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I'm very much into AI, in terms of judicious and sprinkled usage across disciplines -- but I'm a computer guy, I produce and support a lot of code, art, audio,

I'm very much into AI, in terms of judicious and sprinkled usage across disciplines -- but I'm a computer guy, I produce and support a lot of code, art, audio, video, social, multimedia etc content, and I've incorporated bits and pieces of AI here and there to achieve a vision or get work done (LLMs, diffusion, etc) -- my main issue with it, like anything technical, is that the mainstream interpretation / instinct by the average bozo is that the machine will do my work for me, and nothing could be further from the truth. There's a lot of anti-AI sentiment from the mainstream, but I'm noticing the pro-AI mainstream sentiment comes from people who are either technically-minded grifters looking to deploy automated solutions to snake $$$ from people's pockets, or lazy / disengaged worker drones who just want the computer to do their middling work for them. And it will, up to a point, where your "work" plateaus into a mess of predictable, non-novel banality lol, unless you invest the time to master the tool (which, for what it's worth, isn't like introducing the toothed saw, it's more like a Dremel or a SAWZALL that have specific purposes but casual users won't ever master them) Buying a digital ELPH in 2001 didn't make you a photographer unless you were a photographer with an open mind. Squarespace doesn't make you a web designer unless you've studied the system and understand the tradeoffs. AWS doesn't solve infrastructure unless you learn how to architect a solution that works for your use-case. AI, by the same property, is shit until you research how it works, experiment with solutions, and find novel workflows to get something out the other end that's new, fresh and exciting. Companies just rolling "AI" into their products aren't gonna win over customers and users unless they use the tool to deliver something of exceedingly-needed value. If it's a short-term grift or "hail mary", good luck! You'll need it!

some_furry 1y ago
This is an incredibly level-headed and good take.
dangus 1y ago
This is a great way to put it. Some more annoying personas in the AI space: - AI CEOs lying to investors and claiming their AIs will one day be impossibly smart. - Companies that are consumers of AI products having CEOs pushing AI onto their employees as a quick fix thinking that they will get magic productivity gains and be able to cut staff if they just force employees to use it (I have even seen some real examples of companies adding AI usage to performance reviews) - Companies claiming to be AI-first without launching any significant AI-powered product But I do think it’s a very measured way to read the situation to refrain from joining the knee-jerk into being an AI-hater. That sentiment is basically just a counter-culture reaction to dislike AI, especially since it seems to most negatively impact creatives such as illustrators. I think that some professionals who refrain from leveraging it from an ethical standpoint will legitimately fall behind their labor competition.
- some_furry 1y ago
  > That sentiment is basically just a counter-culture reaction to dislike AI, especially since it seems to most negatively impact creatives such as illustrators. Worth considering: the blog in question that hosts this article is a furry blog. The furry community is largely creatives.
  - dangus 1y ago
    And I totally understand why counter cultural types have latched on to disliking AI especially since some of its biggest proponents are incredibly corporate and, well, lame as fuck. I also think that it’s a technology that didn't develop with some counterculture chops like many earlier technology innovations. E.g., we could think about something like crypto that had an uphill battle against the establishment and was created with some level of ideological independence. There are even some more corporate disruptions that plain and simple had better marketing behind them, like how Airbnb and Uber had widely disliked incumbents to “beat” in the market. Early Uber or Airbnb users were basically “beating the system.” At least, that’s how a lot of people perceived them, even if that didn’t turn out to be the reality. In contrast, AI has felt much more like a corporate circlejerk among the wealthiest super-billionaires. There hasn’t even been the slightest facade of genuine do-goodery in this technology. Some wildly well-funded companies led by sociopathic robot-human CEOs made a plagiarism machine that my boss now insists I use for all my work. I think that usually the people in the middle of the two extremes have the right thought process going on. It’s clear to me that AI is a great tool that isn’t going away, but perhaps its most passionate champions and detractors both need to settle down.
- diggernet 1y ago
  > (I have even seen some real examples of companies adding AI usage to performance reviews) Sad to say, I can vouch for this.
  - daemin 1y ago
    That has got to be one of the most easily gamed metrics that there ever has been. "Make sure you use this website that costs the company money frequently" I wonder how it will play out when the costs of using an AI service are no longer subsidised by venture capital? (For example Uber is just as expensive as normal taxis now.)

some_furry 1y ago

This is an incredibly level-headed and good take.

dangus 1y ago

This is a great way to put it. Some more annoying personas in the AI space: - AI CEOs lying to investors and claiming their AIs will one day be impossibly smart. - Companies that are consumers of AI products having CEOs pushing AI onto their employees as a quick fix thinking that they will get magic productivity gains and be able to cut staff if they just force employees to use it (I have even seen some real examples of companies adding AI usage to performance reviews) - Companies claiming to be AI-first without launching any significant AI-powered product But I do think it’s a very measured way to read the situation to refrain from joining the knee-jerk into being an AI-hater. That sentiment is basically just a counter-culture reaction to dislike AI, especially since it seems to most negatively impact creatives such as illustrators. I think that some professionals who refrain from leveraging it from an ethical standpoint will legitimately fall behind their labor competition.

some_furry 1y ago
> That sentiment is basically just a counter-culture reaction to dislike AI, especially since it seems to most negatively impact creatives such as illustrators. Worth considering: the blog in question that hosts this article is a furry blog. The furry community is largely creatives.
- dangus 1y ago
  And I totally understand why counter cultural types have latched on to disliking AI especially since some of its biggest proponents are incredibly corporate and, well, lame as fuck. I also think that it’s a technology that didn't develop with some counterculture chops like many earlier technology innovations. E.g., we could think about something like crypto that had an uphill battle against the establishment and was created with some level of ideological independence. There are even some more corporate disruptions that plain and simple had better marketing behind them, like how Airbnb and Uber had widely disliked incumbents to “beat” in the market. Early Uber or Airbnb users were basically “beating the system.” At least, that’s how a lot of people perceived them, even if that didn’t turn out to be the reality. In contrast, AI has felt much more like a corporate circlejerk among the wealthiest super-billionaires. There hasn’t even been the slightest facade of genuine do-goodery in this technology. Some wildly well-funded companies led by sociopathic robot-human CEOs made a plagiarism machine that my boss now insists I use for all my work. I think that usually the people in the middle of the two extremes have the right thought process going on. It’s clear to me that AI is a great tool that isn’t going away, but perhaps its most passionate champions and detractors both need to settle down.
diggernet 1y ago
> (I have even seen some real examples of companies adding AI usage to performance reviews) Sad to say, I can vouch for this.
- daemin 1y ago
  That has got to be one of the most easily gamed metrics that there ever has been. "Make sure you use this website that costs the company money frequently" I wonder how it will play out when the costs of using an AI service are no longer subsidised by venture capital? (For example Uber is just as expensive as normal taxis now.)