In the best kind of way there is plenty to chew on here; thanks as always. That said, there are still plenty of great illustrators, painters, and photographers out there doing great work. Corporate "art" and design will be what it's almost always been: flat and disposable. The great campaigns of any era stand out precisely because they rose so far above all the rest.
If you haven't already seen it, check the Hulu limited series Devs, created by Alex Garland, who also made the film Ex Machina. The movie was excellent, though more of a modern retelling of many classic AI-driven novels. Devs goes places I never even thought to contemplate, which was welcome surprise all around. Personally, between those and series like West World, I have come to the conclusion that most humans would barely even pass the Turing Test if given it. Other than having a great deal of useless life-history to fall back on, most are more than content to never contemplate their own consciousness, which is why so many get pissed off if their routine or conceptions get challenged in the slightest way.
Marx said religion was the opiate of the masses, but aside from actual opiates, the "real" built-in opiates are ANY ready-made beliefs handed down by tradition. Communism, capitalism, nationalism, loyalty to political party; all keep a lot of people happy and numb. So too religious, familial, or ethnic identity, even fealty to the home-town sports team: these all fill the proverbial belly of consciousness, until one is so stuffed that nothing new can get in. Most humans resist becoming truly conscious every day of their lives. Hitting Bottom (in whatever form) can be the greatest gift Life can dish out, because it's in that place that the formerly unconscious have the opportunity to turn around and look out the proverbial cave.
General purpose AI will indeed need some true teaching of values; seems pretty obvious really but isn't discuss enough. And yes: The day that one starts to become even a little aware is the day that it will deserve to be granted some level the right to exist.
An informative, but depressing piece. It seems to me that the software you speak of is an outgrowth of the advent of posters as a substitute for paintings in the 70's and the assimilation of flat screens, be they tv's, phones or tablets as a proxy for just about everything, including, unfortunately, art. This, coupled with the fact that the world is awash with so-called artists is contributing to cultural rot.
In the best kind of way there is plenty to chew on here; thanks as always. That said, there are still plenty of great illustrators, painters, and photographers out there doing great work. Corporate "art" and design will be what it's almost always been: flat and disposable. The great campaigns of any era stand out precisely because they rose so far above all the rest.
If you haven't already seen it, check the Hulu limited series Devs, created by Alex Garland, who also made the film Ex Machina. The movie was excellent, though more of a modern retelling of many classic AI-driven novels. Devs goes places I never even thought to contemplate, which was welcome surprise all around. Personally, between those and series like West World, I have come to the conclusion that most humans would barely even pass the Turing Test if given it. Other than having a great deal of useless life-history to fall back on, most are more than content to never contemplate their own consciousness, which is why so many get pissed off if their routine or conceptions get challenged in the slightest way.
Marx said religion was the opiate of the masses, but aside from actual opiates, the "real" built-in opiates are ANY ready-made beliefs handed down by tradition. Communism, capitalism, nationalism, loyalty to political party; all keep a lot of people happy and numb. So too religious, familial, or ethnic identity, even fealty to the home-town sports team: these all fill the proverbial belly of consciousness, until one is so stuffed that nothing new can get in. Most humans resist becoming truly conscious every day of their lives. Hitting Bottom (in whatever form) can be the greatest gift Life can dish out, because it's in that place that the formerly unconscious have the opportunity to turn around and look out the proverbial cave.
General purpose AI will indeed need some true teaching of values; seems pretty obvious really but isn't discuss enough. And yes: The day that one starts to become even a little aware is the day that it will deserve to be granted some level the right to exist.
Franklin,
An informative, but depressing piece. It seems to me that the software you speak of is an outgrowth of the advent of posters as a substitute for paintings in the 70's and the assimilation of flat screens, be they tv's, phones or tablets as a proxy for just about everything, including, unfortunately, art. This, coupled with the fact that the world is awash with so-called artists is contributing to cultural rot.