Convenient technology - at the expense of livelihood?
That was the question at the heart of a recent proposal in Biñan City that aims to "uphold human-first creative integrity" in the city.
The resolution strikes at the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as image and video generators, to create graphic images that have been increasingly used in social media.
The use of AI tools to create graphic images have been decried by certain sectors, particularly those in the creative arts, in past decades.
What's worrying, they say, is that AI tools have been used indiscriminately – and even by government agencies who have found them a convenient way to create infographics, pictures or even videos, instead of paying for graphic artists and content creators.
Setting aside the issues of the use of AI for disinformation and propaganda purposes, the resolution raises a question few in Laguna province have dared to ask: how are we going to adapt to the use of AI while at the same time protecting the livelihoods of those in the creative arts sector?
We must face the fact that AI tools are revolutionizing the way we create. They have been increasingly used among artists, graphic designers, writers and others in the liberal arts, as these tools have enabled them to enhance their works.
However, when AI tools have been indiscriminately used to an extent that all we see on social media are so-called “AI slop,” that’s the time that we should all pause and think: are we killing off not only our creative skills, but also the livelihoods of those who depend on those skills – all for the sake of convenience?
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