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Wait wait wait, why will humand syop wanting to read, listen to music, or watch movies and tv shows just because there are AI generated art? People will still f

Wait wait wait, why will humand syop wanting to read, listen to music, or watch movies and tv shows just because there are AI generated art? People will still feel the need for all those things, technology alone cannot erase the demand. The problem is generated art is not considered good by audiences because it usually lacks substance and genuine creativity. But that doesn't mean they will not want to watch The Odessy. If an AI can make a movie which is exactly equivalent to a Christopher Nolan movie, then yes people can adapt. But the current situation is that most AI art sucks and people do not like it. Not that people want to stop reading, listening or watching. We are doing that in much larger numbers than we ever did in history.

seanmcdirmid 7d ago
People have lessened what they read because they can more easily watch a video or listen to a podcast. It’s not like the 1800s where books were the only game in town. And why read an AI written article when you can listen to the AI generated podcast with banter between two fake personalities (yes, this is what I heard when I wanted info about qwen’s newest model on Apple podcast).
- altmanaltman 7d ago
  Yes, true, but in the 1800s, literacy rates were extremely low as well. Most people didn't read then either. By the time literacy improved, we already had competing media like radio, television, etc. But books still won because they were a different form of media. And most "popular" books since the invention of the printing press have usually been garbage, like guides on how to burn witches properly, etc. It wasn't like people were reading Dostoevsky in masses then and don't do it now. It was always a small minority of people that cared about actual literature. I think it's also more about active vrs passive consumption these days. People these days consume media mostly passively (watch whatever is on a streaming service, hear a podcast/audiobook while driving, let AI summarize an article instead of reading it), whereas that wasn't really possible previously (go to a theater to watch a movie, actually read stuff with attention, etc.). So yes, people might be reading less, but I don't think it's some massive fall in literacy as people make it out to be. We're much more busy and don't have time to actually sit down and actively focus on media consumption these days as well (assuming you're employed in a somewhat capitalism-based system).
  - black_knight 7d ago
    > Yes, true, but in the 1800s, literacy rates were extremely low as well. Most people didn't read then either. False, at least from an American or Northern European perspective. In the 1800s reading was an extremely popular activity. Not something restricted to a few. Printing press had been around for ages and the majority of the population read.
    - altmanaltman 7d ago
      If by majority of the population, you mean no women, no slaves, then yes, sure. And even from an American or NE perspective, you're still overestimating its popularity. Literacy rates in the 1800s across different regions in Western Europe: https://brewminate.com/the-growth-of-literacy-in-western-europe-from-1500-to-1800/ https://brewminate.com/the-growth-of-literacy-in-western-eur... > According to data compiled by Our World in Data and the World Bank, the literacy rate of the world's population from secondary school age onward was only 12 percent in 1820 - around one person in ten. In 1900, it still barely exceeded 20 percent. From the 1950s on, world literacy began to take off, hitting 42 percent in 1960 and 70 percent in 1983. https://www.weforum.org/stories/education-and-skills/reading-writing-global-literacy-rate-changed/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/education-and-skills/reading...
      - black_knight 7d ago
        As I said. If you look not at the entire world, but say Northern Europe, reading literacy (a different measure from the literacy discussed in many modern sources which includes writing literacy) was almost universal by the late 1800s. For instance, in Sweden, to cherrypick a stat, in 1875 only 1% of military recruits were found unable to read [1]. We really must stop thinking that people of yestertimes where so much inferior to people today. Yes, there were differences between men and women, but this was also starting to change. [1]: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1876/d308 https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1876/d308

seanmcdirmid 7d ago

People have lessened what they read because they can more easily watch a video or listen to a podcast. It’s not like the 1800s where books were the only game in town. And why read an AI written article when you can listen to the AI generated podcast with banter between two fake personalities (yes, this is what I heard when I wanted info about qwen’s newest model on Apple podcast).

altmanaltman 7d ago
Yes, true, but in the 1800s, literacy rates were extremely low as well. Most people didn't read then either. By the time literacy improved, we already had competing media like radio, television, etc. But books still won because they were a different form of media. And most "popular" books since the invention of the printing press have usually been garbage, like guides on how to burn witches properly, etc. It wasn't like people were reading Dostoevsky in masses then and don't do it now. It was always a small minority of people that cared about actual literature. I think it's also more about active vrs passive consumption these days. People these days consume media mostly passively (watch whatever is on a streaming service, hear a podcast/audiobook while driving, let AI summarize an article instead of reading it), whereas that wasn't really possible previously (go to a theater to watch a movie, actually read stuff with attention, etc.). So yes, people might be reading less, but I don't think it's some massive fall in literacy as people make it out to be. We're much more busy and don't have time to actually sit down and actively focus on media consumption these days as well (assuming you're employed in a somewhat capitalism-based system).
- black_knight 7d ago
  > Yes, true, but in the 1800s, literacy rates were extremely low as well. Most people didn't read then either. False, at least from an American or Northern European perspective. In the 1800s reading was an extremely popular activity. Not something restricted to a few. Printing press had been around for ages and the majority of the population read.
  - altmanaltman 7d ago
    If by majority of the population, you mean no women, no slaves, then yes, sure. And even from an American or NE perspective, you're still overestimating its popularity. Literacy rates in the 1800s across different regions in Western Europe: https://brewminate.com/the-growth-of-literacy-in-western-europe-from-1500-to-1800/ https://brewminate.com/the-growth-of-literacy-in-western-eur... > According to data compiled by Our World in Data and the World Bank, the literacy rate of the world's population from secondary school age onward was only 12 percent in 1820 - around one person in ten. In 1900, it still barely exceeded 20 percent. From the 1950s on, world literacy began to take off, hitting 42 percent in 1960 and 70 percent in 1983. https://www.weforum.org/stories/education-and-skills/reading-writing-global-literacy-rate-changed/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/education-and-skills/reading...
    - black_knight 7d ago
      As I said. If you look not at the entire world, but say Northern Europe, reading literacy (a different measure from the literacy discussed in many modern sources which includes writing literacy) was almost universal by the late 1800s. For instance, in Sweden, to cherrypick a stat, in 1875 only 1% of military recruits were found unable to read [1]. We really must stop thinking that people of yestertimes where so much inferior to people today. Yes, there were differences between men and women, but this was also starting to change. [1]: https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1876/d308 https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1876/d308