AI is like all the plastics we’ve made. Those bits of pollution are already out there, even if we stopped production of new ones today. If AI generation stopped, there are millions of images, sentences, media reviews, and even academic articles already out there–like a stain on our existence. Even if the internet itself ended, there are thousands of real-life products that have been designed, influenced, or sold by AI. The cancer has spread beyond the internet where it was born.
It was no surprise that corporations were immediately buying into the AI hype. They don’t want to pay artists, writers, and other creators, but they know we need artistic “content” to “consume.” They want our bodies for manual labor or middle management. The only job seemingly safe from AI is CEO, but replacing the cold, heartless, out-of-touch decision maker might actually make the most sense.
Humanity, more than anything else, has been defined by the art it has produced through the ages. Now AI is here to help people command the entirety of human culture and experience to their own will. No more will aspiring humans learn a craft, practice in it, and develop a unique flair that enriches humanity. We are now left with endless horizontal duplication. We’ve seen this trend in modern Hollywood with endless reboots, remakes, and sequels instead of new and original stories. It’s not just Hollywood–AI paintings and photos (that aren’t even photographs!) are finding their way into galleries, magazines, and contests.
I fear the “end of history” that people used to make a big deal about is coming. AI is already being normalized, with companies assigning some of their largest and most strategically important advertising campaigns to AI. As it slowly surrounds us on store shelves, enters our home, lives on our walls, and generally floods us with its unending torrent of filler, the concept of originality gets closer to dying. New generations might grow up in a world where AI-generated slop is the only “art” available. With a few button presses, eras of history and human achievement disappear from collective memory–like 1984.
This may also operate as an extension of the renter economy. You no longer own the art that you produce or pay commission for. If it is online, the style of design, the unique writing flair, and the likeness of any characters are all fed to the slop machines. They can then charge people or corporations monthly to access the tool that does what they need. They take a system of paying for a final product or continued labor, and turn it into a digital subscription service like Netflix. Now people can pay huge tech companies for your work rather than talking to you at all! Because AI produced works are not regulated, none of this output is yours to own either. While the copyright system has its problems, it has at least saved most artists from full nonconsensual reproductions of their work or blatant IP theft. With AI, all art can be stolen from the artist and then rented back to us all for a price.
Fighting back against the corporate masters who embrace AI might seem impossible, but there are things you can do to resist the march of AI:
Stop watching social media creators who use too much AI or react to it, even to make fun of it.
Don’t make AI reproductions of your own for any reason. Again, even making fun of its three-legged people with six-fingered hands isn’t worth the trouble.
Learn more about spotting fake images and videos, so you don’t inadvertently share them online.
Don’t let AI write your emails for you. This is a tough one that admittedly has some nuance: if some accommodation helps you with these types of communications, try to utilize established templates rather than AI generation.
We also have to just be able to see AI for what it is, a deception. If you want something to do easily, share this message with people you know, teach them how to spot real vs fake, and comment on your favorite channels and say that AI use is unacceptable. Now go and be the change you want to see in the world.