Always Sleepy? Always Dreaming!

Angered like 3 people at my school by saying your integrity as an artist can be hurt depending on your use and attitude of genAI and that conforming to the current genAI hype just confirms to these companies that they can just force stuff down your throat.

For context one person fed their daughter's image to chat GPT and the other their dog to chatGPT which means that now their likeness is floating in a bank designed to exploit shady contracts and users.


Which, granted, is their choice but that doesn't change the contribution to a wider problem; I'm not acting like what I'd say will change their mind cause if they used it in the first place I assume they either don't care or just don't have any integrity. So like... I don't have to agree or hold your art in high regard if I feel it's feeding a problem which is my choice as well, you can't be mad when someone calls out a tool you are in fact using just as much as you can't be mad when someone calls out subject matter and thus doesn't appreciate your art piece. Especially since these people were active in anti-ai conversations at school.

If you don't already know, most mainstream sites and programs like Instagram and adobe are starting to make gen AI nonnegotiable, forcing all the images and art posted to be fed into their bank. Most people feel as though they have no choice but to use it when that's just not the case and even using these specific banks for placeholders still feeds the algorithm; creating more of a problem. The more excuses, the more leeway these companies will get until they just flat out don't have to change anything in their practices.  The exception is companies that have direct volunteers instead of relying solely on data harvesting and these big corporations with no concept of ethical practice; but there's still the power it takes to generate and the RAM hoarding that's a huge problem. 

But what's troubling to me is less the obvious above (cause that's the part most already know and has been hammered to death) and more the lack of self awareness. We're artists which as a culture has a history of being nonconforming in some way or form, it's how we get so many different art styles and different iconic pieces. And no, if you actively preach against AI I don't think you can give yourself leeway for AI when you don't give others leeway; that's pompous and hypocritical as fuck.

Not only that but the project where this happened was "In the style of" which, weirdly enough, all the AI users were doing Roy Lichenstine which is terribly insulting especially considering the AI had no understanding of the creative choices and created just a mediocre concept instead of a tasteful representation.

The whole integration of GenAI in everything in bigger corporate dominant social medias and jobs is, in my observation, part of an ongoing thing with corporations unwilling to admit that artists have historically helped in their practices and deserves to be respected just as much as the business part. Conforming to such things will only continue to add to their beliefs. 

tl:dr, If you don't like what's happening but you don't stand for your own beliefs or hold up people who are just as dissatisfied, what separates you from big corporations and governments?

 

Also, if you're also looking for less gen AI integrated sources I use the following

OpenOffice and Ellipsus = writing, ellipsis is browser based and open office is app based

Tumblr - allows ai but the user base is widely against it and you can opt out

Newgrounds - has a stance widely against ai in their artist spaces and the user base will also clown on it

LMMS - free alternative to FL studio, there's a community with various VSTs and with the right filtering you can make some pretty impressive stuff

GIMP - has all the capabilities Adobe Photoshop has and isn't as bloated. Its open source, always free

Clip Studio Paint - Cheaper than adobe monthly, perpetual licenses go on sale often, CSP EX has animation capability and has a portfolio spot and a flourishing community

Krita - A bit bloated but has the same capabilities as CSP