Hey there, Reader!
For weeks, maybe months, I've wanted to respond to this whole narrative of "label the AI content" because, frankly, it's a dumb answer that a lot of really smart people are repeating because they don't know what else to say. Also, it's probably the easiest way out of the situation we're getting deeper and deeper into each passing day.
But easy isn't always right.
As creatives—and I'm sure you'd agree if you think about it—we all know that most advertising images are modified or manipulated in some way. Some are 100% fabricated/illustrated/designed. So, why would we suddenly start labeling images that aren't original photos? It just doesn't make sense, and if you think about it from a user experience standpoint, it will only make a mess before it gets completely ignored.
I hope to have a more cohesive argument than that in the coming weeks - I will keep you posted.
In related news, here are a few things that might interest you at this intersection of creative and AI:
NO FAKES
​The NO FAKES Act had a Senate judiciary hearing this week.
​EFF has a compelling response to NO FAKES that's worth your time.​
CALIFORNIA
AI developers in California are super not here for SB 1047. (I'm super not here for this bill-readin' website, jeez.) The bill is safety-focused and addresses "frontier AI models"—the most potentially high-risk AIs. It includes requiring developers to report any AI safety incidents, which, you can imagine, they don't want to do, saying the bill has unrealistic expectations and further complicates an already fragmented AI regulatory landscape.
GPT2
While we're all waiting on chatGPT 4.5 or 5 or whatever is next, a gpt2-chatbot "appeared" in the LMSYS Chatbot Arena like a Beyonce midnight album drop. Unlike Queen Bee, no one's claimed it.
And in dontcha-love-millenial-CEOs fashion, Sam Altman subtweeted.
The DC area also crossed a new heat record earlier this week in what felt like the longest month of my life - did you feel that way, too?
I anxiously planted some new pollinators and babied a peony my oldest gave me that I'd recently transplanted to just outside my office window. The kids are already asking about the slip-and-slide, and we've only just begun to cut the grass again!
Have a great rest of your week,
Elizabeth