Post by Stefan Bucher

Why do I keep ranting against generative AI? It's not, by emerging standards, a good look; it's "old man yells at cloud." For a creative person, embracing shiny new technology is much better branding. But that's the trap, right? We're pushed to abandon common sense to stay part of the mainstream. And the mainstream is what the AI brigade are dictating to us. The generals of that army—your Sams Altman and Marks Zuckerberg—give the marching orders, and the rank and file eagerly fall in line. And I suspect that many of them genuinely think they're on the side of the angels. We all gotta get through this life, and we all turn and tweak our story until we can reasonably feel that we're one of the good ones. That's where it starts getting tricky for me emotionally. I know how to deal with obviously evil m***********s; I expect them to act the way they do. They don't surprise me. We still gotta stomp 'em down, but there's no ambiguity about it. What I can't get a handle on is people who are ostensibly my peers and colleagues—designers, musicians, writers etc.—gleefully throwing each other under the bus... why? To stay relevant for a little longer, I guess, or to keep their jobs. Or out of some genuine—if shortsighted—excitement for a new toy. In the process they don't just turn their backs on their community, but they're also willingly sundering their connection to their own imagination and to a shared space of creativity. But of course, that's the point. That's why the obvious m***********s aren't pushing medical uses of AI, or better leveraging of available power sources, or scientific discovery; they give us seductive toys—to make as many people as possible buy in, to make them complicit, and to isolate us from each other. Isolated people are easier to control. They see us as cash batteries to be drained efficiently, and they're ushering in the golden age of cash extraction. It's endlessly sad to see so many people willingly turn away from community and march themselves into their own mental prison instead. Human solidarity is all we have, especially now, and we're throwing it away for nothing. That’s why I keep ranting. I want to stay connected to other people still fighting the good fight, and to maybe give them some encouragement and support. If I can stir some hesitation in the AI ecstatics along the way, so much the better. More than anything, I just want to keep reminding you that none of this is inevitable, and that you always have the right to say, "No, thank you, I'm not willing to do that." You're not alone.