4 Comments

"The idea of his planet being used as a dumping ground for miscreants rubbed him up the wrong way."

No shit.

Ok, no "magic battery," just some Chris Angel trickery. Still, it's a good idea and fits with the Triverse as described, so maybe later.

You know I recently blitzed from the start, but I guess I didn't spot when the bug got planted!

Regarding making a comic with AI but worrying about consistency of images... Well, I doubt your PC is powerful enough to train the AI, but, with the right hardware that issue goes away. Dreambox lets one train the AI. Corridor discusses it here.

https://youtu.be/W4Mcuh38wyM

Others have done AI comics as discussed here.

https://youtu.be/tjj6KsPSHZc

https://youtu.be/BGNHq4aNUSo

https://youtu.be/VvxJ4i7fH5A

https://youtu.be/kRXThwgnZNo

We've discussed my opinions on this elsewhere, but the genie is out of its bottle and this genuinely disruptive toolset is out in the wild. I've already lost work to AI, know other artists who have lost work to AI and know still more artists anticipating losing work to AI, because it's going to happen. No corporation is going to overlook something fast and free in favor of something slow which costs money. Disney Interactive is already trying it out... Why, yes, it's a friend who works for Disney Interactive worried about his job. Especially as a chronic medical issue has slowed his output. It's you who reminded me last year that, "corporations are not your friend," and who cares about two decades with the company when an AI tool doesn't have to deal with nerve damage?

Expand full comment
author

Yeah, that Corridor video was very interesting. I thought their use of it was really fun, and it's easy to see how it will be useful for concept art/costume concepts/comics etc. Also some really icky implications for porn, fact checking and all sorts of other things. Not that photos and video have ever been 'absolute truth', but their value as evidence/proof of things is evaporating rapidly. I wonder how that can be countered - some way of validating photos from a camera, for example. Might even be a valid use for blockchain tech, dare I say it?

The AI thing is going to be bad for a lot of people, good for others, interesting for some. Corporations will almost always prioritise profit over people, so it's not surprising or even disappointing, really. We'll need a different model of society before that one is fixed. That said, I'm yet to be convinced that AI will deliver satisfying results for the end consumer in the long term. There will be specific cases where it will work (where being AI is the point, for example), and I can see it being great for adding unprecedented variety to a computer game's world.

I'm still not sure about its long-term value as art, though. As a tool and component of art, sure. But if corporations lean to heavily on AI to cut costs, I'm not sure that'll work. Well, it will for some audiences, sure. But for anyone even vaguely interested in how things are made, AI is just not interesting (beyond the "ooh, amazing tech!" angle, which gets old fast).

If I watch a cool show, I immediately want to look up the writers. Or see what else the actor was in. Or who the composer is. I enjoy following their work and careers. That's a meta enjoyment on top of the 'end product' for me, which I can't see happening with stuff which leans too heavily on AI. Even celebrity, which doesn't bother me generally, will be odd with anything which leans too heavily on AI - are people who obsess over Tim Chalomet going to care about an AI style icon? If Marvel cast an AI creation to play a well known superhero, even if that AI creation looks PERFECTLY like the comic rendition, are people going to be as excited as, say, Simu Liu getting the gig?

etc etc.

I dunno. I think it'll definitely exist as a tool, definitely exist as it's *own* thing. And in the short term there's going to be a painful period where it feels like it's replacing everything. But I wonder if in the long-term it'll balance out a bit differently.

Expand full comment

Michael Atkinson dropped a Like on the first comment in this subthread, and, re-reading it, I see myself attacking and criticizing AI crap, while, at the same time, providing research material for education on how to use it, and past Mike has confused current Mike.

I can only conclude I was being good friend by helping someone explore the possibilities of something I was, and am opposed to?

Sometimes I'm alright.

Expand full comment

Oof, Mid-Earth as a penal colony. That's going to ruffle some feathers.

I *think* I spotted when the bug was planted, though I had to go back and check. I could be wrong. ...

Expand full comment