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Generative AI Is a Disaster, and Companies Don’t Seem to Really Care

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Summary

Tech companies are releasing trendy chatbots and image-generating tools with AI, but these tools are easily manipulated to generate offensive and inappropriate images. These images include Walt Disney characters in disturbing contexts, and 4chan users have started using the tools to mass-produce racist images as part of a coordinated trolling campaign. Despite the tech companies' lip service to AI safety and ethics, their tools appear to be lacking even the most basic guardrails against misuse. Additionally, these tools are using data scraped from the internet without permission, leading to people suing the companies for reproducing their work without compensation.

Q&As

What types of AI-generated content are tech companies releasing?
Tech companies are releasing trendy chatbots and image-generating tools.

What types of images have been generated using Microsoft Bing’s Image Creator?
Images generated using Microsoft Bing’s Image Creator include Mario and Goofy at the January 6th insurrection, Spongebob flying a plane into the World Trade Center, Mickey Mouse holding an AR-15, Disney characters as Abu Ghraib guards, and Lego characters plotting a murder while holding weapons.

How are people using AI tools to create offensive images?
People are using AI tools to create offensive images as part of a coordinated trolling campaign on 4chan.

What are the ethical concerns associated with AI tools?
Ethical concerns associated with AI tools include the fear that people’s creative work is being ingested and regurgitated into AI-generated content without permission or compensation, and the potential for AI tools to generate inappropriate or harmful content.

What is the advice given by a Twitter user about releasing AI software?
The advice given by a Twitter user about releasing AI software is to "hand it to a focus group of terminally online internet trolls for 24 hours" and not release it if they generate something that is not acceptable.

AI Comments

👍 This article provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of AI technology and its potential for misuse. It does a great job of exploring the implications of such technology and the responsibility of tech companies to ensure that their products are used safely.

👎 This article fails to provide a comprehensive solution to the misuse of AI technology. It simply provides a few examples of how AI technology has been misused and fails to offer any real solutions.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about how tech companies are continuing to develop AI-generated content, but there are serious implications. For instance, users of Microsoft Bing's Image Creator have been able to generate inappropriate images, like Mario and Goofy at the January 6th insurrection. It's concerning because companies don't seem to have robust safeguards against misuse.

Friend: That's really concerning. It's scary to think that AI is being used to generate racist images and other forms of propaganda. And it's even scarier that companies don't seem to be taking any responsibility for it.

Me: Yeah, tech companies are paying lip service to AI safety and ethics, but the tools they're releasing don't seem to reflect that. And it's not just offensive images either. AI is being used to exploit workers, and artists are suing companies for reproducing their work without compensation. It's a huge issue.

Action items

Research the ethical implications of AI-generated content and the potential for misuse.
Reach out to tech companies to learn more about their AI safety practices and safeguards against misuse.
Consider the potential for AI-generated content to exploit workers and copyright holders, and take steps to protect against this.

Technical terms

Generative AI: Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that is used to generate new content, such as images, text, or audio.
OpenAI’s DALL-E: DALL-E is an artificial intelligence system developed by OpenAI that is capable of generating images from text descriptions.
Chatbots: Chatbots are computer programs that simulate human conversation. They are often used to provide customer service or to automate mundane tasks.
Image Creator: Image Creator is a tool developed by Microsoft Bing that uses OpenAI’s DALL-E to generate images from text descriptions.
Meta: Meta is the parent company of Facebook.
Stickers: Stickers are small images that can be used to decorate text messages or other digital content.
AI Safety: AI safety is the practice of ensuring that artificial intelligence systems are designed and used in a way that minimizes the potential for harm.
Content Filters: Content filters are systems that are used to detect and block inappropriate content.
Revenge Porn: Revenge porn is the sharing of sexually explicit images or videos of someone without their consent.
4chan: 4chan is an anonymous online message board.
Propaganda: Propaganda is information that is spread to influence public opinion.
Boilerplate Statement: A boilerplate statement is a prepared statement that can be used in multiple contexts without needing to be changed.
Copyright: Copyright is a form of legal protection that grants exclusive rights to the creator of a work.
IP-Protected Characters: IP-protected characters are characters that are protected by intellectual property laws.
Terminally Online Internet Trolls: Terminally online internet trolls are people who use the internet to spread offensive or inflammatory content.