There are literally millions of pieces of art everywhere that are free or basically free to view and in many cases use for whatever your heart desires. This is about not getting exactly the piece of art you want to see created and as it turns out there is another alternative open to those without the money to pay artists.
And how does it benefit artists if I search through those millions of free things instead of using a tool to make exactly what I want? I mean, I also built my own deck, drywalled and painted most of my house, changed the plumbing and wiring, put on roofing… I can’t even think of all the things I’ve done instead of hiring somebody. And I learned it all by imitating professional work. Does that make me evil? Did I “steal” from them? Should I not be allowed to own power tools because they take work away from craftspeople?
When I consider this issue, the analogy looks more like someone has invented a robot to do contractor work. Of course it’s true that it will put many human contractors out of work.
But no, I don’t think using the robot is malicious - it is, after all, hugely convenient. I would love to have access to those kinds of skills without all the trial, effort, and investment it would take for me to pick them up myself.
I could even rationalize it by thinking, why shouldn’t I? Pandora’s box has been opened and my participation won’t make a difference by this point. I may even be right.
I don’t have a whole lot of use for art in May day to day, so it doesn’t cost me much to decide not to use AI for it. When I think of all the atrocities in the world taking place to enable me to live a comfortable North American life up to this point, I find I can live without this one.
I guess I’m trying to make the point that I don’t want to guilt anyone for using AI for this or anything, but I encourage everyone to truly understand the consequences of the technology we’re using and do some self-reflection. Do you have space in your moral convictions for this? Does this cross any of my values? If you can stomach it, go crazy, but do so without blinders.
But now there is a way to get “exactly the piece of art you want to see created” for free with little effort. Are you saying I should just pretend that doesn’t exist?
False dichotomy. You call what AI does “stealing” but I don’t, I see it as the same process we all use when we learn an art, skill or a craft. We spend years looking at examples of other people’s work and (in your terms) “stealing” something from them. And no, I don’t think that’s wrong. Stealing is where you take something and the other person doesn’t have it anymore. Stealing is wrong, but mislabeling something as stealing doesn’t make it stealing.
You’ve tried, yes, but have you learned? Practiced? People don’t automatically know how to draw. They practice for years. Give it a few more thousand tries.
Yes, by all means let’s keep art reserved as a privilege for those who can afford to hire artists. Impeccable moral purity there, Watson!
There are literally millions of pieces of art everywhere that are free or basically free to view and in many cases use for whatever your heart desires. This is about not getting exactly the piece of art you want to see created and as it turns out there is another alternative open to those without the money to pay artists.
And how does it benefit artists if I search through those millions of free things instead of using a tool to make exactly what I want? I mean, I also built my own deck, drywalled and painted most of my house, changed the plumbing and wiring, put on roofing… I can’t even think of all the things I’ve done instead of hiring somebody. And I learned it all by imitating professional work. Does that make me evil? Did I “steal” from them? Should I not be allowed to own power tools because they take work away from craftspeople?
When I consider this issue, the analogy looks more like someone has invented a robot to do contractor work. Of course it’s true that it will put many human contractors out of work.
But no, I don’t think using the robot is malicious - it is, after all, hugely convenient. I would love to have access to those kinds of skills without all the trial, effort, and investment it would take for me to pick them up myself.
I could even rationalize it by thinking, why shouldn’t I? Pandora’s box has been opened and my participation won’t make a difference by this point. I may even be right.
I don’t have a whole lot of use for art in May day to day, so it doesn’t cost me much to decide not to use AI for it. When I think of all the atrocities in the world taking place to enable me to live a comfortable North American life up to this point, I find I can live without this one.
I guess I’m trying to make the point that I don’t want to guilt anyone for using AI for this or anything, but I encourage everyone to truly understand the consequences of the technology we’re using and do some self-reflection. Do you have space in your moral convictions for this? Does this cross any of my values? If you can stomach it, go crazy, but do so without blinders.
But now there is a way to get “exactly the piece of art you want to see created” for free with little effort. Are you saying I should just pretend that doesn’t exist?
I guess it depends on intent.
If you’re just conjuring images for your D&D game with your buddies, so what.
If your intention is monetizing and selling it, then that’s probably a problem.
It’s not better to keep artists work reserve to anybody who can pay for it as opposed to just stealing their work?
False dichotomy. You call what AI does “stealing” but I don’t, I see it as the same process we all use when we learn an art, skill or a craft. We spend years looking at examples of other people’s work and (in your terms) “stealing” something from them. And no, I don’t think that’s wrong. Stealing is where you take something and the other person doesn’t have it anymore. Stealing is wrong, but mislabeling something as stealing doesn’t make it stealing.
Or… Learn how to draw?
I’ve tried and the results are pathetic.
You’ve tried, yes, but have you learned? Practiced? People don’t automatically know how to draw. They practice for years. Give it a few more thousand tries.
I’ve never minded that I can’t draw or paint, and now I have free tools that do those things for me.