I love the idea of micropayments but I am skeptical that a) it would work and b) the companies would be willing.
My favorite use case I’ve seen for AI so far is using ChatGPT or the like to come up with ideas NOT to use because what it spits out is by default average.
Great essay! I agree with everything except for one minor quibble. While I am vehemently against how AI steals via "fair use", I presume Tenniel's work has hit the public domain. As such, I don't think his heir should receive any compensation from AI training off his work.
But aside from that, thank you for the balanced presentation. It is indeed an impressive project that is also quite soulless. Cheers!
Hi Justus! Thanks for your kind words. And truly, I think you're right -- Tenniel's work probably is in public domain.
I guess it's a bit of strawman here -- the point being that the totality of artists' work over the years is currently being sucked up into the AI vacuum tubes without either permission or pay or even worse -- acknowledgement!
Most thoughtful Andrew. I particularly like the idea of compensating artists in some way (like that environmental levy every time we purchase a plastic bottle). For that matter, should we all be paying an environmental levy every time we ask ChatGPT to write something for us? The environmental and creative costs are what get me.
I agree, Karen. There are systems of micropayments around and it would cost these companies very little to both implement and pay out artists, compared with the fees and funding they are receiving. I do think it's important to address the environmental costs. I'll do that soon. Curious to hear how you're feeling about using these tools.
Nick Cave, always with the incredible quote.
I love the idea of micropayments but I am skeptical that a) it would work and b) the companies would be willing.
My favorite use case I’ve seen for AI so far is using ChatGPT or the like to come up with ideas NOT to use because what it spits out is by default average.
Thanks, Nathaniel. I really appreciate that (and so does our friend, Nick!)
I'm sure you're right that the companies would not be willing but I do think something along those lines could be made to work. The NYT just had an article about OpenAI hiring an artist to help them promote their appreciation of "creativity". So they definitely need us weirdos lol. Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/card/2024/11/13/technology/openai-artist-alexander-reben?unlocked_article_code=1.Zk4.kJZs.9Cm4qF8OSmqU&smid=url-share
OOh, I would love to see that use case -- if you have any links? :) Going to run that through Claude, too.
Unfortunately, I don't. I just saw a screenshot of a tweet of someone saying they use it to know what not to do!
Great essay! I agree with everything except for one minor quibble. While I am vehemently against how AI steals via "fair use", I presume Tenniel's work has hit the public domain. As such, I don't think his heir should receive any compensation from AI training off his work.
But aside from that, thank you for the balanced presentation. It is indeed an impressive project that is also quite soulless. Cheers!
Hi Justus! Thanks for your kind words. And truly, I think you're right -- Tenniel's work probably is in public domain.
I guess it's a bit of strawman here -- the point being that the totality of artists' work over the years is currently being sucked up into the AI vacuum tubes without either permission or pay or even worse -- acknowledgement!
Absolutely. Totally agree at how badly AI is treating culture. But it makes our tech overlords a few bucks so I guess it's all good.
Personally, I think AI would be more interesting if only trained on public domain work, but I'm an unfashionable weirdo.
Most thoughtful Andrew. I particularly like the idea of compensating artists in some way (like that environmental levy every time we purchase a plastic bottle). For that matter, should we all be paying an environmental levy every time we ask ChatGPT to write something for us? The environmental and creative costs are what get me.
I agree, Karen. There are systems of micropayments around and it would cost these companies very little to both implement and pay out artists, compared with the fees and funding they are receiving. I do think it's important to address the environmental costs. I'll do that soon. Curious to hear how you're feeling about using these tools.
Thanks for taking me down the AI rabbit hole for a few minutes this morning.
My apologies - I only went 2 feet deep this time though