5 ms·

Even though it is going to be extremely painful, one thing that excites me most about AI is the distinct possibility that it obliterates the concept of artifici

by nurple 3y ago

Even though it is going to be extremely painful, one thing that excites me most about AI is the distinct possibility that it obliterates the concept of artificial scarcity that so much of the world relies on to create money these days. IMO, AI is exposing the frail and unnatural aspect of this legally-protected rent seeking. No, I don't think the legal system will be able to keep up, and I also don't think the infoligarchs in Silicon Valley will be able to keep a lid on the box. Yes, I'm frightened that my skills in slinging code will be available via a simple query to a model(at least as frightened as a SAG), but I'm also heartened that if these glass ceilings are shattered that we may finally make the evolutional step necessary to break so many of us free of this amoral and inhuman treadmill of misery that simply has no reason to exist with the resources at our disposal.

bathtub365 3y ago
Artificial scarcity of what? Content?
DeIlliad 3y ago
Using the phrase "artificial scarcity" to describe someone's skills is ridiculous. A voice actor or artist being paid for their skills is not rent seeking.
- nurple 3y ago
  Sure, their creation is held behind legal walls in order to create, by definition, an artifical scarcity from which it derives its monetary value. If it was not protected by such a wall, and was not scarce, it would have no monetary value. No, I don't think the inherent value in their talent is artificial, but I _do_ think that the monetary system we've built around such things as a necessity to survive in our modern world is abberant and bound to fail. ETA: Just to give some flavor. Do you realize how much human energy is expended in finding ways to build these walls of artificial scarcity? It's frankly sad. I was watching a showmatch that a streamer I enjoy watching was invovolved in (ShahZaM a Valorant pro). For nearly an hour in the leadup to the showmatch we got treated to a realtime negotiation between him an the player organizing his team. From comments like "no I can't use that graphic because I'm sponsored by another PC builder", to "every dollar I get I'll increase the size by 1px", and the piece de resistance "Whaaaat?! we have casters?? I'm not even getting paid for this!", followed by a streamer-initiated 10(!) count roll of twitch ads. When the match was over, Tarik, the guy who organized the allstar team, was supposed to do an interview with the casters but had accidentally kicked off his own 10-pack of ads and they had to embarrasingly stall until his viewers were done watching them so they could see the interview live. It was a repugnant view behind the curtains of the rediculuous amount of work a lot of people go to in order to profit behind the artificial scarcity put in front of their skills. This is usally hidden from the viewer behind production, but happened to leak in this instance due to the slapdash nature of the event. Frankly, we can, and we must do better.
  - Tallain 3y ago
    >Sure, their creation is held behind legal walls in order to create, by definition, an artifical scarcity from which it derives its monetary value. If it was not protected by such a wall, and was not scarce, it would have no monetary value. That's... not artificial scarcity. By definition (and using your own words) it is actual scarcity. A person's performance -- which is more than just their voice reading lines -- is not held back behind some imaginary wall. It's literally limited by the hours in the day, the person's ability to get from place A to place B, etc.; it's not like David Attenborough is a Santa Claus figure and can be in California narrating a documentary and in New York providing some random dude a personal voiceover for his life simultaneously.
    - Ukv 3y ago
      > It's literally limited by the hours in the day If a textbook isn't available because it's still being written by the author, then true, that's the real scarcity of the author's time. But if a textbook is finished but isn't available because effort is put into preventing the information from being freely shared, then that's artificial scarcity. Restricting access subject to payment is currently the most common method for extracting profit to incentivize creation, but it's not the only method and for digital goods it's incredibly inefficient.
      - DeIlliad 3y ago
        None of that is relevant to this discussion. We are talking about someone who spent time growing a skill and is charging people who want him to use that skill for whatever they are hiring them for.
        Ukv 3y ago
        nurple said: "their creation is held behind legal walls in order to create, by definition, an artifical scarcity from which it derives its monetary value" In my example "their creation" is a textbook, and "legal walls" would be copyright/DMCA. There is also Getty/Universal Music/etc. attempting to enforce artificial scarcity in an area where real scarcity existed (in addition to plenty of artificial scarcity) but is beginning to be overcome.
bugglebeetle 3y ago
So now we’re just applying incel logic to every aspect of human creativity and expression? Do you also think that people refusing to make adult content of themselves for you is “legally protected rent seeking”?
- CaptainFever 3y ago
  This comment is unnecessarily rude and off-topic. Of course there's a difference between human labour and easily-replicable things.
  - bugglebeetle 3y ago
    I don’t think it’s all rude or off-topic. It’s just as easy to make deep fake pornography as it is to clone voices, so if someone claims they’re being unjustly prevented from having the one one under this insane logic, why not the other?
JaDogg 3y ago
Absolutely right. Copyright can be seen as a kind of nano-monopoly and is not truly capitalist. The rise in prices due to stagnation does not foster innovation. While capitalism has its merits, it does bring hardship to those less fortunate. It is essential to eradicate all forms of scarcity, thereby eliminating the necessity for an economy and finance, and subsequently, the need for politics.

by nurple 3y ago

bathtub365 3y ago

Artificial scarcity of what? Content?

DeIlliad 3y ago

Using the phrase "artificial scarcity" to describe someone's skills is ridiculous. A voice actor or artist being paid for their skills is not rent seeking.

nurple 3y ago
Sure, their creation is held behind legal walls in order to create, by definition, an artifical scarcity from which it derives its monetary value. If it was not protected by such a wall, and was not scarce, it would have no monetary value. No, I don't think the inherent value in their talent is artificial, but I _do_ think that the monetary system we've built around such things as a necessity to survive in our modern world is abberant and bound to fail. ETA: Just to give some flavor. Do you realize how much human energy is expended in finding ways to build these walls of artificial scarcity? It's frankly sad. I was watching a showmatch that a streamer I enjoy watching was invovolved in (ShahZaM a Valorant pro). For nearly an hour in the leadup to the showmatch we got treated to a realtime negotiation between him an the player organizing his team. From comments like "no I can't use that graphic because I'm sponsored by another PC builder", to "every dollar I get I'll increase the size by 1px", and the piece de resistance "Whaaaat?! we have casters?? I'm not even getting paid for this!", followed by a streamer-initiated 10(!) count roll of twitch ads. When the match was over, Tarik, the guy who organized the allstar team, was supposed to do an interview with the casters but had accidentally kicked off his own 10-pack of ads and they had to embarrasingly stall until his viewers were done watching them so they could see the interview live. It was a repugnant view behind the curtains of the rediculuous amount of work a lot of people go to in order to profit behind the artificial scarcity put in front of their skills. This is usally hidden from the viewer behind production, but happened to leak in this instance due to the slapdash nature of the event. Frankly, we can, and we must do better.
- Tallain 3y ago
  >Sure, their creation is held behind legal walls in order to create, by definition, an artifical scarcity from which it derives its monetary value. If it was not protected by such a wall, and was not scarce, it would have no monetary value. That's... not artificial scarcity. By definition (and using your own words) it is actual scarcity. A person's performance -- which is more than just their voice reading lines -- is not held back behind some imaginary wall. It's literally limited by the hours in the day, the person's ability to get from place A to place B, etc.; it's not like David Attenborough is a Santa Claus figure and can be in California narrating a documentary and in New York providing some random dude a personal voiceover for his life simultaneously.
  - Ukv 3y ago
    > It's literally limited by the hours in the day If a textbook isn't available because it's still being written by the author, then true, that's the real scarcity of the author's time. But if a textbook is finished but isn't available because effort is put into preventing the information from being freely shared, then that's artificial scarcity. Restricting access subject to payment is currently the most common method for extracting profit to incentivize creation, but it's not the only method and for digital goods it's incredibly inefficient.
    - DeIlliad 3y ago
      None of that is relevant to this discussion. We are talking about someone who spent time growing a skill and is charging people who want him to use that skill for whatever they are hiring them for.
      - Ukv 3y ago
        nurple said: "their creation is held behind legal walls in order to create, by definition, an artifical scarcity from which it derives its monetary value" In my example "their creation" is a textbook, and "legal walls" would be copyright/DMCA. There is also Getty/Universal Music/etc. attempting to enforce artificial scarcity in an area where real scarcity existed (in addition to plenty of artificial scarcity) but is beginning to be overcome.

bugglebeetle 3y ago

So now we’re just applying incel logic to every aspect of human creativity and expression? Do you also think that people refusing to make adult content of themselves for you is “legally protected rent seeking”?

CaptainFever 3y ago
This comment is unnecessarily rude and off-topic. Of course there's a difference between human labour and easily-replicable things.
- bugglebeetle 3y ago
  I don’t think it’s all rude or off-topic. It’s just as easy to make deep fake pornography as it is to clone voices, so if someone claims they’re being unjustly prevented from having the one one under this insane logic, why not the other?

JaDogg 3y ago

Absolutely right. Copyright can be seen as a kind of nano-monopoly and is not truly capitalist. The rise in prices due to stagnation does not foster innovation. While capitalism has its merits, it does bring hardship to those less fortunate. It is essential to eradicate all forms of scarcity, thereby eliminating the necessity for an economy and finance, and subsequently, the need for politics.