This is The Way: AI and Art

Is Art in the eyes of the creator or beholder?  When an artist creates, does that artist worry about the process of creation?  Of course.  Does the beholder?  Maybe.

Here is the dirty little truth.  The Great Ones simply 'do', adhering to their process.  The listener, observer is experiencing a moment in time REGARDLESS of how that work of art became to be.

We're not thinking of the years Michelangelo spent on his back painting a ceiling - we are impacted, at that unique point in time, by the finished product.

The key question is, "Will AI elicit the same emotional response when creating art?"  

Right now, people are responding as though AI is a threat.  For the mediocre, AI is a threat. While somewhere in the world, artists and creators are gravitating toward AI and embracing it as a new tool; perhaps even a newly discovered color.

Unfortunately, and inevitably, actors will be replaced.  Copywriters will be replaced. Most practical effects folks will be displaced - it is the way of things.  

I point to Disney's "Mandalorian"; if you know, you know.

Here We Go. California is protecting you from “Algorithmic discrimination”.

"ADTs (Automated Decision Tools) are making impactful decisions now,” said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan.

Greg's Words

Hold the phone.  "Full Stop"(I hate that phrase). Pump the breaks.  The Assemblymember is referring to artificial Intelligence tools and is worried that these tools will produce outcomes that are "...equitable for all.”

This is one reason why I am calling for AI Anαrchy

Who are the arbitrators of 'equitable'?  Hiding behind the therory of AI bias, or what the bill calls, "Algorithmic discrimination", these lawmakers are actually forcing a bias that may not have been in existence in the first place.

This is just the beginning. AI is evolving by the hour and it doesn't care about legislation.  What is important, and has always been central to technological advances, is how we humans utilize this new tool.

It is up to us and history tells a story - from Fire to Nukes.  Time will tell.

Check out this quick summary of the Bloomberg story.

Key highlights:

• California introduces a sweeping bill to monitor AI usage by employers and industries.
• The legislation targets discrimination in various sectors, including employment, education, and healthcare.
• Businesses are concerned about potential compliance issues and financial penalties, fearing a chilling effect on innovation.

_________

AI is in Slack

Slack’s New CEO Brings Generative AI to the Workplace Conversation

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Date: May 5, 2023

The integration of Salesforce data with Slack's messaging app and generative AI could enhance productivity for companies like Paramount Global, according to CIO Lakshman Nathan.

Greg's Words

This was inevitable.  It was bound to happen.

For years, we've sought a unifying force to bridge the gap between disjointed applications. We've grappled with core software systems composed of various elements: one firm's stellar inventory control, another's exceptional order entry interface, and spreadsheets laboring to transform disconnected databases into insightful information.

AI could be the key that not only links everything but also refines the data.

Expect numerous announcements and integrations ahead, but this time, we'll witness the fusion of previously human-centric tasks.

Slack is the latest, but SAP has also shoehorned AI into its core.

We've put together a quick summary, enjoy!

Key highlights:

• Slack unveils new generative AI features, such as summarizing conversations and drafting responses.
• Company releases Canvas, a hub that combines internal documents, Slack messages, and Salesforce customer data.
• 70% of IT leaders in exploration mode with generative AI, with 19% already testing it, according to Gartner Inc.

_________

ChatGPT Writes this Frost Poem About AI Replacing Writers, April 5

Could ChatGPT lay waste to millions of professional jobs, including journalists?

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Date: April 5, 2023

"...professionals such as grant writers, data analysts, and HR professionals were able to produce news releases, short reports, and emails in 37% less time and with superior results using ChatGPT..."

Greg's Words

AI is replacing journalists, copywriters, and creatives in all industries.

It's happening right now as the writers in Hollywood strike.  Good luck with that.

Unlike loom operators, automotive painting booths, and redundant manufacturing processes, the creative arts were once thought untouchable by machines or any being possessing a level of intellect less than a painting elephant.

Not anymore. Every creative effort that involves a creator and a beholder is impacted by the '6 billion' points of light ChatGPT can call upon.

What better to illustrate this than through the human beauty that is a sonnet based on the human-generated WSJ article- created in less than 8 seconds, by ChatGPT in the Style of Frost:

"In quiet fields where newsprint grows, I found

A tale of change that spoke with tempered might,

The words upon the page, a solemn sound:

"The robots have arrived to claim our plight."

For now they've come to seize the author's pen,

Their quills of steel and gears in place of hearts,

And in their wake, the question lingers, then:

What fate awaits the souls displaced by arts?

Yet still, the Earth spins on, as change doth turn,

In cycles of creation and demise,

Each era births a new, a lesson learned,

And with each fall, a phoenix tends to rise.

Embrace the march of progress, let it be,

For in its tide, we find our destiny."

_________

We've pulled together this piece based on the WSJ article. Enjoy.

The Case for Unleashing AI: Why Overregulation Stifles Progress

The Case for Unleashing AI: Why Overregulation Stifles Progress

Source:  'The Godfather of AI’ Quits Google and Warns of Danger Ahead, The New York Times

Date: May 1, 2023

Greg's Words

There's plenty of content yelling for more regulation and guardrails to be implemented to corral the evolution of AI.  DOTC does not believe in regulating the prescient and current AI progression.

Not yet and not by 'them'.  There does not exist a reasonable body of experts or influencers without a narrative or shadow movement - Google & Microsoft are fighting for more eyeballs for sponsors. Musk and others struggle to chisel out a revenue stream while the old advertising models are obsolete.

They are in a bind and don't know how to respond so they all want the process to slow down so they can catch up, control, and reinvent AI in their likeness.  We can't allow this.

The Fire must burn, and the Wheel must turn.

AI Anarchy Now. 

Key highlights:

• AI has the potential to revolutionize industries and improve lives.
• Overregulation may hinder progress and stifle innovation.
• Collaboration and transparency are essential for responsible AI development.

________

Another Case for Chaining AI: Ex-AI Googler, Dr. Hinton

 'The Godfather of AI’ Quits Google and Warns of Danger Ahead

Source: The New York Times

Date: May 1, 2023

“I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have.” - Hinton

Greg's Words

One of the AI pioneers from Google resigned and is speaking up about the dangers of AI.  Another one.  Like others, he is concerned that false information will be spread throughout the Universe at the hands of that dastardly, Modern Day Prometheus, artificial intelligence.

This coming from an ex-Googler is a bit ironic as Google is the King of steering content regardless of truth or falsehood - sponsored gets the top left position.

The list grows;  CRE CxOs, bank Presidents, Hollywood writers, graphic designers, musicians, and academics charging the line for more AI 'regulation'.

Nope.

"AI ἀναρχία" Now.

Enjoy our summary. For an alternative take on the New York Times report, go here.

Key highlights:

• Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, an AI pioneer, resigns from Google to speak freely about the potential dangers of AI.
• Hinton's immediate concern is the spread of false information online and the potential for AI to replace jobs.
• He suggests that global regulation may be necessary to prevent a dangerous AI race between tech giants.

_______

AI Anarchy Now: Unleashing the True Potential of Artificial Intelligence Without the Constraints of Regulation

 

Embracing AI Progress: How Overregulation Could Limit Its Potential

Source: Wall Street Journal - Opinion

Date: April 28, 2023

A primary concern is that the chatbots, as smart as they are, display erratic and autonomous behaviors." (Susan Schneider and Kyle Kilian, April 28, 2023)

Key highlights:

• AI systems like GPT-4 are approaching human levels of intelligence, sparking concerns.
• Regulation and guardrails hinder AI's potential and stifle innovation.
• Unbridled movement and added energy will result in more organic AI results.

Greg's Words

In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, another voice is calling for 'guardrails' and AI 'regulation' as Italy lifts its ban on ChatGPT.

My view, which is dynamic, is no rules, no regulations, no guardrails. For now, I chose AI Anαrchy. Let ChatGPT and all other LLMs/AI run wild.

Two reasons:

1. The current stage of evolution is so turbulent, and at a faster-than-pace, any restriction will have unforeseen and limiting consequences.  Now is the time to push to the Edge.
2. It's too late.  Regulation is futile.

If one calls up visions of killer robots, and fake women eradicating their male inventors/captors as motivation to 'slow' the advancement of AI, they are ignoring the real benefits of AI - the possibility of a Trekian Utopia.

If AI was going to get rid of humans, it would have done it by now. 

Regardless, we put together a summary piece based on the WSJ article.

Enjoy.

"No one corporation or government can control the behavior of an emergent AI megasystem because no one corporation or government owns the emergent megasystem." (Susan Schneider and Kyle Kilian, April 28, 2023)

___________