I take your point, but in this specific application (synthetically generated influencer images) it’s largely something that falls out for free from a wider stream of research (namely Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models). It’s not like it’s really coming at the expense of something else.
As for what it’s eventually progressing towards - who knows… It has proven to be quite an unpredictable and fruitful field. For example Toyota’s research lab recently created a very inspired method of applying Diffusion models to robotic control which I don’t think many people were expecting.
That said, there are definitely societal problems surrounding AI, its proposed uses, legislation regarding the acquisition of data, etc. Often times markets incentivize its use for trivial, pointless, or even damaging applications. But IMO it’s important to note that it’s the fault of the structure of our political economy, not the technology itself.
The ability to extract knowledge and capabilities from large datasets with neural models is truly one of humanity’s great achievements (along with metallurgy, the printing press, electricity, digital computing, networking communications, etc.), so the cat’s out of the bag. We just have to try and steer it as best we can.
SkippingRelax@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Human influences have always given me dystopian vibes. And they were just making some executives and themselves rich, is not such a big loss…
TwilightVulpine@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Human influencers are just celebrities at a smaller scale, and frankly the assumption that influencer/celebrity culture will go away if influencers are replaced I’m seeing in this thread is completely unrealistic. We will just get Coca-ColAIna and L’ÓreAI-chan instead of people occasionally peddling products.
If there’s any real concern of artificiality and parasocial following as a replacement for real human connections behind this disdain at influencers, then in no way replacing them with AI is going to fix anything. It will only make it worse. It will lead to custom-tailored indoctrination by brands.
Worse than that, I already see people treating actual artists much in the same way. That the human element in culture doesn’t matter as much as having an endless source of nebulous content, and that anyone making art should get a “real job” instead. Nevermind that those are also in line for automation…
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 months ago
‘Influencer’ as a job has only existed for what, 10 years? I don’t think society will collapse without them.
TwilightVulpine@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Influencers have a lot of overlap with artistic expression online, but this is not even all that it is about. This is not going to end simply with replacing Logan Paul and stopping at that. This is only one more step in a trend to replace a lot of creative, intellectual and service jobs. Which wouldn’t even be so bad if those people had a guarantee of a living and could do anything they want with their time… but this is not how it goes.
xor@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
“influencers” are more like models than celebrities… they add nothing
TwilightVulpine@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Do you really think models add nothing? Because that is a form of art too. If anything the comparison only serves to give some credit to influencers.
SkippingRelax@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Replacing influencers with ai is not going to fix anything for that we should dismantle social media and have a serious talk all 8 billion of us, but it’s not going to make anything worse either, it is already custom tailored indoctrination by brands and a handful of assholes are making stupid amounts of money. I’m not going to cry if that money shifts to different hands.
Yes artists come up often in this kind of discussions, the ones that are losing their job to ai never had one in the first place, same as influencers. What are we talking about, Jim that makes you a custom logo and business cards for your business?
The guy that gets a commission from the newly opened local microbrewery for graffiti-ing their walls is hardly losing any work to ai. If anything they could integrate ai in their creative process.
TwilightVulpine@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Good luck convincing 8 billion people all to agree on anything, especially to drop something that has become so enmeshed with people’s lives already.
But it is going to make it worse. All the data they are collecting from us will be directly funelled into how best to manipulate us in an individual manner. It is not custom tailored to a personal level yet. Even the most cynical and greedy influencer doesn’t have the means to individualize ads. But if it’s all AI-created, then it can be done.
Nice No True Scotsman, sounds like you don’t really value their work, that anyone who could be replaced never deserved to earn a living to begin with. I don’t think there is anything I can respond to that, because at that point we have a fundamental conflict of values and worldview.
I believe artists, even small artists, deserve to be supported and that our world and culture is better off for that. Including Jim.
That is, until a drone can physically print AI-created graffiti and replace that guy in the same way that the digital artists get replaced
Assuming said artist even wants to do that, why would that business hire someone to use an AI if it could do it themselves? The benefit of AI is making content creation easier and faster. It’s not enough to say that “artists could just use it” because inevitably that makes it so less artists would be needed or hired for any given work. Say the graffitti artist manages to use said AI and drones and get by. Well, then it doesn’t need a team and apprentices anymore. And these won’t manage to do the same because the graffiti worked is already handled.
Ultimately, what is all this for? Rather than automation freeing us to have leisure and be creative, it’s freeing us to carry boxes in an Amazon warehouse.