A fascinating article in Wired into the continued and deepening backlash against generative AI in the creative industries. In particular, in game development, film and media, art, writing, and also of course bespoke, professional software development in any industry.
The continued push by Microsoft and OpenAI and Amazon and Meta and everyone else with deep pockets to hollow out the creative process by throwing more expensive (and costly to the planet) compute power towards generative AI will in effect lead to a two-speed creative future.
There will be those who are happy to consume the creative equivalent of ultra-processed food and those who still prefer the craft of a human or humans. There is room for both – both from the producer and consumer – however there is no need to effectively pick a side. At least not quite yet.
The short-term effect though is people, rightly, being fearful for their jobs across the board. Corporations are known to care only about growth and shareholder value and so we should also continually reassess our relationships with corporations as they do with us.
Previously this was a symbiotic relationship. Employees would be paid for our efforts and we would invest in these companies with our savings and buy their products. Increasingly, automation is driving fear, uncertainty and doubt. Will this mean the relationship becomes unbalanced? Too much power in the hands of too few? Or will it just mean that the jobs we all do in creativity, will become more sophisticated?
In these times of uncertainty, the best thing we can do is keep together and keep telling each other stories about how things were, how they could be as well as how they should be. Keep talking, keep looking forward and keep thinking critically about what you need from your employer and what you offer to the world around you.
Here’s the article from Wired.