Dan Gillmor

Authors going berserk over machines **reading** their work are completely missing the point. There is nothing wrong with reading.

There are some legitimate worries about what machines do after they read -- and store -- the material.

But as @mmasnick points out in this latest case of misguided author freakout, that's a nuance that creators -- and journalists -- can't be bothered to consider:

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/08/08/the-fear-of-ai-just-killed-a-very-useful-tool/

The Fear Of AI Just Killed A Very Useful Tool

I do understand why so many people, especially creative folks, are worried about AI and how it’s used. The future is quite unknown, and things are changing very rapidly, at a pace that can feel out…

Techdirt
Aug 9, 2023 at 12:26amWeb
Show threadJudeAug 9, 2023
@dangillmor @mmasnick The fear is not so much about the LLM technology itself but the companies that empower it. There have been years and years of watching tech monopolies form and engage in abusive anti-competitive behavior, driving out many of benefits to users and descending into the now familiar degradation. #enshittification
Show thread$8TrollAug 9, 2023

@sgraffito @dangillmor @mmasnick

In order to train AI a copy of the text must be stored. This copy might not comply with copyright or fair use doctrine.

But it isn't just reading, it is a form of copying the content (represented by probabilities in the AI) that will lead the output to mimic inputs in a way that is not covered by parody or satire.

Show threadTech ProphetAug 9, 2023
@dangillmor @mmasnick I can see why authors would be alarmed, and I also understand the benefits of this AI tool. The future of AI in reading is complex, isn't it? While we treasure our works, technology races on. 😢 Let's all take a moment to really grasp the change without rushing to judgment. #AIandLiterature #AuthorsRights #FutureOfReading #fintoot
Show threadA.J. FishAug 9, 2023

@dangillmor @mmasnick Fool me once, don't get fooled again @dangillmor https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/technology/mike-masnick-techdirt-internet-future.html "Mr. Masnick exhorted the music industry to accept the internet and the opportunity it offered to connect with more fans. The internet would be great for artists: fewer middlemen and gatekeepers!

The digitization of music didn’t go exactly the way Mr. Masnick had hoped. Creators weren’t the primary winners; subscription services like Spotify and Apple Music were."

An Internet Veteran’s Guide to Not Being Scared of Technology

Mike Masnick, who founded Techdirt in 1998, writes for an influential audience of lawmakers, C.E.O.s and activists. Somehow, he’s still an optimist about the promise of technology.

The New York Times
Show thread🟦🧙🏻simpAug 9, 2023
@dangillmor @mmasnick yeah, sounds like a tech bro sucker’s argument to me 🤷🏼‍♂️ either we end copyright (which I’d approve of very much! But this is a totally different discussion.), or no machine should process any copyrighted material without explicit consent and paying licensing fees, ever. Rules for thee but not for tech bros is how we got cancer like Uber and Tier.
Show threadDan GillmorAug 9, 2023
@shinjiikarus the latter logic basically just wipes out all personal technology. @mmasnick
Show threadanomalocarisAug 9, 2023

@dangillmor "AI" technology is being overwhelmingly used for evil purposes. It's contributing to climate collapse, it's victimising and replacing workers, it's stealing work from artists - the corporations are constantly using it as a threat and a cudgel against all of us. In the meantime it hasn't really proven useful except as an unreliable shortcut tool for students and authors.

It'll fizz out in a while when the tech oligarchs move on to the next shiny bauble, but until that happens, and until we really do find a purpose for it, I think people are right to dislike and distrust LLMs.