You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
— R. Buckminster Fuller
I’m definitely one of billions of people who do not want to see the planet that we’re living on die and burn. I also do not want to see an entire culture and people be completely replaced by a machine. I definitely believe that technology should be aligned with human interests, not some algorithm optimizing metrics oblivious to our well-being.
But this antagonism against everything related to generative AI has to stop. This is not productive. Not everyone who thinks that these tools are useful or have potential are complete narcissistic assholes who have no perception of its dangers and disadvantages. You are not the valiant poets fighting against the cold, emotionless watchmakers. Grow up.
We have seen throughout history how technology has been used as leverage to displace people in power struggles. Technological displacement and unemployment have been a recurring theme across history; from bloody wars, to the invention of the printing press, and the rapid industrialization of factories. Those who are in the lower bracket have always been forcibly replaced by new methods without consideration for their humanity, their developed craft, or their livelihoods. Of course, this is a vast oversimplification, but nevertheless a pervasive pattern throughout history.
People have and always will find ways to fuck artists over. Many artists nowadays face the risk of improper client treatment with financial exploitation, demands for unpaid speculative work, substituting “exposure” for payment, and chronic late or non-payment. This disrespect isn’t just financial, either; it also manifests through scope creep, unrealistic deadlines, poor communication, and micromanagement, which undermines artists’ time and expertise. Not to mention that artists have to grapple with intellectual property misuse and clients who resist or breach contracts, disregarding their individual skills and deserved compensation. AI did not start any of this, but it did exacerbate these problems.
Thinking that the world will listen to your demands is absolutely insane; it never did in the first place. Sending the same fucking link every time only to support your argument does not do anything except enforce your ego. Listing down the various problems with AI such as hallucinations, energy usage, and artist displacement does not help your argument; everybody who’s not a clueless tech-bro who relies on AI to do anything useful in their life knows this. Posting images of the warning sign with the text “AI” does not do anything about the development of generative AI except make headlines that people will forget; headlines which could’ve been used for something more meaningful.
Technology, in the wrong hands, will be used in disregard to those who do not have it. We have the opportunity to support the tools that are made by people who do have our best interest in mind. Contribute and provide criticism to open-source movements; many open-source models and platforms like Ollama, Qwen3, and so on exist which allows anyone to run LLM’s on their own computer relatively cheaply. Advocate for studies that focus on the environmental impact of training models, something which is deeply lacking right now. Create groups and collectives whose mission is to demand for AI that supports artists. Educate yourself with the various ways that the technology is evolving. Keep an open mind and engage in discussions with other people outside of the echo chamber that is social media. Be constructive, not destructive.
Let us not repeat the same mistakes again. To complain is to be complacent; to compel is to command.
Extra Note: I chose a harsher tone in this article to convey my frustration with the current state of the conversation around AI. It’s draining to witness the same “discussions” circulating endlessly, especially on platforms like Bluesky which are frequented by artists and others focused on human-centric values. My hope isn’t to offend, but to provoke thought about how we respond to this new technology. You don’t need to be a tech expert to see that simply dunking on AI at every opportunity might not be the most productive path. I recognize how worrisome this time is for artists, but I believe we can find better ways to navigate this situation collectively, moving beyond boycotts and reductionist antagonism.