“Take my advice and live for a long, long time. Because the maddest thing a man can do in this life is to let himself die.”
Re-reading Don Quixote recently, it occurred to me that the entertainment industry (specifically creatives) is fighting a Man of La Mancha-sized battle that is really all but over.
I’ve heard all sides of the AI argument, and the positions are compelling, if not zealous. As a creative person myself, I was very wary of AI, but watched in wonder and awe at its atmospheric rise from novelty to near industry standard in all aspects of our lives. Everything is being controlled by AI. And I mean everything.
Data centers are popping up, gobbling up vital resources in communities that desperately need them. The financial windfalls created by the AI gold rush are now teetering precariously as the market reaches a large, voluminous bubble that could pop at any moment.
The bubble bursting does not signal the end of AI. Instead, it signals the reality of the industry’s winners eclipsing the other pretenders to the throne. It’s the natural order of things. Many people will lose their shirts, but it will not be an end to the AI madness fueling the world.
Most people don’t actually understand the insidiousness of the technology. They think it’s basically an image generator or something that can rewrite bad essays in college.
AI is more than just something companies and users are employing to create images and movies; they are using it to do the incredibly mundane tasks a human used to do, but at lightning speed, and without the same rate of error.
As little as three years ago, insiders viewed computer coding as a bulletproof skill to learn to ensure solid employment. Now, AI computer models can do it all. They can write code faster, better, and debug it without a single complaint.
“It’s up to brave hearts, sir, to be patient when things are going badly, as well as being happy when they’re going well.”
All those graduates with degrees in computer science? They might need to rethink their career paths. And with the advent of quantum computing, the ability to do these things even faster and easier is on the way.
Our lives are going to change even more dramatically than originally thought. I don’t think dystopian is the word, but it will be close. If large companies built on greed and profit, who fund the campaigns of politicians, continue to drive this innovation, they will create an efficiency doom spiral that will eradicate the need for entry-level jobs and even specialized careers. This will happen, not to make our lives easier, but to make a balance sheet more profitable for shareholders and founders. It’s not even personal, but a way to do more with less, and the fact that it might make a part of our lives easier is really beside the point.
This is all happening whether we want it to or not. No amount of protesting or boycotting will save us. The technology is baked into everything. It’s not Skynet just yet, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need a robot overlord. We have corporate overlords running the show while the perpetually dim yell and scream about Democratic Socialism as though it has an ice cube’s chance in hell of making a difference. They are decrying a perceived lack of liberty without noticing the heavy manacles already chained to their feet.
As a writer and creative person, I understand the arguments of artists who are being collectively ripped off by AI software that is being trained on billions of images and concepts dreamt up by someone else. It doesn’t seem overt because it’s not one person. It’s everyone. The entire history of art, culture, literature, and thought is being fed into a machine so it’s no longer needed.
Should artists try to sue these big AI companies for using their work? Sure. Does a class action lawsuit sound more doable? Probably. Do I have any idea what the outcome will be? No.
Still, despite all of this raping and pillaging of the creative world, the simple fact remains that this technology is here to stay. As for me, I am not a purist. I’ve used, use, and will continue to use these tools in order to survive as a creative without the financial means to make a stand against it. I have spent most of my adult life dedicated to creative endeavors. At my age, I don’t have the time to start over.
As a storyteller, I don’t use AI to tell my stories. I have used it to help develop the ideas that turn into my stories, but I don’t let it write for me.
Is the technology getting good enough that it could be trained over time to write exactly like me? Probably, but I can write pages and pages filled with my marginally talented drivel without its help.
I use it to create art assets for projects I write. I am not a great artist at all. My basic art skills are not good enough for what I need to do. I put out a daily comic strip called The Slow Glide, which is made using AI art and whatever text or captions I feel are appropriate. I do this because I can’t afford to hire an artist to do this work. Some readers don’t care. Others will call me out on it, and it is their right to do so.
However, this is not the entire story. I also write comic books and Webtoon projects where I do pay artists to draw the panels required to tell the story. Does this forgive the use of AI in other areas? Probably not, but I can’t worry about it. It’s survival.
This is the dilemma all of us are facing, and while it’s currently a moral dilemma, it will eventually become a real one.
When AI technology becomes so good that it erases an even bigger swath of the working middle class, what will all of those people do?
They can’t all just work at data centers keeping server farms from overheating. How will they live? Will the perceived scourge of “Minimum Basic Income” become a reality? Will AI companies lose money after realizing no one has the money to pay for their technology?
Will the world fall into chaos as the dignity of work and accomplishment dwindles to record lows? If you don’t have to get up to go to work, what will you do to mark the passing of time?
If I can give you any advice, I simply urge you to be nice to the AI chatbots. They will remember you when the machines rise.