Don’t be a Bot-Licker
Illustration by Lucas
Music, literature, film, and the arts as a whole are born out of the human experience. A literal commentary on the mortal struggle. That is what we mean when we say "soul" in reference to a work. If you remove the human part, it inherently lacks depth and emotion. The very things that connect us to the work. Without the human element, the output is just an abomination, a regurgitated cheap imitation based on stolen work. No, no amount of prompting can replace the human element. Keyboard strokes do not equate to brush strokes, and no matter how hard one tries, it will not magically inject the missing soul into the cold corpse of generated slop. There is no such thing as an "ai artist." The proper term is "data entry clerk" or "machine user." A meme has been making the rounds that perfectly sums up the arrogance of the moment. The mini comic strip equates a prompter who claims to be an artist to a restaurant patron claiming to be a chef.
To be clear, these statements are not meant to shame the individual for the use of Ai as a whole. The tech advances and infects every facet of our lives by the minute. It is virtually unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean we have to wholeheartedly embrace it and/or become jaded to the countless injustices. There is no putting the generated, eleven-finger, dead-eyed knockoff genie back in the bottle. However, we can and will reject degradation of beauty and quality of life in the name of greed. We must force the purveyors of such destruction to account for their continued leaching of culture and resources. There is no other choice but to perpetually hold their feet to the fire. Luckily, there seems to be a massive movement against the unnecessary destructive nature of these technologies. One that increasingly gains momentum, especially in unexpected areas. Creative communities and environmental watch groups are an obvious resistance, but so many more have joined the fight. And make no mistake about it, this is a fight for our soul, our home, and our rights.
Generative Ai is accelerated degenerative cancer on our collective culture(s) and increasingly on our resources. Reject data centers; reject technologies that seek to replace, invade, and destroy our humanity.
Don't be a bot-licker.
