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To be a bit of a polly anna, why is everyone so scandalized by AI tools that can be used to create bad things? Photoshop can, too. So can a paintbrush. No on

To be a bit of a polly anna, why is everyone so scandalized by AI tools that can be used to create bad things? Photoshop can, too. So can a paintbrush. No one would want to buy an electronic paintbrush that prevents you from painting particular images, so why is this so different? Just because it is easy and gives quality results? We're basically already at the point where images and videos of unknown provenance can't be assumed to be real so how come people pay attention to journalists getting the vapors about scandalous things AI tools can do? Wouldnt everyone rather have a completely unlocked tool to do with as they will?

rwmj 2y ago
Well obviously because of the ease of doing it. Typing a prompt and having the image generated for me is a lot easier than having to spend half an hour in Photoshop. It also allows phony images to be generated at scale, overwhelming any mechanisms we currently have to investigate and counter misinformation.
- oceanplexian 2y ago
  Oh no, normal people will be able to create misinformation, which journalists have been doing for decades. Someone should think of the poor workers in media, the most trusted and honest profession.
- octopoc 2y ago
  The world is full of people with an agenda and plenty of time on their hands. They are the elephant in the room, not random trolls who do it only because it's so easy.
- jenbasasoy 2y ago
  [flagged]
scld 2y ago
When so many topics find themselves somehow aligning with sociopolitical identity, there is no question that won't go unbegged.
tambourine_man 2y ago
Because quantity eventually leads to a qualitative change after a certain threshold. We’ve been dealing with the possible output of a few fake images per human per day ever since photography was invented, at most. Digital photography has maybe made it 10X easier. Now that humans are not the limiting factor, we can have clusters of computers generating an unimaginable number of fake images 24/7. You can see how we’re not prepared for such crisis.
- amarant 2y ago
  I don't even see how it's a crisis in the first place. I mean people believe the earth is flat, despite being shown photos clearly demonstrating it's not, and this before even digital photos were commonplace! AI generated photos won't give us any problem we don't already have, at least not until they're good enough to fool a forensics team and thus be admitted as evidence in a court of law. I wouldn't hold my breath for that one...
  - immibis 2y ago
    They are just a few crazy people though. And they don't have photo evidence to back them up. In the next decade, how will people know to believe the photos of round earth but ignore the equally valid seeming photos of flat earth?
    - amarant 2y ago
      Maybe people will finally learn to check their sources? Seems like a win in my book. Of course the crazies are gonna craze, that probably won't change. But it is far from obvious that non crazies will be fooled by AI generated images of a flat earth.
  - tambourine_man 2y ago
    > AI generated photos won't give us any problem we don't already have Of course not, but when the scale is suddenly many orders of magnitude more, it matters.

rwmj 2y ago

Well obviously because of the ease of doing it. Typing a prompt and having the image generated for me is a lot easier than having to spend half an hour in Photoshop. It also allows phony images to be generated at scale, overwhelming any mechanisms we currently have to investigate and counter misinformation.

oceanplexian 2y ago
Oh no, normal people will be able to create misinformation, which journalists have been doing for decades. Someone should think of the poor workers in media, the most trusted and honest profession.
octopoc 2y ago
The world is full of people with an agenda and plenty of time on their hands. They are the elephant in the room, not random trolls who do it only because it's so easy.
jenbasasoy 2y ago
[flagged]

scld 2y ago

When so many topics find themselves somehow aligning with sociopolitical identity, there is no question that won't go unbegged.

tambourine_man 2y ago

Because quantity eventually leads to a qualitative change after a certain threshold. We’ve been dealing with the possible output of a few fake images per human per day ever since photography was invented, at most. Digital photography has maybe made it 10X easier. Now that humans are not the limiting factor, we can have clusters of computers generating an unimaginable number of fake images 24/7. You can see how we’re not prepared for such crisis.

amarant 2y ago
I don't even see how it's a crisis in the first place. I mean people believe the earth is flat, despite being shown photos clearly demonstrating it's not, and this before even digital photos were commonplace! AI generated photos won't give us any problem we don't already have, at least not until they're good enough to fool a forensics team and thus be admitted as evidence in a court of law. I wouldn't hold my breath for that one...
- immibis 2y ago
  They are just a few crazy people though. And they don't have photo evidence to back them up. In the next decade, how will people know to believe the photos of round earth but ignore the equally valid seeming photos of flat earth?
  - amarant 2y ago
    Maybe people will finally learn to check their sources? Seems like a win in my book. Of course the crazies are gonna craze, that probably won't change. But it is far from obvious that non crazies will be fooled by AI generated images of a flat earth.
- tambourine_man 2y ago
  > AI generated photos won't give us any problem we don't already have Of course not, but when the scale is suddenly many orders of magnitude more, it matters.