Comment by throwaway290
2 years ago
> Users benefit from cheaper access to customized content. (In other words, arguably it's a net positive thing that they can - for example - ask some GenAI tool to make them a nice picture for their friend's birthday.)
very arguably yeah. we evolve to where we push a button and get a birthday present. the logical conclusion is a system that does not even require to push a button. this is the opposite of the original point (spend time and effort making something to show you care). so to me it is not benefit, it is harm.
maybe you picked a bad example. but the examples of legit benefits of this tech, they don't turn into harms if you really analyze it and go to the root, are hard to find in consumer land.
I like this example because I tried making a greeting card "by hand" and it of course sucked ass. (As I have zero idea how to use Photoshop despite religiously reading the tutorials 20 years ago on a community site :D And, of course, I used PhotoPea.)
So by spending the same 20 minutes fiddling with some kind of graphics if the outcome becomes 10x better then I see that as an advantage. (That said I haven't tried this.)
Basically this is "exactly" that kind of capability that we already seen in "artist paints kid's drawing" [0] just commoditized. And this is where I (as a user) would be looking for the style transfer. Because I saw something famous/trendy/fancy/aesthetically-pleasing and now want to imitate it as a gag for this hypothetical birthday card. (Sure, copyright already doesn't care if I download someone's famous photo, and cut my friends head out from a photo I made, and put the head part on the copyrighted photo. Yet it was a straightforward derivative work. Just it's not commercial, damages are none, or even negative, ie. the artist benefits from that famous exposure! :D)
> legit benefits of this tech
I wanted to try to find an example that could apply to a lot of users. Because as awesome as using GenAI to generate Lean proofs (and then add a feedback loop by actually running the generated code through Lean) to solve Math Olympiad problems [1], it's not really an everyday thing.
> we evolve to where we push a button and get a birthday present. the logical conclusion is a system that does not even require to push a button.
Well, maybe! In no time we'll board the Axios and just chill. [2] But at the same time crafts and DIY and experiences (tourism, festivals, concerts) are ridiculously popular. (And it has its own problems. [3])
[0] https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/08/travel/barcelona-tourism-...
> Well, maybe! In no time we'll board the Axios and just chill.
This was sarcasm. That system would never happen. If birthday card requires no effort it is worse than nothing, literal noise.
> So by spending the same 20 minutes fiddling with some kind of graphics if the outcome becomes 10x better then I see that as an advantage. (That said I haven't tried this.)
Feels like you misunderstood. It is not "10x better" or "advantage" because literally the easier it was for you the less it is valuable.
> It is not "10x better" or "advantage" because literally the easier it was for you the less it is valuable.
... why? The closer I can approximate my imagined output (in a fixed time) the more value I see in it. The tool provides the added value.
We have better cameras than 30 years ago. Better pictures. It's easier to make a better photo in the same amount of time. I would be happier if my old blurry photos would be better.
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