The problems with AI "art" and writing [08/10/2024]

AI writing and "art" is the subject of controversy and there is quite a bit of discussion around it. Some see no issues with utilising it whilst some despise it and claim that it's "theft". I fall into the latter, and in this blog post, I'll explain how generative AI works and why I dislike it.

First, let's talk about AI being used in writing. The most dangerous and interesting case of this is self-published foraging books on Amazon. These books give vague descriptions of plants and fungi whilst failing to mention what regions you can find them in, making the guides an accident waiting to happen. If you want to find out more, I recommend the linked video. But how could an AI, something supposedly much more intelligent than all of us, be so wrong? It's because the generative AI used to write (e.g. ChatGPT) gains its information from the internet. It scans pages of info, mixes everything it finds and re-words it. So, if pages of the internet contain misinformation, AI will make a lot of mistakes, some being harmful.

Now what about AI generated images, also called AI "art"? Many artists hate AI "art" and for good reason. Similar to AI writing, it takes things from the internet and mashes it all into one, and what it's taking is real artists' work without their consent. In short, it's theft and there's no denying it. There was a massive controversy with DeviantArt's generative AI because the AI stole from millions of artists without their permission. There are also those who call themselves "AI artists", people who do nothing but type a prompt into a program to get a generated image made from the stolen artwork of others, and then claim the generated image is "art" they made. Actual artists are annoyed that this is happening, and rightfully so.

So, from all of this, it's safe to say that AI isn't just factually incorrect at times but also plagiarises others. It's irritating, but I don't think AI will take over the world like some believe it will (at least with how it is now): AI generates things from the internet, a place full of knowledge and human stupidity, so AI is just as dumb as the average person, with the only real difference being its pretentious wording.