Rambles: Poll Result on AI Art (Patreon)

As of 8:43am, 35 people have cast their vote, expressing their views on the use of AI Art:

20% "despise"

26% "tolerate"

9% ambivalent

31% "like"

11% "love"

And one complex opinion expressed; thank you Zebelle for the detailed response!

Poll/quiz design is a fine art, and a little more thought should have gone into the option formulation, but the above results read (to me) as a 46% negative, 44% positive response, with those who dislike AI Art more likely to feel strongly about it than those who like AI Art.

I'm no expert on the subject, but I've done a bit of reading on the subject in the lead up to this. The main arguments against the use of AI Art (and other forms of AI-generated content) seem to congregate around these topics:

1) Unethical use of other peoples' work: AI models are largely trained on vast quantities of artwork (or writing, etc...) available on the internet. No credit is given to the original creator, nor financial compensation. Equally problematic concerns the unlicensed use of real peoples' images without consent. We've all seen generated content that looks suspiciously like Scarlett Johansson say, or George Clooney, or somehow reminds us of another picture we've seen that we can't quite place.

2) Imbedded biases: I've actually referenced this directly in Constant, but there's considerable evidence that AI models, whether in text or art, are inherently racist, sexist and misogynistic. According to "The Coming Wave" this is something AI experts are aware of and working on, but it seems to be slow going. Ask Stable Diffusion to create a picture of a woman, and it's probably going to default to white, young and sexy, with big boobs and revealing clothing. AI Text generation is more likely to put female characters in submissive roles. When one patron tried to generate David/Cindy from the start of Book 2, feminine in appearance in the mirror but still with male genitals, the AI defaulted to porn-star proportions and had to be actively trained over multiple generations to present something more 'realistic'.  These biases can be overcome but shouldn't exist in the first place.

3) Sustainability: NASA reported this week that July 22nd was the Earth's hottest day ever on record, beating July 21st and 23rd, which both also destroyed the previous record, which was set in 2023. Generative AI's energy consumption is non-negligible and runs opposite to international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Generative AI in collaboration with scientists and engineers can contribute to solving these problems; sexy and funny AI-generated images, not so much.

So what are the positives?

1) Democratization of creativity: I can't draw nor paint. Nor can I play music. Through the power of AI, I can. Text prompts, which I can handle, allow me to create wonderful images that align with my imagination, or unlock creative potential. So, too for millions of users. Especially for content creators starting off, where there simply aren't the funds to commission original work, it enables them to join an increasingly competitive and polished marker where consumers expect a minimum level of design. Think of the podcasters needed interstitial jingles, or patreon creators needing a front page: AI fulfills that need. There's a fantastic Hi-Phi Nation podcast from the most recent season about the ethics of using AI generated music--well worth a listen. (And the episode about AI-generated 'ghosts' is fascinating.)

2) Plagiarism is nothing new: creativity is simply reassembling the old and presenting it in new ways. All art takes its inspiration from what's come before, whether consciously or not, and artists have always worked others' content without giving attribution. When I write, I am often mindful of the influence of what I'm currently reading and how it influences my prose. Sometimes, this is explicit: I gave credit to Plath's The Bell Jar when I copied the fig-tree scene, but how much of my writing went uncredited, unconscious as I might be of influences? AI does the same thing, simply on a different scale.

Decision

Based partially on the results of the poll, but also on my own instincts on this, I've decided to avoid using any AI content on this Patreon or in my work. This decision may change in the future, depending on how things develop, but for now the reasons against outweigh the positives, for me.

The decision saddens me, to be honest. So much of the AI-generated fan content gifted me is truly fantastic. And I don't want to insult a fan or appear ungrateful; frankly, I still find it amazing that anyone can read my work and find inspiration in it for their own creativity.

But I don't think the negatives listed above can be ignored. Or to put it another way: as someone running a Patreon with some aspirations of generating revenue from it--enough to justify more writing time over day-job necessity--I'm keenly aware that I'm engaging in active competition with other writers and artists for members' money. There's a lot of Patreons out there. Several of them are producing similiar, TG-themed content and many are pulling down a lot more money than I am. Often, they seem to reliant on generative AI, either for artwork or within the writing itself.

I can't compete with the output of AI text generation. Nor would I want to: I tried writng a story using AI (All in a Sea of Wonder) and though a fun experiment, it wasn't very fulfilling. (Also, I had to basically rewrite the whole thing to make it decent.) But its frustrating, knowing I'm in competition with AI writing that quite possibly has regurgitated some of my own content. If I find AI text generation problematic, and won't use it myself, it seems hypocritical to implicitly endorse AI art generation by posting it on my webpage.

Ultimately, what I do here doesn't really matter. I'm a single writer opining on a small Patreon. And AI generated content isn't going away. Perhaps the structures around it will improve in the future. But in the meantime, I won't be using it here.

Fortunately, I've got a very fine collection of Fraylim's art still to share. And in the meantime, it's probably best if I step away from ethics and focus on what I'm actually here for: writing stories.

I don't know how patrons will feel about the decision. I suppose it'll become clear if there's a sudden drop in membership! If you disagree with my stance, and decide to leave - I totally understand, though disappointed obviously. But before leaving, why not let me know the reason why, either directly or in the comments below?