AI will destroy the arts… with our help
I am certain you have seen the discourses about AI: one camp believes it will only harm humanity, one camps believes the opposite and one is on the fence. When art AI becomes commercially available, the ensuing discourses still continue the same pattern.
But, days before I started writing this, I noticed a new kind of sentiment.
In a Facebook post that expresses concern about how AI may replace animators, the comment section was quite celebratory. They believe AI will create animated films in significantly more bountiful amounts and they don’t have to wait in order to watch a new one.
The celebratory atmosphere is alarming for two reasons.
First reason, it is consumerism. They don’t care whether they enjoy the films or not. They want to consume them NOT for the sake of being entertained or inspired, but for the sake of consuming.
Personally, I had only seen this behaviour on consumers of physical objects (especially when there are discounts); this is my first time seeing it on consumers of intangible cultural products.
Even the least sophisticated individuals are still picky. While they only consume mainstream and escapist works, they still have preferences. You won’t see them consuming every single film in the market, let alone liking everything they have watched. They certainly don’t consume just for the sake of it; they still want to feel things.
I don’t know if consumerism is an innate desire which technology helps unmasking or it is a desire which technology creates. But, one thing I am certain: technology does not destroy human lives, humans who misuse technology do. Technology destroys because we help.
A second reason why I find the celebration alarming: they seem happy about the prospect of artists losing their livelihoods.
I mean, the post talks about the possibility of art AI replacing artists. If your response to such statement is to gush over the prospect of excessively consuming animated films, it insinuates that you are either unconcerned about artists being jobless or joyful about that; you probably hate artists for being too obsessed with quality over quantity, for not producing enough products.
Maybe, it is less about consumerism and more about fake futurism. You probably believe moving forward is all about embracing new technology, refusing to ponder about their long-term sustainability.
No, you cannot blame me for making such assumptions. When you think a potential problem is something worthy of a celebration, you cannot be angry when someone calls you an idiot, a cunt or both.
Either that or you didn’t pay full attention to. You probably react to the term “art AI” like some feral K-Pop fans react to names of their favourite musicians: once they are mentioned, your brains shut down and the things you worship quickly takeover, replacing your entire personalities.
Not immoral. But, that certainly make idiotic airheads.
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