you corner him after class with a small smirk on your pretty lips, and a hand on your hips. “A little birdie told me that you may or may not have a crush on me? Care to elaborate Izuku?”

Co-Worker Izuku who stammers out a few apologies and tells you that its okay if you both just remained friends, that you didn’t need to ruin your friendship with him because he felt this way about you.

Co-Worker Izuku who is absolutely floored when, instead of making fun of him, or rejecting him, you pull him in for a kiss, leaving him a flushed mess.

Co-Worker Izuku who decides it’s probably best if he just ignores the sound of teenagers giggling from behind that wall.

© HTTPS-BAKUGO. Do not steal, copy or use any of my work for AI. Legal action will take place if caught.

Tagging: @rueclfer

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Penguin Random House, AI, and writers’ rights

NEXT WEDNESDAY (October 23) at 7PM, I'll be in DECATUR, GEORGIA, presenting my novel THE BEZZLE at EAGLE EYE BOOKS.

My friend Teresa Nielsen Hayden is a wellspring of wise sayings, like "you're not responsible for what you do in other people's dreams," and my all time favorite, from the Napster era: "Just because you're on their side, it doesn't mean they're on your side."

The record labels hated Napster, and so did many musicians, and when those musicians sided with their labels in the legal and public relations campaigns against file-sharing, they lent both legal and public legitimacy to the labels' cause, which ultimately prevailed.

But the labels weren't on musicians' side. The demise of Napster and with it, the idea of a blanket-license system for internet music distribution (similar to the systems for radio, live performance, and canned music at venues and shops) firmly established that new services must obtain permission from the labels in order to operate.

That era is very good for the labels. The three-label cartel – Universal, Warner and Sony – was in a position to dictate terms like Spotify, who handed over billions of dollars worth of stock, and let the Big Three co-design the royalty scheme that Spotify would operate under.

If you know anything about Spotify payments, it's probably this: they are extremely unfavorable to artists. This is true – but that doesn't mean it's unfavorable to the Big Three labels. The Big Three get guaranteed monthly payments (much of which is booked as "unattributable royalties" that the labels can disperse or keep as they see fit), along with free inclusion on key playlists and other valuable services. What's more, the ultra-low payouts to artists increase the value of the labels' stock in Spotify, since the less Spotify has to pay for music, the better it looks to investors.

The Big Three – who own 70% of all music ever recorded, thanks to an orgy of mergers – make up the shortfall from these low per-stream rates with guaranteed payments and promo.

But the indy labels and musicians that account for the remaining 30% are out in the cold. They are locked into the same fractional-penny-per-stream royalty scheme as the Big Three, but they don't get gigantic monthly cash guarantees, and they have to pay the playlist placement the Big Three get for free.

Just because you're on their side, it doesn't mean they're on your side:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/12/streaming-doesnt-pay/#stunt-publishing

In a very important, material sense, creative workers – writers, filmmakers, photographers, illustrators, painters and musicians – are not on the same side as the labels, agencies, studios and publishers that bring our work to market. Those companies are not charities; they are driven to maximize profits and an important way to do that is to reduce costs, including and especially the cost of paying us for our work.

It's easy to miss this fact because the workers at these giant entertainment companies are our class allies. The same impulse to constrain payments to writers is in play when entertainment companies think about how much they pay editors, assistants, publicists, and the mail-room staff. These are the people that creative workers deal with on a day to day basis, and they are on our side, by and large, and it's easy to conflate these people with their employers.

This class war need not be the central fact of creative workers' relationship with our publishers, labels, studios, etc. When there are lots of these entertainment companies, they compete with one another for our work (and for the labor of the workers who bring that work to market), which increases our share of the profit our work produces.

But we live in an era of extreme market concentration in every sector, including entertainment, where we deal with five publishers, four studios, three labels, two ad-tech companies and a single company that controls all the ebooks and audiobooks. That concentration makes it much harder for artists to bargain effectively with entertainments companies, and that means that it's possible -likely, even – for entertainment companies to gain market advantages that aren't shared with creative workers. In other words, when your field is dominated by a cartel, you may be on on their side, but they're almost certainly not on your side.

This week, Penguin Random House, the largest publisher in the history of the human race, made headlines when it changed the copyright notice in its books to ban AI training:

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/penguin-random-house-underscores-copyright-protection-in-ai-rebuff

The copyright page now includes this phrase:

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.

Many writers are celebrating this move as a victory for creative workers' rights over AI companies, who have raised hundreds of billions of dollars in part by promising our bosses that they can fire us and replace us with algorithms.

But these writers are assuming that just because they're on Penguin Random House's side, PRH is on their side. They're assuming that if PRH fights against AI companies training bots on their work for free, that this means PRH won't allow bots to be trained on their work at all.

This is a pretty naive take. What's far more likely is that PRH will use whatever legal rights it has to insist that AI companies pay it for the right to train chatbots on the books we write. It is vanishingly unlikely that PRH will share that license money with the writers whose books are then shoveled into the bot's training-hopper. It's also extremely likely that PRH will try to use the output of chatbots to erode our wages, or fire us altogether and replace our work with AI slop.

This is speculation on my part, but it's informed speculation. Note that PRH did not announce that it would allow authors to assert the contractual right to block their work from being used to train a chatbot, or that it was offering authors a share of any training license fees, or a share of the income from anything produced by bots that are trained on our work.

Indeed, as publishing boiled itself down from the thirty-some mid-sized publishers that flourished when I was a baby writer into the Big Five that dominate the field today, their contracts have gotten notably, materially worse for writers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/19/reasonable-agreement/

This is completely unsurprising. In any auction, the more serious bidders there are, the higher the final price will be. When there were thirty potential bidders for our work, we got a better deal on average than we do now, when there are at most five bidders.

Though this is self-evident, Penguin Random House insists that it's not true. Back when PRH was trying to buy Simon & Schuster (thereby reducing the Big Five publishers to the Big Four), they insisted that they would continue to bid against themselves, with editors at Simon & Schuster (a division of PRH) bidding against editors at Penguin (a division of PRH) and Random House (a division of PRH).

This is obvious nonsense, as Stephen King said when he testified against the merger (which was subsequently blocked by the court): "You might as well say you’re going to have a husband and wife bidding against each other for the same house. It would be sort of very gentlemanly and sort of, 'After you' and 'After you'":

https://apnews.com/article/stephen-king-government-and-politics-b3ab31d8d8369e7feed7ce454153a03c

Penguin Random House didn't become the largest publisher in history by publishing better books or doing better marketing. They attained their scale by buying out their rivals. The company is actually a kind of colony organism made up of dozens of once-independent publishers. Every one of those acquisitions reduced the bargaining power of writers, even writers who don't write for PRH, because the disappearance of a credible bidder for our work into the PRH corporate portfolio reduces the potential bidders for our work no matter who we're selling it to.

I predict that PRH will not allow its writers to add a clause to their contracts forbidding PRH from using their work to train an AI. That prediction is based on my direct experience with two of the other Big Five publishers, where I know for a fact that they point-blank refused to do this, and told the writer that any insistence on including this contract would lead to the offer being rescinded.

The Big Five have remarkably similar contracting terms. Or rather, unremarkably similar contracts, since concentrated industries tend to converge in their operational behavior. The Big Five are similar enough that it's generally understood that a writer who sues one of the Big Five publishers will likely find themselves blackballed at the rest.

My own agent gave me this advice when one of the Big Five stole more than $10,000 from me – canceled a project that I was part of because another person involved with it pulled out, and then took five figures out of the killfee specified in my contract, just because they could. My agent told me that even though I would certainly win that lawsuit, it would come at the cost of my career, since it would put me in bad odor with all of the Big Five.

The writers who are cheering on Penguin Random House's new copyright notice are operating under the mistaken belief that this will make it less likely that our bosses will buy an AI in hopes of replacing us with it:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids

That's not true. Giving Penguin Random House the right to demand license fees for AI training will do nothing to reduce the likelihood that Penguin Random House will choose to buy an AI in hopes of eroding our wages or firing us.

But something else will! The US Copyright Office has issued a series of rulings, upheld by the courts, asserting that nothing made by an AI can be copyrighted. By statute and international treaty, copyright is a right reserved for works of human creativity (that's why the "monkey selfie" can't be copyrighted):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/

All other things being equal, entertainment companies would prefer to pay creative workers as little as possible (or nothing at all) for our work. But as strong as their preference for reducing payments to artists is, they are far more committed to being able to control who can copy, sell and distribute the works they release.

In other words, when confronted with a choice of "We don't have to pay artists anymore" and "Anyone can sell or give away our products and we won't get a dime from it," entertainment companies will pay artists all day long.

Remember that dope everyone laughed at because he scammed his way into winning an art contest with some AI slop then got angry because people were copying "his" picture? That guy's insistence that his slop should be entitled to copyright is far more dangerous than the original scam of pretending that he painted the slop in the first place:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/artist-appeals-copyright-denial-for-prize-winning-ai-generated-work/

If PRH was intervening in these Copyright Office AI copyrightability cases to say AI works can't be copyrighted, that would be an instance where we were on their side and they were on our side. The day they submit an amicus brief or rulemaking comment supporting no-copyright-for-AI, I'll sing their praises to the heavens.

But this change to PRH's copyright notice won't improve writers' bank-balances. Giving writers the ability to control AI training isn't going to stop PRH and other giant entertainment companies from training AIs with our work. They'll just say, "If you don't sign away the right to train an AI with your work, we won't publish you."

The biggest predictor of how much money an artist sees from the exploitation of their work isn't how many exclusive rights we have, it's how much bargaining power we have. When you bargain against five publishers, four studios or three labels, any new rights you get from Congress or the courts is simply transferred to them the next time you negotiate a contract.

As Rebecca Giblin and I write in our 2022 book Chokepoint Capitalism:

Giving a creative worker more copyright is like giving your bullied schoolkid more lunch money. No matter how much you give them, the bullies will take it all. Give your kid enough lunch money and the bullies will be able to bribe the principle to look the other way. Keep giving that kid lunch money and the bullies will be able to launch a global appeal demanding more lunch money for hungry kids!

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

As creative workers' fortunes have declined through the neoliberal era of mergers and consolidation, we've allowed ourselves to be distracted with campaigns to get us more copyright, rather than more bargaining power.

There are copyright policies that get us more bargaining power. Banning AI works from getting copyright gives us more bargaining power. After all, just because AI can't do our job, it doesn't follow that AI salesmen can't convince our bosses to fire us and replace us with incompetent AI:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/11/robots-stole-my-jerb/#computer-says-no

Then there's "copyright termination." Under the 1976 Copyright Act, creative workers can take back the copyright to their works after 35 years, even if they sign a contract giving up the copyright for its full term:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/26/take-it-back/

Creative workers from George Clinton to Stephen King to Stan Lee have converted this right to money – unlike, say, longer terms of copyright, which are simply transferred to entertainment companies through non-negotiable contractual clauses. Rather than joining our publishers in fighting for longer terms of copyright, we could be demanding shorter terms for copyright termination, say, the right to take back a popular book or song or movie or illustration after 14 years (as was the case in the original US copyright system), and resell it for more money as a risk-free, proven success.

Until then, remember, just because you're on their side, it doesn't mean they're on your side. They don't want to prevent AI slop from reducing your wages, they just want to make sure it's their AI slop puts you on the breadline.

Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/19/gander-sauce/#just-because-youre-on-their-side-it-doesnt-mean-theyre-on-your-side

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[wannaeatramyeon]

Ryuhei Kuroda x Reader: Imaginary

G/N. Some fluff cos I miss him too. Masterlists

Everyone has heard about you in Workers.

At first, they had thought it was just the delusional ramblings of their executive, Ryuhei Kuroda.

Finally driven mad after Mitsuki's absence and making up tall tales about a mysterious new person to take the edge off the heartache.

You're the cutest, the prettiest, the smartest he would gush to anyone within earshot. You had a smile that could light up the darkest corner and a warmth that could thaw the coldest person.

Supposedly.

Kenta has had the misfortune to hear all about this. And Mandeok. And Yuseong. And Eugene.

Your name has been crowbarred into conversations that really have nothing to do with you. Into meetings and conferences and awkward journeys in the car that no matter how many times Ryuhei is asked to shut up, he will still find a way to bring you up.

Most of it should have been easy to ignore. His friends and colleagues figured these made up stories would soon fade away.

Then the delusion worsened.

Ryuhei's phone wallpaper was changed to a picture of the two of you. The sun's glare was a bit too full to make out all your features, filter a bit too strong, and well-

It all seemed a bit too fake. Whether with the power of Photoshop or AI was anyone's guess.

The lower level workers nodded and smiled politely whenever Ryuhei showed them that picture of you. All the senior team just ignored him.

And it was sorta easy to ignore. Except the number of pictures grew and grew.

Until it becomes obvious that you are real or Ryuhei is spending a psychotic amount of time creating fake couple pics. The evidence that you are not the result of his imagination working overtime is beginning to look pretty indisputable, yet no-one truly, one hundred percent, ruled out the latter.

"Very good," Eugene comments, not even looking and pushing Ryuhei's phone away when it is thrust in his face.

Ryuhei beams. "Thanks!"

.

.

The truth startles everyone one evening.

As the Workers employees finish for their day, making their way out of the building and starting their commute home, they spot you waiting in the reception area.

How could they not recognise you? Ryuhei has been showing your face around constantly.

You... You are so much sweeter than Ryuhei is used to. None of the edge or malice that Mitsuki had. One look at you and it's obvious.

No air of manipulation or wrong-doing. Definitely not a likely candidate to drug a man and erase his memories.

Someone normal, without the baggage that comes with their sort of lifestyle.

And maybe with you and Ryuhei, opposites attract.

Eugene's eyes flicker towards you as he walks past. Mandeok, flanking his left, manages to control his jaw from dropping and Yuseong, on the right, shrugs.

Kenta arrives a couple minutes later and double takes. Confusion clouds his features. He stares for a beat too long to be considered polite then also leaves.

You don't notice Kenta or any of the odd looks diverted your way. Your eyes are glued to your phone, soft smile on your face as a series of texts and selfies from Ryuhei come through:

😣😭

Soooorry 😭😭

Just finishing work

*Photo of Ryuhei on the verge of tears in an empty office and a laptop glares behind him*

I hate that you have to wait for me

I hate not seeing you

I hate Eugene

I'll kill him 🤬

Stupid bastard

You're the best

🥰🥰

Thank you for waiting for me ❤️❤️

*Photo of Ryuhei giving you fingers heart and a kissy face*

You text back, short and sweet:

I'll always wait for you

Not even five minutes later, a blur of blonde hair and muscles falls into your lap and wraps you tightly in his arms.

"Fuck work," Ryuhei snarls before turning to you with a toothy grin.

All previous venom is already forgotten as he smothers your face with kisses.

[project-carnival]

Project: Carnival AU Masterpost

Welcome Player_1

This story is a thriller, sci-fi AU of the indie animated series The Amazing Digital Circus created by Gooseworx.

It follows Agatha, a game developer at C&A, as she encounters an unusual phenomenon upon entering a bright red exit door: a ruined carnival run entirely by an AI ringmaster. This discovery takes over her and her co-workers' lives as they search for a way to destroy it for good. Through a harrowing journey, filled with dangerous entities, an unlikely friend turned foe, and growing bonds; will the crew end the disastrous AI, or will they succumb to the enticement of the carnival?

[Disclaimer] This comic/series will contain heavier topics that might not be suitable for all audiences (12+) including:

Fantasy violence, mild language, implications or references to emotional abuse, references to alcohol and/or alcoholic abuse [more possibly TBD]

Character Cards

Official Works/Comics

Prologue

Chapter 1 (Coming soon)

FAQ

"Is this an ask blog?"

Not exactly. This comic has a main storyline, however asks will be opened periodically to interract with characters. These asks may change minor details of the story, but they will not change the overall narrative.

"Are there any canon ships?"

Yes! This AU is very Ragapom (Ragatha x Pomni) focused in terms of ships. There might be some side relationships however that is not determined yet. So if this ship is not your type, then this AU might not be for you.

"Can I make fanart/fics/OCs of this AU?"

Of course! I would love to see it! Tag me in these works so I can see them too!

"Is NSFW allowed?"

No. Please do not make content of this AU of that nature. It's personally disturbing for me so please refrain from doing so. Also, please refrain from asking any of these types of questions, you will be blocked for doing so.

"Will X character be in this AU?"

I'm not positive if I will add any of the NPCs from the original show into this AU, so it's not completely off the table but I'm not making plans to do so right now.

"Are requests allowed?"

Aside from asks, I am not currently taking requests. This might change on my main blog, which can be found here (sorry it's very empty at the moment)

"Can I use your art as a pfp or other icon?"

Yes, however please ask before doing so and make sure to credit my artwork.

"Can I repost your artwork?"

Yes this is entirely okay with me! Please credit my blog though if it is shared across websites.

"What programs/hardware do you use?"

Drawing tablet: Huion Kamvas 16 (2021 version)

Drawing program: Autodesk Sketchbook

Animation program: Krita

Editing program: Hitfilm

[For any other questions please DO NOT DM me, send them in the asks or in the asks on my main blog]

Welcome to the Carnival!