4 ms·
Loab, the internet’s latest urban legend
- j_m_b 4y agoWhat's starting to be creepy is how easily people are ascribing meaning to statistical models. Loab is essentially a single image that resulted from statistical noise and her creator iterated on. It reminds me of the researcher from Google who thought their models were sentient
- braingenious 4y agoSometimes urban legends are just fun bits of ephemera meant for entertainment (for example, scp-wiki). This is pretty much just creepypasta in the DALL-E era.
- userbinator 4y agoWhat's starting to be creepy is how easily people are ascribing meaning to statistical models. When people don't understand something, which for all intents and purposes appears to them to be like magic, that's a natural consequence. They want to believe there's something deeper. This isn't anything new; it used to be called religion.
- CharlesW 4y ago> This isn't anything new; it used to be called religion. Computers have been used for divination for about as long as they've been around. I'm sure that people will be worshipping AI chatbots soon. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/worlds-first-computer-may-have-been-used-tell-fortunes-180959335/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/worlds-first-c... https://www.sapiens.org/culture/digital-divination/ https://www.sapiens.org/culture/digital-divination/
- Vanit 4y agoI see this more in the same vein as Slenderman or The Backrooms - no one is taking this seriously, it's just the right mix of creepy and expansive that makes it perfect for the internet to iterate on.
- Animats 4y agoSooner or later, probably sooner, someone is going to type in "Muhammad", get a good picture out, and the Islamic world will freak out.
- mc32 4y agoNot unless it's prefaced by the word prophet, otherwise it's just a random name.
- CharlesW 4y agoRelevant Penny Arcade: https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2022/09/09/lisa-loab https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2022/09/09/lisa-loab
- tedunangst 4y ago> Supercomposite’s original description of her as a “devastated-looking older woman” betray a faint penumbra of the unquestionable ageism, sexism, and repro-normativity rooted in a culture that has basically always discriminated against women, and is most recently attempting to return uterus-bearing members of society to a forced-birth state. Is this really an article about AI art?
- JasonFruit 4y agoIf you read about the author, one of her roles is "activist". I think she worked some activism into the article there.
- weard_beard 4y agoI work all day where it’s taboo to talk politics. I read my hacker newspaper and the butler is kind enough to remove the politics section for me. Is it too much to ask, Martha, sips scotch for you to have my slippers and pipe ready, a hot dinner on the table, the children ready for bed, and to not mention, chugs the rest your fucking activism?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- aaron695 4y ago
- petecooper 4y agoI'd be grateful if someone could explain why this has been flagged so I can avoid it in future. Thank you.
- drcongo 4y agoNot a flagger, but I think: The story was posted before though on a different publication, and the entire thing was completely debunked in the comments of that prior posting.
- petecooper 4y agoThank you - I appreciate that beyond an upvote (but you have that too).