What AI art can't do. And why maybe that doesn't really matter :-(

Older Beholder · 2026-03-09T08:12:04+0000

Clint_L said:
I dislike the term "slop" because I feel that it inherently denigrates those who are fine with it. It comes off as elitist.

I think the term ‘slop’ is being overused these days, where people will label anything they don’t like as slop. But, when it comes to AI, specifically AI art, I think slop is the perfect description given how it’s a bunch of other people’s art put in a blender. I can’t see it as elitist when it is so accurate.

Lanefan · 2026-03-09T08:34:00+0000

Morrus said:
A Kickstarter page is an ad for a book.

A Kickstarter page is (usually) an ad for something that doesn't exist, and won't until it's been funded and then created-produced-made.

Morrus said:
What's the difference between using it in your book as opposed to using it in your ads?

Maybe you need the Kickstarter funding to be able to afford to hire human artists?

Lanefan · 2026-03-09T08:49:26+0000

Morrus said:
It's not. Its freeing humans from art. The labour jobs will all still be done by humans. ChatGPT can't build a house or dig a hole.

Maybe ChatGPT can't build a house but some of the elements for building an AI house already exist:

AI can design a house to prompt, and upload that design
Houses can be (and have already successfully been) 3D-printed

That said, you still need (and will likely always need) humans to do things like wiring, HVAC, door/window installation, and fine finishing.

As for AI digging a hole, I have zero doubt that we'll have self-driving heavy machinery - bulldozers, backhoes, etc. - within a decade. Program it, tell it what to do, then stand back and let 'er rip; and the first two steps of that can be done to prompt by AI. The only human input needed will be someone to oversee the machinery with a handy emergency shutdown button in case things go wrong or something unforeseen occurs.

Bill Zebub · 2026-03-09T13:25:29+0000

Lanefan said:
The only human input needed will be someone to oversee the machinery with a handy emergency shutdown button in case things go wrong or something
unforeseen occurs.

There's an old pilot joke, that autopilots are getting so good that in the future there will be a human and a dog in the cockpit. The human's job is to watch the computer. The dog's job is to bite the human if he touches anything.

Fortunately, with AI all we need to do is attach a taser to a robotic arm and let the computer control it. We'll save money on dog training! What could possibly go wrong?

The future's so bright I gotta wear shades.

Bill Zebub · 2026-03-09T13:29:00+0000

I heard recently (I haven't dug in to verify) that the Luddites weren't really anti-technology. Rather, they were angry that all the money was going to the factory owners, and they were destroying the machines not because they "hated machines" but because they were trying to cause pain for the owners of the machines.

I thought that was interesting, and makes them seem much more rational (if quixotic).

Morrus · 2026-03-09T13:53:30+0000

Bill Zebub said:
I heard recently (I haven't dug in to verify) that the Luddites weren't really anti-technology. Rather, they were angry that all the money was going to the factory owners, and they were destroying the machines not because they "hated machines" but because they were trying to cause pain for the owners of the machines.

I thought that was interesting, and makes them seem much more rational (if quixotic).

Why have you suddenly brought up Luddites out of the blue?

Bill Zebub · 2026-03-09T15:25:26+0000

Morrus said:
Why have you suddenly brought up Luddites out of the blue?

Was just thinking about whether the problem is AI itself, or that...the way things are looking...a handful of mega-billionaires are going to capture all the benefits. Analogous to: were the power looms the problem, or was is that the economic benefits they brought all got concentrated in a few people?

ART! · 2026-03-09T15:56:25+0000

Bill Zebub said:
Was just thinking about whether the problem is AI itself, or that...the way things are looking...a handful of mega-billionaires are going to capture all the benefits.

Yes.