Thanks so much for your column! The AI stuff lacks soul--and just leaves me with an empty feeling--even if I might agree with the message. I appreciate you writing on this topic.
Of course I had to look the word up, but based on what bloviate means, I don’t think that’s you at all. Your writing is so pithy and full of substance. Anyway, fun to learn a new word😊
OMG. The gall of some people/machines! I finally understand why the Luddites in the early 1800s were enraged. (Am reminded by the Oxford dictionary that they were English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16). )
Ok, you got me. I am finally a paid subscriber. My dad worked in public television for 50 years, so I learned the guilt of free consumption of content while watching him beg in pledge drives. You are generous to allow free access to your work, and I’ve been reading every single cartoon and column you post, and I don’t even do that with Heather Cox Richardson! So my public broadcasting guilt kicked in. But your work is well worth paying for. And that AI plagiarism is not only bad, it’s reprehensible.
I mean, it's one thng if the AI "cartoonist" stole your look and applied it to an original idea...still plagiarism, but with thought. This? This doesn't even use AI properly...it's a fucking bad xerox, an inexact copy.
Congress is having hearings on this very subject. Call your congressional delegates and Senators and send them examples. Offer to give testimony. Show up at your congressman’s office! This is an era of get up and go and take a big stick.
One of the biggest problems I have in the world of bad things is cheating. There isn’t a huge list of things in this world that I hate - I lump Trump and his foot soldiers in one package - but cheating is something I have been outraged over since I was a very young child. The worst invective one of us could hurl at another kid when I was young was, “CHEATER!!!”
Nobody wanted to be the cheater.
Jack, I’m sorry you and your pals have been ripped off in such an ugly way! I’m really sorry! That’s something taken from you that you can’t get back. I sure hope there is some way to shut down that toontronic BS.
Fortnite’s Darth Vader Is AI-powered. Voice Actors Are Rebelling. The actors’ union that began striking against video game companies last summer has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite.
Whenever I get full enough of myself to think I've had an original thought, I Google it and quickly disabuse myself of that notion.
The essence of a writer's art isn't their subject matter; it's the skill, effort, and originality of style that they draw from when choosing words and/or creating images to tell the story. It's the writer's unique "talent" that separates a skilled journalist from a hack reporter.
Plagiarism isn't just about stealing a writer's words and livelihood; it's the blatant theft of their unique, if not phenomenological, creative genius, the essential talent that elevates skill to artistry. Talent is a function of personality, the one human characteristic that cannot be changed.
AI attempts to duplicate an artist's talent using plagiarism, but at best, it's a pale imitation. Over time, I've realized that generic products might be cheaper and easier to produce; they're also commensurately inferior to the real thing, a concept that applies to most genres of art.
p.s. Whenever I'm feeling less than smart, I read the negative one-star Amazon reviews for products that are garnering 95% positive feedback, and quickly disabuse myself of THAT notion.
Though inevitable, this type of plagiarism is deeply disturbing.
Thanks for calling it out and providing such concrete examples.
Unfortunately, AI has its tentacles in various creative arenas--and the possibilities of damage are endless.
Thanks so much for your column! The AI stuff lacks soul--and just leaves me with an empty feeling--even if I might agree with the message. I appreciate you writing on this topic.
Carla
Of course I had to look the word up, but based on what bloviate means, I don’t think that’s you at all. Your writing is so pithy and full of substance. Anyway, fun to learn a new word😊
You’re very kind, to a bloviator!
OMG. The gall of some people/machines! I finally understand why the Luddites in the early 1800s were enraged. (Am reminded by the Oxford dictionary that they were English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16). )
Ok, you got me. I am finally a paid subscriber. My dad worked in public television for 50 years, so I learned the guilt of free consumption of content while watching him beg in pledge drives. You are generous to allow free access to your work, and I’ve been reading every single cartoon and column you post, and I don’t even do that with Heather Cox Richardson! So my public broadcasting guilt kicked in. But your work is well worth paying for. And that AI plagiarism is not only bad, it’s reprehensible.
I’m flattered! I was about to subscribe to KQED with that same feeling! Thanks for the paid!!!
I mean, it's one thng if the AI "cartoonist" stole your look and applied it to an original idea...still plagiarism, but with thought. This? This doesn't even use AI properly...it's a fucking bad xerox, an inexact copy.
Congress is having hearings on this very subject. Call your congressional delegates and Senators and send them examples. Offer to give testimony. Show up at your congressman’s office! This is an era of get up and go and take a big stick.
Congrats on the upcoming anniversary!
Clay Jones blogged about this a little while ago. Glad you did, too.
One of the biggest problems I have in the world of bad things is cheating. There isn’t a huge list of things in this world that I hate - I lump Trump and his foot soldiers in one package - but cheating is something I have been outraged over since I was a very young child. The worst invective one of us could hurl at another kid when I was young was, “CHEATER!!!”
Nobody wanted to be the cheater.
Jack, I’m sorry you and your pals have been ripped off in such an ugly way! I’m really sorry! That’s something taken from you that you can’t get back. I sure hope there is some way to shut down that toontronic BS.
That's pretty blatant. Glad they got busted.
Fortnite’s Darth Vader Is AI-powered. Voice Actors Are Rebelling. The actors’ union that began striking against video game companies last summer has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite.
Thank you for bringing this thief to the attention of your readers.
Whenever I get full enough of myself to think I've had an original thought, I Google it and quickly disabuse myself of that notion.
The essence of a writer's art isn't their subject matter; it's the skill, effort, and originality of style that they draw from when choosing words and/or creating images to tell the story. It's the writer's unique "talent" that separates a skilled journalist from a hack reporter.
Plagiarism isn't just about stealing a writer's words and livelihood; it's the blatant theft of their unique, if not phenomenological, creative genius, the essential talent that elevates skill to artistry. Talent is a function of personality, the one human characteristic that cannot be changed.
AI attempts to duplicate an artist's talent using plagiarism, but at best, it's a pale imitation. Over time, I've realized that generic products might be cheaper and easier to produce; they're also commensurately inferior to the real thing, a concept that applies to most genres of art.
p.s. Whenever I'm feeling less than smart, I read the negative one-star Amazon reviews for products that are garnering 95% positive feedback, and quickly disabuse myself of THAT notion.
Not too terribly long ago I was bored so o scrolled through YouTube
We need you, too,