Do you ever utilize A.I.? Are you fearful of the potential dangers of it? Personally, it's a yes to both of those, and with news of the WGA strike coming to an end this week, I figure it's a good time to put out a little commentary on the subject.
Whether it's generated images or text, A.I. is here to stay, and my perspective is that it is a tool best used for the mundane as opposed to the creative. We often encounter new ideas and inventions which may seem scary at first, but to resist change purely from fear stands in the way of progress. The issue many of us hold with A.I. is its capability to replace authentic human artistry, and regarding the writer's strike, the concerns centered around protections against the technology. There's also big push towards more regulations with visual artists like painters who believe all artificially generated images are a form of copyright since they draw upon preexisting human creations. I'm not sure on that one.
My brother recently showed me something that left me scratching my head in relation to this; there are A.I. episodes of popular animated shows such as South Park. The one we watched was weird, and everything from the cartoons to the script and even the voices was generated. The imposter episode wasn't very good, but it was coherent and nearly watchable. To me this means we are on the cusp of something huge in media, where everything from TikToks to major box office films can be produced with little to no human involvement. It is no wonder why these writers have felt threatened, but just because something can do their jobs for less money and quicker does necessarily not make it better.
Regarding media, naturally, broadcast radio is similarly susceptible to the encroachments of artificial intelligence. Not long ago I read something about the very first A.I. radio host hitting the airwaves somewhere in here in the United States, and it gives me the ick! I'm not about it, but if it ends up putting on a good show there is certainly the possibilty that this may become a trend in stations nationwide. My priority as an on-air personality is to play the best music and connect with listeners, and in that regard alongside a multitude of other reasons involving community, uniqueness, and authenticity; I believe us flesh and blood hosts will always have an edge.
I'm not infatuated with Elon Musk, but I came across a comment of his about the technology that really stuck with me. He essentially said that we need to proactively respond to the threats of A.I. instead of scrambling to react. Word!
Ultimately, I'm happy for the WGA union as their resolution seems to be a win. I'm curious to see what the future holds for artificial inteligence and media, and despite being concerned I am not afraid. As the infamous Spiderman quote goes, "with great power comes great responsibilty," and I have faith that we can collectively draw a line and lay the framework for how this technology can help the greater good. Some people will lose jobs, just like the switchboard operators connecting calls in the telecommunications industry did to automation. We simply must understand and accept that new technologies also bring on new, different jobs. For now, don't sweat it!