← Back to context

Comment by scotty79

6 days ago

If you think human art was anything but a bootstrap for AI you are kidding yourself. I don't think artists are going to be as happy as you think though, because market for their services will drop even further towards zero and they will go back to being financed by the richest on a whim. The way it always used to be before the advent of information copying and distribution technologies. Technology giveth, technology taketh away.

Why are so many AI art boosters such giant edgelords? Do you really think having that much of a chip on your shoulder is justified?

You obviously can’t un-ring a bell, but finding ways to poison models that try to rip artists off sure is amusing. The real joke is on the people in software that think they’re so special that their skills will be worth anything at all, or believe that this will do anything but transfer wealth out of the paychecks of regular people, straight into the pockets of existing centibillionaires. There are too many developers in the existing market as it is, and so many of the ones that are diligently trying to reduce that demand further for an even larger range of disciplines, especially the in-demand jobs like setting up agents to take people’s jobs. Well, play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

  • > Why are so many AI art boosters such giant edgelords?

    You got it the other way around. Many edgelords became AI art boosters. Some became AI art dissers. It's a good topic for edgelords to edge about.

    > finding ways to poison models that try to rip artists off sure is amusing

    Yes. It is, but for other reasons. It looks like trying to turn a river with a stick. Little bit of water in one spot for a moment goes backwards and that one specific niche of people cheer. You made your song unfindable with Shazam. Good for you! Now I can't find you if I hear your music accidentally, because even if I catch some lyrics they are also heavily copyrighted. Step 2: ?, Step 3: Profit! Let me encounter your output the classic way, by being heavily marketed to for inordinate amounts of advertiser money. The way God intended!

    > The real joke is on the people in software that think they’re so special that their skills will be worth anything at all

    I fully expect to be completely replaced within few years. The same way my other skills were replaced by mobile diggers and powertools before I even acquired them.

    Some IT people don't believe they will not get replaced and I think they have fairly strong argument. Software breeds more software. Coding breeds more need for coding. Even if only 5% of coding will be done by humans it still might be more than 100% from few years ago. Juniors are screwed though until we decide to extend college age to 35.

    > There are too many developers in the existing market as it is

    Junior developers. If you could magically turn them all into AI senior researchers they would all have a job in a month.

    > believe that this will do anything but transfer wealth out of the paychecks of regular people, straight into the pockets of existing centibillionaires

    This is progressing for 50 years. Sure, it's a flimsy hope that it can be changed, but there are no other hopeful things to look forward to. Next best thing is a WWIII because the previous one turned out to be great societal equalizer.