The problem isn't that "good" art will go away, it's that a million other pieces of art will have even less of a chance than it does now to make the artists any sort of money due to the lowering of the value of less popular artists.
But you're right in the sense that it's happening anyways, this is just an expedition of the process that is currently fucking people that were --months ago -- eeking by with an income from it, now finding themselves screwed by something that isn't even able to properly replace them but good enough to fuck them out of money due to the confusion it creates in the market.
At the end of the day, when this dust is settled, AI will exist only as a tool to lower the wages of already underpaid artists as a threat that one day you'll be replaced if you have the nerve to ask for compensation for your labor.
The problem isn’t that “good” art will go away, it’s that a million other pieces of art will have even less of a chance than it does now to make the artists any sort of money due to the lowering of the value of less popular artists.
At the corporate level, yeah. We just saw Buzzfeed purge a bunch of Professional Listicale Writers. I'm sure Madison Avenue is clearing its bench of low rent ad copy writers.
But, like, Brian Sanderson isn't going anywhere. His work is simply valued at the going retail "long form novel" rate times volume sold. And it's the volume of sales that's really defining his income. He's not being paid by the word, but by the reader.
At the end of the day, when this dust is settled, AI will exist only as a tool to lower the wages of already underpaid artists as a threat that one day you’ll be replaced
It's going to be used like a threat, in the same way the Automat was used to threaten fast food workers for the last fifty years.
But it is a hollow threat, because these trades don't flourish exclusively on quantity produced. It's very much about quality.
The jobs being threatened are ultimately editorial or (frankly) professional plagiarists.
And there's something of an upshot to AI text generation, in the same way that Adobe Acrobat and inkjet printers have been an upshot for visual artists. Spit balling generic ideas at an AI and getting prompts back isn't the worst way to brainstorm an original work.
Meanwhile, KickStarters for comics about sexy vampire RPG rules sets and comics about big titty furries will continue to exist
I'm pro AI as a creative tool fwiw and pretty much agree with you but:
It’s going to be used like a threat, in the same way the Automat was used to threaten fast food workers for the last fifty years.
The very well paid fast food workers.
I know it's a hollow threat, but it doesn't really matter since the perceived threat can be enough to lower a jobs position in the market.
Solidarity of course fixes this, but in the atomized bullshit hell world we live in it seems hard to find.
The jobs being threatened are ultimately editorial or (frankly) professional plagiarists
Also adding that those types of jobs are basically the only way to get into the business of professional ad copy without having connections, so idk maybe don't be too harsh on people losing their livelihood y'know?
Meanwhile, KickStarters for comics about sexy vampire RPG rules sets and comics about big titty furries will continue to exist
Right. But the real threat aimed at service workers isn't automation, its other workers. The very recent rise in service section wages stems from a shortage of warm bodies even in the face of a new generation of retail appliances.
Solidarity of course fixes this, but in the atomized bullshit hell world we live in it seems hard to find.
Clamp downs on immigration, fewer people having kids, and Boomer retirements also fix this, to a degree.
Automation is supposed to be what plugs the gap in the labor market. It doesn't.
Also adding that those types of jobs are basically the only way to get into the business of professional ad copy without having connections, so idk maybe don’t be too harsh on people losing their livelihood y’know?
There's another way in, and that's slush reading. That's a field which has been historically neglected. But in the age of AI shit-copy and Audible / Amazon publishing scams, its more valuable than ever.
The open question is whether we see these firms make the pivot or just content themselves to hosting enormous libraries of gibberish.
Right. But the real threat aimed at service workers isn’t automation, its other workers.
Even in the best case scenario of AI becoming a useful tool for these jobs, it still lowers the bar of entry so it's possible to see that used as well.
There’s another way in, and that’s slush reading. That’s a field which has been historically neglected. But in the age of AI shit-copy and Audible / Amazon publishing scams, its more valuable than ever.
Oh yeah if we see more entry level to combat AI and plagiarism then I'd be very happy. I think as it currently stands most slush readers are interns though, so i mean I hope that changes.
Even in the best case scenario of AI becoming a useful tool for these jobs, it still lowers the bar of entry so it’s possible to see that used as well.
I do see this argument made, but I think its more capitalist propaganda than not.
Increasing the degree of technology in a business has not - in my experience - reduced the demand for experienced or skilled workers. On the contrary, it tends to create a demand for a very particular specialty. The consequence of technology tends to be businesses asking for the mythological "Entry Level Hire with Five Years Experience".
I think as it currently stands most slush readers are interns though, so i mean I hope that changes.
Right. And that's the real peril of the system. Not that some AI is going to take my job, but that some business is simply going to announce "Slush Readers Should Never Get Paid!"
The consequences of such a system are not quite as dramatic or deadly as the Norfolk Southern guys who insist a five mile long train full of toxic waste should be run by unpaid interns. But it moves the industry in the same general direction - the industry execs whining about how operating their firms costs too much money while a giant pile of crap ruins the lay person's experience in the system.
I do see this argument made, but I think its more capitalist propaganda than not.
Right. And that’s the real peril of the system. Not that some AI is going to take my job, but that some business is simply going to announce “Slush Readers Should Never Get Paid!”
:same-picture:
I don't think that AI will replace skilled artists and writers in any meaningful, but I think the propagandist effects of it are going to fuck the workers in the industry in the near future
I don't have an actual fear of the AI, I think it's cool even as a tool, just the disruption it will cause in the already meekly paid lives of the talent that has to deal with it.
The problem isn't that "good" art will go away, it's that a million other pieces of art will have even less of a chance than it does now to make the artists any sort of money due to the lowering of the value of less popular artists.
But you're right in the sense that it's happening anyways, this is just an expedition of the process that is currently fucking people that were --months ago -- eeking by with an income from it, now finding themselves screwed by something that isn't even able to properly replace them but good enough to fuck them out of money due to the confusion it creates in the market.
At the end of the day, when this dust is settled, AI will exist only as a tool to lower the wages of already underpaid artists as a threat that one day you'll be replaced if you have the nerve to ask for compensation for your labor.
At the corporate level, yeah. We just saw Buzzfeed purge a bunch of Professional Listicale Writers. I'm sure Madison Avenue is clearing its bench of low rent ad copy writers.
But, like, Brian Sanderson isn't going anywhere. His work is simply valued at the going retail "long form novel" rate times volume sold. And it's the volume of sales that's really defining his income. He's not being paid by the word, but by the reader.
It's going to be used like a threat, in the same way the Automat was used to threaten fast food workers for the last fifty years.
But it is a hollow threat, because these trades don't flourish exclusively on quantity produced. It's very much about quality.
The jobs being threatened are ultimately editorial or (frankly) professional plagiarists.
And there's something of an upshot to AI text generation, in the same way that Adobe Acrobat and inkjet printers have been an upshot for visual artists. Spit balling generic ideas at an AI and getting prompts back isn't the worst way to brainstorm an original work.
Meanwhile, KickStarters for comics about sexy vampire RPG rules sets and comics about big titty furries will continue to exist
I'm pro AI as a creative tool fwiw and pretty much agree with you but:
The very well paid fast food workers.
I know it's a hollow threat, but it doesn't really matter since the perceived threat can be enough to lower a jobs position in the market.
Solidarity of course fixes this, but in the atomized bullshit hell world we live in it seems hard to find.
Also adding that those types of jobs are basically the only way to get into the business of professional ad copy without having connections, so idk maybe don't be too harsh on people losing their livelihood y'know?
The day this ends is humanity's final as well
Right. But the real threat aimed at service workers isn't automation, its other workers. The very recent rise in service section wages stems from a shortage of warm bodies even in the face of a new generation of retail appliances.
Clamp downs on immigration, fewer people having kids, and Boomer retirements also fix this, to a degree.
Automation is supposed to be what plugs the gap in the labor market. It doesn't.
There's another way in, and that's slush reading. That's a field which has been historically neglected. But in the age of AI shit-copy and Audible / Amazon publishing scams, its more valuable than ever.
The open question is whether we see these firms make the pivot or just content themselves to hosting enormous libraries of gibberish.
:inshallah-script:
Even in the best case scenario of AI becoming a useful tool for these jobs, it still lowers the bar of entry so it's possible to see that used as well.
Oh yeah if we see more entry level to combat AI and plagiarism then I'd be very happy. I think as it currently stands most slush readers are interns though, so i mean I hope that changes.
I do see this argument made, but I think its more capitalist propaganda than not.
Increasing the degree of technology in a business has not - in my experience - reduced the demand for experienced or skilled workers. On the contrary, it tends to create a demand for a very particular specialty. The consequence of technology tends to be businesses asking for the mythological "Entry Level Hire with Five Years Experience".
Right. And that's the real peril of the system. Not that some AI is going to take my job, but that some business is simply going to announce "Slush Readers Should Never Get Paid!"
The consequences of such a system are not quite as dramatic or deadly as the Norfolk Southern guys who insist a five mile long train full of toxic waste should be run by unpaid interns. But it moves the industry in the same general direction - the industry execs whining about how operating their firms costs too much money while a giant pile of crap ruins the lay person's experience in the system.
:same-picture:
I don't think that AI will replace skilled artists and writers in any meaningful, but I think the propagandist effects of it are going to fuck the workers in the industry in the near future
I don't have an actual fear of the AI, I think it's cool even as a tool, just the disruption it will cause in the already meekly paid lives of the talent that has to deal with it.