I need a term for the GenAI equivalent of being vegetarian. 30 years ago, I came to understand how animal suffering and profit were tightly correlated. Profit went up the more suffering was inflicted on animals. It was optional, not necessary, but it was profitable. I made the decision to become vegetarian because there weren't other realistic choices. Today there are many ethically better options than were available to me in the 1990s, I'm still vegetarian because it's still a good thing to do and I enjoy it.

AI has now struck me as very, very similar: Suffering directly correlated to profit. Whether it's climate change, unemployment, disenfranchisement, or just the general attack on creativity, expertise, and accountability, I can't abide the current approaches to generative AI. I'm gonna uninstall it from my personal stuff and do what I can to not use it/be ethical with it at work.

And while "Luddite" might seem like a reasonable term, it's a very misunderstood term and would likely prompt perjorative connotations.

There is a lot of machine learning technolgoy that is very good, ethical, and not climate destroying. Many predictive AI systems (OCR, voice recognition, network IDS and IPS, language translation, etc.) are really effective and have really good cost/benefit ratios. I have no opposition to these ML systems because they don't have the properties I am uncomfortable with.

@paco

I agree here, I don't think AI is the issue it is who is in charge of individual systems, e,g big tech,

AI is also a term that seems to refer to several things, using AI or machine learning to help woth meidcal scans or sicence research is fine, esp if those systems are self contained within an organisation with humans in charge of the system.

@zleap GenAI has some properties very different from ML used in the things you mention. Predictive AI (1) works, and (2) uses energy much more commensurate with the value to society (3) didn’t involve a lot of non-consensual theft of work. The amount of energy people burn with GenAI to draw a cat with a jet pack that accidentally has 5 legs, or write python code full of rookie mistakes is way out of whack. And the theft of others’ work is wrong.

@paco

I agree with this, just not sure how we stop people using it for bad code generation or drawing pointless pictures.

The cat is oit of the back as they say.

@paco Non-slop based info-diet? Similar to "plant based diet", perhaps?
@paco Also I'm with you on Luddite; "we don't like these weaving machines that care not for the quality of the craft and end up making us (all) poorer" is a mood.
@paco How about "Visionairy"?

@paco I agree with all your points. I’m currently going with “tech hippie” but it’s a work in progress.

I LOVE technology. I like tinkering with #arduino and #electronics and #debian for fun. For me the crux is FOSS and DIY.

I just designed my first STL model for a 3D print. I learned the basics of #freecad to do it. My rationale is that our ideas live inside the SW. if the SW is not free, neither are my ideas. Not sure if that’s a tech “hippie,” hipster,” or “vegetarian.”

@paco As a general term, I like technomoral. I also like technosophic (technology-philosophy), but that is visually is a bit too close to sophism than I like.