For a way to understand how business and the military treat scientific ethics, the best, clearest case is the Manhattan Project. When discussing the project, it is important to remember that the program wasn’t to “develop an atomic bomb.” But to “develop an atomic bomb before the Nazi project produced one.” The potentially civilization-ending powers of the weapon were known. And, obviously, in a world where wooden bullets and poison gas were forbidden on the battlefield, something as horrific as an atomic bomb must be, right?
The Biggest Risk Concerning Artificial General Intelligence Is…
Doing research into AI for a project, which is part of the reason why I’m so interested in AI art and language as it is pretty much the only AI stuff that I can get my hands on, I have come to believe the biggest threat from AI is the tendency for scientists to ignore who funds their research and why.
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Elon Musk Might Quit Twitter Fun Times!
So, Elon Musk might be stepping down as Twitter CEO. I mean, let’s be clear. As the sole owner of Twitter, it could mean nothing at all. It could be a publicity stunt. And almost certainly any CEO chosen by Elon Musk – and they WOULD be chosen by Elon Musk, exclusively – would be absolutely beholden to Elon Musk. Further, mistakes that “Twitter” made going forward could be blamed on the non-Musk CEO, offering at least partial cover for his painfully stupid decisions.
Artists Get What They Want, Good and Hard
You can’t put the genie back in the bottle, no matter what you do. There were warnings about the harm mechanization can do to industries, but artists figured, oh, not us. We’re different. Our work encapsulates the soul of humanity, and therefore, we can’t be replaced! Most artists – in all fields – were absolutely silent when mechanization and computerization devastated blacksmiths, glassblowers, woodworkers, and so many others whose styles and skills were plundered by industrialization for the profit of large corporations. They were also silent when AIs were being crafted for other fields that were about to face the chopping block of computerization. Truck drivers and cashiers weren’t artists, what they did wasn’t like art, despite the absolute centrality of those jobs for human civilization to continue to exist. No one eats without truck drivers handling cargo and cashiers selling it to you, not until they are replaced by machines.
Alan Moore is Kinna a Whiner About His Fans and Art
After reading that bit about Adobe using AI art tools, I read an interview in GQ with Alan Moore. Reading it didn’t spoil my appreciation of Moore’s work, but, man, he’s a selfish little asshole.
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Adobe MAX Jumps Into AI-Generated Art… and the Game is Up
Adobe will include a bunch of AI art tools in the Adobe MAX suite of tools. This isn’t a surprise because it is evident that a lot of visual arts are going to be AI moving forward. In announcing this, Adobe spent a lot of time saying that these tools would not replace artists.
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The End of History Has More Than One Meaning
Francis Fukuyama, a Hegelian philosopher and political scientist, wrote an article that appeared in The Atlantic, “More Proof That This is Really the End of History.” He said that the current regime of strongmen in places like Russia and China again demonstrates that liberal democracies are the only serious game in town.
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Thoughts on AI Generated Art
I have started to use AI art generators for characters and covers. I’m going to talk about my take on the legal, ethical, and use of the generators.