“I think the risk is that we are accelerating the rate at which decision support systems and automated decision systems are operating. We are doing it in a way that obviates any possibility of having humans in the loop. And we are doing it as we are promulgating a narrative that these judgments are more trustworthy than human judgments.--Cory Doctorow, Cory Doctorow Wants You To Know What Computers Can’t Do, New Yorker, December 4th, (2022).
In the face of the ever-growing capabilities of language models, generative AI, and the ability to convert text to images, code, music, and video (and vice versa), one must ask: what is art now? Is it any good? If I experiment with these tools will my reputation be scrambled?
In 2023, the effects of large language models on cognitive and technological processes are being felt by us all, creeping out from TV news headlines and a flurry of articles, plus the masses of output itself. Artists, musicians, and DJs have experienced the negative impacts of digital tech innovation and regulation (or deregulation) over the past 30 years, and LLMs are like jet fuel to the fire. A large portion of illustrators, painters, digital visual artists, and writers are already feeling the financial repercussions of being replaced by those who do not value the original creators so much, some of whom are my good friends and associates. Digital advertisements, populist political mudslinging, and the wasteland of un-social media are quick to adopt cheaper, automated solutions. They’ve been going down this route for over 25 years. I have seen the weaponization of LLMs and other AI related data analytics used without the public's knowledge and with limited privileged access, such as in the Cambridge Analytica scandals. Court transcripts highlight that every deception, lie, and untruth has likely been expertly exploited from people and then cruelly used back against them by those with selfish motives to achieve political power, ever expanding profits and disruption. Examples of this disruption can be seen in the election of Donald Trump, Brexit, and Jair Bolsonaro. We must get better at distinguishing the wheat from the chaff, our humanity depends on it, we are all alike Dekhard now.
The debate about what is and is not art is an important one, and it is essential that all voices are heard and respected. We need to ensure that human artists are given the recognition they deserve, and that their prolific, exploratory, and irrational work is not overshadowed by the advances of technology. Find and celebrate the humanity in us all, point out what distinguishes us from the apes, and us from the intelligent machines, or as Buckminster Fuller put it, “Don’t fight forces, use them.” This work of fiction is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not meant to be taken as real communication. Any similarities to actual people, living or deceased, or events is purely coincidental. This text is meant to provide a deeper understanding and appreciation of AI, historical events and figures, and should not be used as a primary source of historical information. This work is partially assisted by ChatGPT, and my role has been somewhat reduced to curating prompts and then acting as chief coherence/decoherence director. I’ve spent as much time editing as any other published work. Deep Scratch, the original website, novel and decade-long research blog, includes themes of deep learning and generative AI, this work continues those themes.
“The author generated this text in part with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this publication.”--OpenAI.
All images created using Stable Diffusion 2.1 and Craiyon (DALLE:2) and touched up using Picture Monkey software. Curated by Steve Fly Agaric 2023. Visit deepscratch.net/remix for soundtrack and video support.
https://deepscratch.net/remix/