"We should think of the 'intelligence' in artificial intelligence not as any kind of mental property, but as the kind one gathers--the stuff of central intelligence agencies. Then we can immediately understand that AI is a technological form of Taylorism, a way for capital to accumulate power."
-- Hagen Blix
WHAT IS AI?
AI is a term that has never been used appropriately outside of science fiction. The term itself is an abbreviation for artificial intelligence, meaning that the intelligence is manmade or produced by a non-living entity. Cognitive thought processes to the level of a living creature have not yet been able to be reproduced through mechanical engineering or program scripting.
The history of the term AI has not only been utilized in sci-fi media to refer to far-future super computers and androids, but it has also been widely used within computer and game terminology for decades (referring to a written script a computer executes in response to receiving an input--which, by definition, is not intelligence.) What is being called "AI" today is not artificial intelligence, and is in fact quite similar to an input-to-output computer script. The reason for use of this abbreviation is solely for marketing to emphasize a sense of major progress in tech today (as well as instilling fear into the public.)
This software will be referred to as generative AI (or genAI) on this site to make an important distinction between genAI and other softwares. Generative AI was a term coined in 2014.
"Generative" in the name refers to genAI's algorithm that can sort and produce complex data. It's a calculator with advanced filters. GenAI is trained on pre-existing items to produce a variety of content from a 2-page essay to an entire film with generated audio and moving visuals. GenAI is being utilized for way more than just generating slop content online... and it is causing significant damage to people and the planet.
THERE ARE MANY REASONS TO CARE ABOUT THIS...
Let's start with the environmental damage. GenAI is resource-intensive. Its model demands copious amounts of electricity. It also requires a large amount of water to cool its hardware (the thing that trains the model itself.) The usage of resources for its training has already disrupted local ecosystems, as well as causing scarcity of water supply in populated areas. This is all compounded onto an additional indirect environmental impact--the manufacturing and transport of the hardware as more companies demand integration of genAI systems to be used within their facilities as a replacement for employees.How much energy does it use?
GPT-3, for example, has been trained on 175 billion parameters, consumed 1,287 megawatt hours of electricity, and generated 552 tons of carbon dioxide. In simpler terms: That is the equivalent of 123 gasoline-powered vehicles driven for ONE YEAR. And that was only for the preparation of a single genAI model for launch BEFORE the public even had access to use it.
A single data center consumes the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.
WHAT IS IT BEING USED FOR?
Generative AI is excellent for pumping out algorithmically charged content based on what it is trained on (stolen work), and is great for target marketing through reading your data and controlling how you browse and interact online.
It's being forced into your browser, social media, and even tech products such as your tablet devices and operating system (OS) whether you agree or not. Pressing the "opt out" button in settings on your social media to refrain from your personal photos and messages being scraped does NOT do anything. Opting out does nothing to protect you or any online user from AI scraping. How do companies get away with this? Two things: money and little regulation. If a user on a social media site opts out of AI scraping, the platform and the genAI model's company have the right to discuss terms of opting you in anyway if it means it will be beneficial to training the AI model off of your posts. There have been many cases of this occurring on platforms such as META, Twitter, and Instagram.
WHAT'S BAD ABOUT IT BEING USED FOR ALL THESE THINGS?
For one, it has already made a huge impact on the environment, people's well being, and job security. It has proven to be a tool that gets information wrong a lot of the time. It cannot tell the difference between documented proof of something with works cited versus something entirely fabricated. In fact, it often pulls sentences out of context from other sites related to the browsed topic and can create misleading information due to improper grammar, out-of-context statements, and using words inappropriately. It cannot be used to educate, which boasts a problem for schools that wish to implement genAI.
GenAI has no thought processing, nor does it understand input information or its own output, nor has it the ability to make decisions based on facts, morals, or educated judgment. It generates, so it needs an algorithm and training to perform. Its productions of false images that are becoming impossible to determine if they're real or fake has already made a negative impact on people's reality and their perception of it. The reliance on diluted information has been a substantial problem for decades on the internet, and it has only been worsened by a product that was made entirely to line the pockets of billionaires and wholly replace user autonomy. It was made to sell things. It was made to replace human positions within multiple professional industries so that CEOs can save money.
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Over the past 20 years, social media and other online spaces have gone from efficient sociality and sharing of media to invasive advertisements, security breaches, and even government overreach. There are so many bots that exist online and, nowadays, can easily pass as convincing human accounts. Lack of knowledge is isolating. Major tech companies are counting on that to make sure you rely on their open genAI software so that they can collect information about you and profit from it.
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING
WHAT CAN WE DO? A LOT!
Get involved in community spaces.
That can be ANYTHING. Be a good neighbor. Be in the know. Volunteer for your community or for a non-profit you believe in. Join clubs, apply for a library card, promote local events that support your community.
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Vote for important rulings for regulations.
Protect the right to knowledge. If you're a student, conduct after school clubs for students in your neighborhood--use classroom space or a park or someone's home. The education system can't be changed overnight, but enough hands helping students and faculty fight back for better education and knowledge goes a long way and makes a huge impact, especially in regards to abolishing genAI in schools.
Some open GenAI regulations have come out, but are only applicable in some states. Much of it still skirts a lot of copyright infringement, and tech companies still refuse creators their rights to their own work.
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Boycott social media sites that use genAI.
Refuse to take part in it altogether. Get your friends and family to follow your lead. Create private chatrooms on secure messaging apps. Create your own independent forum space, or join one. You'll be able to see what you want in your feed, stay up-to-date on the people you care about, and be able to post without an AI bot scraping you. Ditch the doomscrolling.
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Do NOT rely on the AI overview when using your search engine.
It WILL misinform you and give out vague information. Quit skimming. When you do not have a good understanding of a topic you are looking up, it is best to find an official site that is clearly made for education of the subject matter. Look for .org or .gov and make sure any article is up-to-date. Non-biased speech is a plus. If you read 1 article, read 3 more from different sources. Avoid sites with product ads or any links that take you offsite. Read a book and reach out to people who know the subject matter well. Change your browser and search engine to steer clear of Google.
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Reduce your reliance on the internet altogether.
The internet does NOT have all the answers, and it isn't your friend. The worldwide web is rapidly descending into a miseducation/disinformation cesspool, and has become the tool for capitalists to take advantage of consumers. Let's change it. Take back the people's internet.
DISINGENUOUS ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF USING GenAI
Watch out for this online discourse. There are many genAI users who continue to believe in what they're being sold. Many go out of their way to start online debates with bad-faith arguments and false equivalencies. Concerns over the stance against AI being "ableist and classist" is performative. The very existence of generative AI is intertwined with the exploitation of marginalized groups and people of lower income. This was not a tool made to help people. It was made to turn profits for big tech companies, making shareholders richer. The wealthy benefit from a system that is intentionally exclusionary. To say that the disabled are incapable without the use of genAI is highly condescending, and reveals how groups of higher privilege view others with less privileges as inferior.
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GenAI is not highly accessible to use. While genAI is accessible to the public now, it still requires users to pay for it (sometimes a subscription) and also have a computer capable of running it.
An observation of people's increasing dependency on genAI and bots has led to a recently coined term called de-skillification, and it is happening now. Any possible so-called benefits of genAI are immediately offset by its destructive side effects and exploitation which further disenfranchise marginalized groups. The marketing of "genAI can do your job but better" is fraudulent, demoralizing, and damaging.Another bad faith argument includes the idea that genAI is "progress" and that, if we oppose it, we are against this so-called progress. What they do not include is the harm that genAI brings upon our humanity--all the examples written on this site. GenAI is unsustainable in its existence, unethical in its execution, and extremely volatile in how it is handled and mismanaged. Its obscurity of the real has led to the actual deaths of individuals. How does that represent progress?No one has been educated on how to utilized AI tools with precaution and peer review. There was never any regard for that because it wasn't made with people in mind.
From an Artist's Perspective
Thank you for taking the time to read this far.
This last section is more personal. I understand that genAI is not just affecting artists, but as someone who is an independent artist, I feel a particular frustration and anger with what's been going on.
All I ask is to please consider this sentiment...GenAI is institutionalized theft.Art is culture. It is ideas. It is work. It is experience, observation, interpretation, thoughtfulness, and careful execution. It is descriptive, rich, deep, with or without audience. It has been a part of us for thousands of years. Storytelling, cooking, music, drawing--none of it exists without us and our experiences. Art is human.
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The implementation of genAI is setting fire to the art and entertainment industries. It has been destroying the lives of those who dedicate themselves to their craft at a professional level. It is bastardizing billions of stolen works, all for the sake of selling content slop. It is a machine made to further exploit artistry which is an already notoriously exploited skill.
The exploitation of art is by its own antitheses--capitalism and greed.We are taught to devalue art and, by extension, artists. This has been extremely disheartening to experience, especially during a time of great recession and economic depression. Depletion of salaries, disappearance of jobs, removal of humans from workplaces...Capitalism opposes art because art puts people at the center of it. Art gives an outlet to EVERYONE, including marginalized voices. Its accessibility helps connect people from all walks of life across the globe, through all levels and mediums of artistry. I believe it is genuinely a good thing to have in your life. Art is an excellent tool for analysis and critical thinking, which is something we've been lacking severely.
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Some people seem very happy to tell artists that they're easily replaceable--an apathetic and corporate mindset that has been pushed by open genAI.
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It doesn't matter if genAI can produce a picture. It is institutionalized theft. It is on the fast track to the erasure of culture, of human capability, and of community. It is a burden on us.
Personally, I believe there is no place for genAI in our world. So far, it has proven itself to be misleading and incredibly destructive on all accounts, compounding issues we've already been trying to mitigate for years. I have heard from those in favor of genAI claiming that its sole purpose is to replace humans. Why would we want that?
GenAI has had a large negative impact on us psychologically. The implementation of it in daily life makes us feel useless, incompetent, and isolated. It makes us pessimistic of the future.
There are millions of people across this planet uniting together for our autonomy, our intellect, and our human rights. Together, we can accomplish progress and change.
Make a promise to combat genAI so that we can ensure that our future is educated, talented, resourceful, and kind.Thank you so much for reading! Please make use of the resources below.
