If you were to tell a person even a few years ago that computers would pose a genuine threat to the creative industry, then they would’ve probably not believed you. However, in today’s world, it seems that one cannot go a day or two without hearing about some new advancement in generative AI technology, or the protests against the increasing integration of the tech in creative spaces. Though one would have imagined this evolution in technology would be welcomed with open arms, it turns out that the creative industry is vehemently opposed to it. But why exactly is this?
Thanks to AI, the ability to whip up a story in seconds, mimic voices, and create full visual spectacles has been put in the hands of essentially anyone with access to a computer. However, this has many more drawbacks than one would expect, most notably in the writing industry. The issues that this technology poses to the quality of our writing, our ethics, and even our safety cannot be underestimated. In this article, we will learn a lot more about the ever-mysterious AI algorithms, the issues it poses, and the precautions people can take to protect themselves and others from the concerns that AI can generate.
How Does AI Work?
While generative algorithms aren’t inherently wrong (similar neural pathway programming is what allows search engines like Google or Bing to function), the issue is when the prompt is requesting an “original” creative work. At this point, instead of searching for a concrete answer to a closed question, the algorithm searches for creative works that are like what the prompt was asking for. However, instead of outputting these artworks, or recommending them to the user through citations and crediting, the algorithm attempts to blend several pieces of work into one piece to satisfy the user. While this isn’t necessarily an issue when the prompts are more problem-solving or informatively based (since in those cases it is good to cross reference and blend information to get the whole picture), it is a problem when it comes to creatively based prompts, because it will blend the art of different artists and spit out a conglomeration of several artists’ work, without credit.
However, AI technology itself isn’t inherently evil- in fact, when used correctly, it elevates and improves the work of artists in the industry. In animation, AI algorithms use predictive generation of art to streamline the process of the artist who’s using it- instead of stealing their work and blending it into unrecognizable mush. When used in-house, generative AI is a powerful tool that can not only improve the work of animators, but also relieve them of the more tedious, manual labor, freeing the artists and animators to focus their time and resources on more creative endeavors, or allowing them to focus on specifically detailed scenes rather than the less interesting ones.
So What's the Issue With AI?
The issue with AI doesn’t lie with the technology itself- it's a developing technology that will improve over time and will likely fix many issues (like proper crediting) throughout the next few years. The reason many creatives have issues with AI is in how the technology is currently being used.
Ethically, the use of AI has been thoroughly argued against by creatives, due to a fear of an executive overreliance on the technology. While ideally generative AI would be used as a complementary tool for human creatives, it seems that production executives and corporations are more interested in seeing how AI can replace humans, rather than help them. This has led to both writers and actors’ strikes in the last few years, which each had the express purpose of protesting AI integration in their industries, since executives have been trying to abuse the technology to pay the creatives less.
Speaking of deepfake technology, generative AI technology has even further implications for the safety of not just actors and singers, but also everyday people as well. Through the replication of a person’s likeness or voice, AI can puppeteer fake versions of real people into saying or doing things that could be indistinguishable from reality. This can lead to people being forced to watch videos of themselves doing or saying horrible things that they had never said or done, which can result in job insecurity, threats, and overall fogginess about what they stand for. Audio deepfakes have already evolved to a point where they are being used against normal people for scams and threats over the phone. So, it poses the question, is generative AI worth all the issues that come with it?
While it is ultimately out of the hands of any one person, it is the responsibility of the people to be educated about this developing technology and being knowledgeable about both the positives and negatives of the integration of this technology. However, after reading this article, I implore the reader to ask yourself: do the benefits of AI outweigh the various ethical, quality, and safety issues that arise because of it?
Sources Used:
Baron, N. (2023). Who
Wrote This?: How AI and the Lure of Efficiency Threaten
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Writing. Redwood City: Stanford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781503637900
Coyle, J. (2023). In
Hollywood Writers’ Battle Against AI, Humans Win (For Now). AP News.
Sharples, M., & Pérez y Pérez, R. (2022). Story Machines: How
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Become Creative Writers (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003161431
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