I'm curious. You say, "But it might be worthwhile to acknowledge we all let it happen on our watch." On the surface this is true, but what do you suggest anybody do about it? To suggest accountability is to imply that some reasonable action existed that the person was negligent in. Even if a person as powerful as the President of the United States (who we know loves executive orders) chose to outlaw all AI in the US, effectively destroying most of the top AI companies in the world, this would not stop what's happening. It would continue in China, or somewhere else, and would eventually become so dominant around the world it would be near impossible to remain an island. It might delay things a year, and it would likely have disastrous consequences on the US ability to deal with threats created by AI (this is not directly related to art-generating AI, but all AI research leads to advances that can be reused in other areas).
The AI race feels like the Manhattan Project, or the Space Race: no matter how dire the consequences of what you are creating, the consequence of not creating it just means your enemies will have it.
I'm glad you asked. I shoulda included it. Let China do China. The goal is not to win, the goal is to maintain our values. In all things. We do not compete with China in disappearances of dissidents, we should not compete with them here.
If all AI did was create mediocre art, I'd agree with you. Abstaining would be a statement of values. Unfortunately, it's not just doing that. Its capabilities have the potential to affect geopolitical power and national security. So all countries are afraid to be left behind. So everyone is involved. And unlike nuclear power, individual people can research and use it, and who knows what they might come up with? So the race is on, and along the way, many jobs may be lost and not just in art. It's a frightening technology, and even its creators don't know its full potential.
Solicited the regular cover and the uncensored variant at my local shop
I'm curious. You say, "But it might be worthwhile to acknowledge we all let it happen on our watch." On the surface this is true, but what do you suggest anybody do about it? To suggest accountability is to imply that some reasonable action existed that the person was negligent in. Even if a person as powerful as the President of the United States (who we know loves executive orders) chose to outlaw all AI in the US, effectively destroying most of the top AI companies in the world, this would not stop what's happening. It would continue in China, or somewhere else, and would eventually become so dominant around the world it would be near impossible to remain an island. It might delay things a year, and it would likely have disastrous consequences on the US ability to deal with threats created by AI (this is not directly related to art-generating AI, but all AI research leads to advances that can be reused in other areas).
The AI race feels like the Manhattan Project, or the Space Race: no matter how dire the consequences of what you are creating, the consequence of not creating it just means your enemies will have it.
I'm glad you asked. I shoulda included it. Let China do China. The goal is not to win, the goal is to maintain our values. In all things. We do not compete with China in disappearances of dissidents, we should not compete with them here.
If all AI did was create mediocre art, I'd agree with you. Abstaining would be a statement of values. Unfortunately, it's not just doing that. Its capabilities have the potential to affect geopolitical power and national security. So all countries are afraid to be left behind. So everyone is involved. And unlike nuclear power, individual people can research and use it, and who knows what they might come up with? So the race is on, and along the way, many jobs may be lost and not just in art. It's a frightening technology, and even its creators don't know its full potential.