Yes,yes regarding creative solidarity. I'm thankfully noticing far fewer Substack posts illustrated with AI-generated images lately. I don't like to be that guy who calls people out on it but I don't mind when others do. All creativity is linked (I'm both a wannabe writer and painter).
I think it's important to establish on what lines we're establishing solidarity. Personally, I think our solidarity should be based on class. The advancement of DeepSeek shows that the working class can find a way to make the use of AI to be less resource intensive and sustainable for the planet. Ultimately I don't think there's anything wrong with AI as a tool, but the working class should own and decide it's future under a democratic workers' government.
Oh Adrianna I LOVE YOU. Thank you for being a strong voice for creative solidarity. It breaks my heart whenever I see AI used for image creation on this platform and otherwise. I hate that it gets harder to tell what’s AI and what isn’t, especially in writing (for me at least). I’ll be anti-AI until I die.
I love and appreciate YOU! Ugh, I'm with you - I miss when it was stupid easy to tell when something was AI-generated. We got to this point so quickly...but thank you for reassuring me that there are artists with whom I can hold hands and maintain the line :)
I appreciate your reflections here. There's certainly a lot of social tension surrounding the use of AI. A lot of people immediately jump to harsh moral judgement. I had a dinner party recently where one guest (an artist and musician) was talking about how they used it. Another guest jumped in with some swift judgements against using AI in any scenario. I use it. I don't really feel like this stance on AI is very helpful to anyone. Weather we like it or not, AI is here and it will certainly accelerate bureaucratic processes, thinking, communication, etc among the people who use it. It will certainly be used at the highest levels of society. So what happens if we discourage any use of it whatsoever among the rest of society? How is anyone expected to keep up with the world or fight against oppression if these language models are being used against us?
It made me consider that all technology, like guns, were just imagined and brought up by some random person in history and now the rest of the lineage of humanity will be in continuous disagreement about the ethics of guns until the end of time. The same goes with AI. Unfortunately it is here to stay, so we need clear, open, non judgmental discussions about how to live alongside it in the most ethical way possible.
I try my best to limit it, but to be honest, it is a great help to my work. I atleast try to visualize the water cooling down the servers and use it with intentionality. In my work I run a newsletter to both tutors and learners in the adult literacy program I run. It really helps me to tailor my writing to certain audiences...like sometimes I need help reframing an idea to someone at a lower literacy level. It helps me make sure I'm speaking in plain language that is precise, but not dumbed down. This can be difficult to switch between different audiences. It also helps me come up with lesson plans to help out my tutors. I am the only person running the program, so honestly sometimes it feels like there would be no other way to feel effective in my work.
Anyways, all this to say it's a super complex topic, and I appreciate how you leave room for understanding here! At the end of the day I hate it...honestly I do lol
I definitely agree that discussions about AI and how people use it deserve understanding and respect - I actually wrote a whole issue about that in 2023, when my newsletter was very new! (https://creativityundercapitalism.substack.com/p/how-do-we-have-healthy-discussions) So I extra appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with it here.
The gun comparison is very interesting. I don't know if I necessarily feel that something must be "here to stay" just because it's been introduced and had a good run—there are a lot of things human societies have loved and centered their whole lives around, only to recognize that they're not good for anyone and ditch, albeit gradually—but I certainly understand Sarah's perspective re: both of them being funded by the ruling class, who also conveniently get to make up all of the rules. Literacy about both is extremely important, and whether people use generative AI or not, I do hope they learn more about how it works and who's running it. (I also pay special attention to pointing out generative vs analytical AI, as they're quite different, both in construction and purpose.)
Something that intrigues me about your experience with AI within your literacy program is what you said about feeling as though you would be less effective without it, since you're the only one running the program. Do you feel that way with other tasks related to that role? I ask because organizations are already using generative AI to replace human labor, since it's cheaper for them. If there are multiple parts of your program role that you struggle to handle on your own, I feel like it should be your organization's responsibility to alleviate the burden on you, you know? It doesn't feel right to me for organizations to put money on OpenAI's/Microsoft's/Elon Musk's pockets and abuse the environment just because they'd like to avoid paying someone's salary. (Of course, there are small organizations that genuinely do not have the resources to fund, say, a second program lead, so maybe that's your work's situation—but many of the orgs using AI to replace human labor aren't in that situation.)
Regardless, I think if you're simultaneously learning from what AI tells you (like, "here are some phrases you can swap to make this accessible to a lower literacy level"), you'll hopefully get to a point in which you need these tools less and less. In that regard, at least :)
Yeah, I hate to sound cynical about it...it's a daily struggle to balance cynicism with optimism. But in my recent post I talk about accelerationism...which is a worldview held by pretty much everyone with all the power and resources. These people do not believe in considering the ethics of any of this "progress" they just want to keep moving forward. Not to be doom and gloom...but it will probably be around for a while. But of course the resources required to sustain it aren't infinite. So not for a while but I do think we're in it for the long haul unfortunately...tho every small act of resistance against it is important. I don't wanna say these things like I'm bowing down to it, but it's hard to imagine what would have to happen to bring an end to it or even slow it down. Probably a lot of compassionate conversations like this to carefully consider what it means to use it.
In regards to my job, we are at large a nonprofit that trains people to become welders and machinists. The adult learning program is an afterthought for people who may not meet the educational requirements to get in the program. We are open to anyone with any kind of learning goal, though. So kinda at every level of my job I feel unsupported. I'm supposed to recruit and match volunteers to learners but also keep track of progress by post testing folks. And then of course all of the data I have to keep up with for funders. The organization has made it clear they're only interested in replicating and expanding to other cities without supporting the programs we do have. They receive a lot of funding but it all goes to expansion and the manufacturing training side of things, since we aren't mainly focused on literacy. Very typical non-profit-industrial complex kinda shit.
But yea, it's not like I use it every day...the lesson plans I do have are reusable but sometimes I need something new in a pinch. I went to a literacy conference last year that had a session on AI that made me uncomfortable bc they didn't include these considerations at all...lol.
BIG yes on creative solidarity. Your description of AI as “an expensive and resource-intensive form of plagiarism” is spot on, and it applies across the spectrum of creative pursuits. As a visual artist, it’s a big part of why I’m trying to distance myself from meta platforms (amongst many other reasons).
I'm with you there! It's felt really good to stop logging into Instagram - and clearly Meta doesn't like it, because they keep sending me emails to log back in :)
Yes,yes regarding creative solidarity. I'm thankfully noticing far fewer Substack posts illustrated with AI-generated images lately. I don't like to be that guy who calls people out on it but I don't mind when others do. All creativity is linked (I'm both a wannabe writer and painter).
I feel like calling folks out would be a full-time job! But yeah, I do hope more writers gain a sense of consciousness around the use of AI soon.
Also, if you currently write and you currently paint, you're not a wannabe writer and painter - you're just a writer and also you're a painter :)
I think it's important to establish on what lines we're establishing solidarity. Personally, I think our solidarity should be based on class. The advancement of DeepSeek shows that the working class can find a way to make the use of AI to be less resource intensive and sustainable for the planet. Ultimately I don't think there's anything wrong with AI as a tool, but the working class should own and decide it's future under a democratic workers' government.
Oh Adrianna I LOVE YOU. Thank you for being a strong voice for creative solidarity. It breaks my heart whenever I see AI used for image creation on this platform and otherwise. I hate that it gets harder to tell what’s AI and what isn’t, especially in writing (for me at least). I’ll be anti-AI until I die.
I love and appreciate YOU! Ugh, I'm with you - I miss when it was stupid easy to tell when something was AI-generated. We got to this point so quickly...but thank you for reassuring me that there are artists with whom I can hold hands and maintain the line :)
I appreciate your reflections here. There's certainly a lot of social tension surrounding the use of AI. A lot of people immediately jump to harsh moral judgement. I had a dinner party recently where one guest (an artist and musician) was talking about how they used it. Another guest jumped in with some swift judgements against using AI in any scenario. I use it. I don't really feel like this stance on AI is very helpful to anyone. Weather we like it or not, AI is here and it will certainly accelerate bureaucratic processes, thinking, communication, etc among the people who use it. It will certainly be used at the highest levels of society. So what happens if we discourage any use of it whatsoever among the rest of society? How is anyone expected to keep up with the world or fight against oppression if these language models are being used against us?
Sarah at The Pink Teacup wrote something on AI and made an analogy to guns which I thought was a helpful way to look at it ( https://sarahbush.substack.com/p/art-guns-ai-and-you )
It made me consider that all technology, like guns, were just imagined and brought up by some random person in history and now the rest of the lineage of humanity will be in continuous disagreement about the ethics of guns until the end of time. The same goes with AI. Unfortunately it is here to stay, so we need clear, open, non judgmental discussions about how to live alongside it in the most ethical way possible.
I try my best to limit it, but to be honest, it is a great help to my work. I atleast try to visualize the water cooling down the servers and use it with intentionality. In my work I run a newsletter to both tutors and learners in the adult literacy program I run. It really helps me to tailor my writing to certain audiences...like sometimes I need help reframing an idea to someone at a lower literacy level. It helps me make sure I'm speaking in plain language that is precise, but not dumbed down. This can be difficult to switch between different audiences. It also helps me come up with lesson plans to help out my tutors. I am the only person running the program, so honestly sometimes it feels like there would be no other way to feel effective in my work.
Anyways, all this to say it's a super complex topic, and I appreciate how you leave room for understanding here! At the end of the day I hate it...honestly I do lol
I definitely agree that discussions about AI and how people use it deserve understanding and respect - I actually wrote a whole issue about that in 2023, when my newsletter was very new! (https://creativityundercapitalism.substack.com/p/how-do-we-have-healthy-discussions) So I extra appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with it here.
The gun comparison is very interesting. I don't know if I necessarily feel that something must be "here to stay" just because it's been introduced and had a good run—there are a lot of things human societies have loved and centered their whole lives around, only to recognize that they're not good for anyone and ditch, albeit gradually—but I certainly understand Sarah's perspective re: both of them being funded by the ruling class, who also conveniently get to make up all of the rules. Literacy about both is extremely important, and whether people use generative AI or not, I do hope they learn more about how it works and who's running it. (I also pay special attention to pointing out generative vs analytical AI, as they're quite different, both in construction and purpose.)
Something that intrigues me about your experience with AI within your literacy program is what you said about feeling as though you would be less effective without it, since you're the only one running the program. Do you feel that way with other tasks related to that role? I ask because organizations are already using generative AI to replace human labor, since it's cheaper for them. If there are multiple parts of your program role that you struggle to handle on your own, I feel like it should be your organization's responsibility to alleviate the burden on you, you know? It doesn't feel right to me for organizations to put money on OpenAI's/Microsoft's/Elon Musk's pockets and abuse the environment just because they'd like to avoid paying someone's salary. (Of course, there are small organizations that genuinely do not have the resources to fund, say, a second program lead, so maybe that's your work's situation—but many of the orgs using AI to replace human labor aren't in that situation.)
Regardless, I think if you're simultaneously learning from what AI tells you (like, "here are some phrases you can swap to make this accessible to a lower literacy level"), you'll hopefully get to a point in which you need these tools less and less. In that regard, at least :)
Oh great, I'll have to check that out!
Yeah, I hate to sound cynical about it...it's a daily struggle to balance cynicism with optimism. But in my recent post I talk about accelerationism...which is a worldview held by pretty much everyone with all the power and resources. These people do not believe in considering the ethics of any of this "progress" they just want to keep moving forward. Not to be doom and gloom...but it will probably be around for a while. But of course the resources required to sustain it aren't infinite. So not for a while but I do think we're in it for the long haul unfortunately...tho every small act of resistance against it is important. I don't wanna say these things like I'm bowing down to it, but it's hard to imagine what would have to happen to bring an end to it or even slow it down. Probably a lot of compassionate conversations like this to carefully consider what it means to use it.
In regards to my job, we are at large a nonprofit that trains people to become welders and machinists. The adult learning program is an afterthought for people who may not meet the educational requirements to get in the program. We are open to anyone with any kind of learning goal, though. So kinda at every level of my job I feel unsupported. I'm supposed to recruit and match volunteers to learners but also keep track of progress by post testing folks. And then of course all of the data I have to keep up with for funders. The organization has made it clear they're only interested in replicating and expanding to other cities without supporting the programs we do have. They receive a lot of funding but it all goes to expansion and the manufacturing training side of things, since we aren't mainly focused on literacy. Very typical non-profit-industrial complex kinda shit.
But yea, it's not like I use it every day...the lesson plans I do have are reusable but sometimes I need something new in a pinch. I went to a literacy conference last year that had a session on AI that made me uncomfortable bc they didn't include these considerations at all...lol.
BIG yes on creative solidarity. Your description of AI as “an expensive and resource-intensive form of plagiarism” is spot on, and it applies across the spectrum of creative pursuits. As a visual artist, it’s a big part of why I’m trying to distance myself from meta platforms (amongst many other reasons).
I'm with you there! It's felt really good to stop logging into Instagram - and clearly Meta doesn't like it, because they keep sending me emails to log back in :)
“Because it’s not the billionaires that are going to look out for us. It’s just us—and the more of us there are, the better.” yeeeees.