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unknownian • yesterday at 3:43 PM • 9 replies • view on HN

GenAI that imitates human art is the definition of an anti-invention. If an invention is a new innovation that improves something for the human experience, an anti-invention is a new innovation that makes life worse.

This is just one of several areas where GenAI has been harmful and should start getting regulated like digital drugs.


Replies

Lerc • yesterday at 4:24 PM

I don't think that definition meets what people would consider an invention.

The AK47 is an invention. The inventor "would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example a lawnmower", but people still consider it an invention. Inventions do not have a polarity in the axis of quality of life.

There is no consensus on if GenAI is overall harmful or not. In general people are optimistic but concerned.

The last thing we need is another war on drugs.

I would rate A/B testing on human behaviour, or advertising to be more harmful to the overall human experience than GenAI.

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combobyte • yesterday at 4:36 PM

Delegating the thinking and feeling parts of the human experience, mechanizing human creativity itself, is a direct attack on human dignity.

It makes people dumber, less self-sufficient and (maybe worst of all) less interesting.

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nsoam • yesterday at 6:16 PM

I’ve seen lots of AI-generated pictures and videos that I found insightful or funny. Also lots in bad taste. It’s not black or white. Like any other technology it can be used for good or bad.

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nadermx • yesterday at 6:06 PM

Why does a government have to be a parent? This feels short sighted.

potsandpans • yesterday at 10:19 PM

Who actually enjoys this kind of sermonizing?

vlyan • yesterday at 7:49 PM

very wholesome. now, what are you going to do about China? sanction them? drone their researchers and airstrike their datacenters?

it's rather baffling to see early 2023 delulu still being clung onto in late 2026. no one's going to regulate that genie back into the bottle.

retwakm4 • yesterday at 3:50 PM

I think there are other digital technologies that are also a lot like drugs and deserve similar regulation. I.e. if your social media company decides it wants to be a platform and insert stuff to inflame you or generate more engagement....it's a drug, not a tool for social connection..

I think there are ways you could serve ads and make money as a business, just not as much money, and not be basically a drug. The social media giants choose not to do this of course and will have to be forced.

I am distinctly less libertarian/classically liberal/etc. than the average user of HN though. So I understand that this opinion is likely to get me downvoted. I prefer to think that I live in the real world and have seen the damage these things have caused and am not in a tech-only friend group bubble.

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bigstrat2003 • yesterday at 4:39 PM

I think genAI has been strictly worse for humanity. It's destroying the quality of our industry, it turns creative fields into slop, etc. It is all downside and no benefit, in my opinion.

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arjie • yesterday at 4:19 PM

Strong disagree. Even the original Dall-E was great for visual prototyping for our wedding. My wife is an artist and now creative director and she really enjoyed using it to set up things. Even the pattern embroidered onto my wedding coat was prototyped in Dall-E and cleaned up in Adobe Creative Suite.

I listen to a lot of AI generated music and our AI personal assistant has helped a ton in our life. Quite happy with the way things have turned out in this new technological revolution.

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