AI Generated Content Shouldn’t Be Normalized
With the developing technology of artificial intelligence, it’s never been easier to turn ideas into reality. AI can create digital artwork, write papers, sing songs, and much more.
While it’s convenient to generate content with a short prompt and a press of a button, this use of AI has raised concerns regarding privacy, discrimination, and ownership. Earlier this week, sexually explicit photos of Taylor Swift were spread all over social media. These photos were made using AI. X, previously Twitter, blocked searches for Swift a few days after. The site claimed that posting nonconsensual, explicit content was not allowed. But what about when a regular person who isn’t a household name with millions of fans is affected? Will social media platforms act with the same fervor?
After hearing of the incident, The White House Press Secretary told ABC News that the situation was alarming, and that congress should take legislative action. I believe that would be a starting point in regulating the use of AI, but how would it be enforced? The technological capabilities are improving every day; soon it will be impossible to tell the difference between real versus fake digital content.
Furthermore, the issue is larger than deepfake pornography and sexual images. The voices of actors and vocalists are being manipulated into singing other songs and used to perform voice acting roles. The appropriation of a performer’s voice, their livelihood, is incredibly unfair. Before artificial intelligence, there was no question about who your face and voice belonged to. However, now these parts of us can be taken and used in any and every way.
Like the use of voices, AI art is generated from previously existing works. It’s also full of mistakes and looks bad, but that’s not my main point. If numerous amounts of drawings are combined into one, is it still plagiarism? Either way, this zero-effort art is taking away jobs from creatives. Nicki Minaj posted AI artwork on X to promote her upcoming album, despite having more than enough money to hire a real artist. Overall, it’s lazy, ugly, and it diminishes the talent and skill required to create drawings and graphics.
The last problem I have with the use of AI is the writing generator. Besides helping kids avoid writing essays, AI writings are being used to create and publish books. I saw a woman on TikTok a while ago bragging about her side hustle of selling children’s books. The writing and artwork had both been AI generated. Kids should not be reading computer generated nonsense that lacks grammar and educational value.
Rules and regulations regarding the use of artificial intelligence need to be created and enforced soon. Not just because of lazy people making a quick buck, but because this technology can negatively impact people’s lives. Even if that were not the case, I don’t want to live in a world and consume content that lacks human emotions and creativity.
