Why Creatives Shouldn’t Be Afraid of AI
There are no limits to creativity, so there is room enough for us all
AI, like any powerful technology, will have both positive and negative effects on society. But what’s particularly scary about this technology is that its development is moving incredibly fast, and it represents a way for technology to replicate and replace human functions like nothing before it. These ills are compounded by the unethical business structures surrounding AI. AI’s owners are relatively few, whereas the information that went to feed these machines was cultivated by all of us. They’re taking the works of individuals, giving it to the machine to study, and then having the machine recreate fundamentally derivative works without ever compensating the original creator. If they’re making a deal with a company like Shutterstock, YouTube, or even a platform like the one you’re reading this on, to be able to use their data, the shareholders of both the content company and AI company will see a financial windfall from it, but the content creators who actually supply that data are so far being left out. The same thing is likely to happen when companies use this technology to boost productivity. They will need less workers, and the people who will primarily benefit from this are those at the top. It should be clear by now that this article is not in defense of…
