Sarah McLaughlinMar 30, 2023

Boy do I have some thoughts about this CEO's quote in @drewharwell's great reporting on Midjourney.

1) THIS IS HOW YOU END UP WITH TOOLS THAT APPLY ONE COUNTRY'S AUTHORITARIAN RULES TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE

2) He doesn't at all consider that Chinese people might also want to satirize Xi Jinping. Do they not matter?

3) "Minimize drama" is condescending nonsense. Being able to criticize one of the most authoritarian leaders in emerging tech is not a question of "drama."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/30/midjourney-ai-image-generation-rules/

How a tiny company with few rules is making fake images go mainstream

Midjourney, the year-old firm behind recent fake visuals of Trump and the pope, illustrates the lack of oversight accompanying spectacular strides in AI.

The Washington Post
Show threadEvannakita

@sarahemclaugh @drewharwell I agree with you on this—although I do want to bring up how the idea regarding your second point is that if satire of Xi Jinping is allowed, then it’ll just be straight-up banned in China.

So the way the CEO would respond to that question is “of course they matter, and that’s why we’re doing what we can to make sure they have as much access to this tool as we can offer.” Which unlike most of his quotes would actually be a fair response.

Mar 30, 2023 at 8:30pmWeb