Ownership of intellectual property is colonial and invasive to begin with, though I can understand its need in an increasingly digital economy. However, what the economy protects is the investment of time it takes to produce works of art, not the art itself. The acquisition of that time has, until now, been a privilege of those with the luxury to afford an artistic lifestyle, or education, often (though not always) representative of an elite or middle-class viewpoint and bias. The fundamental thing AI creates is operational leverage — ie. time to do more and work less. That means the time invested in art no longer needs to be scarce. To me, the trend indicates that time becomes less valuable to the economy as it becomes more accessible to society. Think I’m talking shit? I urge you to consider the implications very carefully!
An intriguing precursor appeared in an article titled “Imitators and Plagiarists” published in The Gentleman’s Magazine in 1892. The author was W. H. Davenport Adams, and the terminology he used was transposed: “to imitate” was commendable, but “to steal” was unworthy. Adams extolled the works of the famed poet Alfred Tennyson, and presented several examples in which Tennyson constructed his verses using the efforts of his artistic antecedents as a resource. In the following passage Adams referred to his aphorism as a “canon”, and he placed it between quotation marks.
Of Tennyson’s assimilative method, when he adopts an image or a suggestion from a predecessor, and works it up into his own glittering fabric, I shall give a few instances, offering as the result and summing up of the preceding inquiries a modest canon: “That great poets imitate and improve, whereas small ones steal and spoil.”
Ownership of intellectual property is colonial and invasive to begin with, though I can understand its need in an increasingly digital economy. However, what the economy protects is the investment of time it takes to produce works of art, not the art itself. The acquisition of that time has, until now, been a privilege of those with the luxury to afford an artistic lifestyle, or education, often (though not always) representative of an elite or middle-class viewpoint and bias. The fundamental thing AI creates is operational leverage — ie. time to do more and work less. That means the time invested in art no longer needs to be scarce. To me, the trend indicates that time becomes less valuable to the economy as it becomes more accessible to society. Think I’m talking shit? I urge you to consider the implications very carefully!
In the spirit of the post, I am stealing from here: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/03/06/artists-steal/
An intriguing precursor appeared in an article titled “Imitators and Plagiarists” published in The Gentleman’s Magazine in 1892. The author was W. H. Davenport Adams, and the terminology he used was transposed: “to imitate” was commendable, but “to steal” was unworthy. Adams extolled the works of the famed poet Alfred Tennyson, and presented several examples in which Tennyson constructed his verses using the efforts of his artistic antecedents as a resource. In the following passage Adams referred to his aphorism as a “canon”, and he placed it between quotation marks.
Of Tennyson’s assimilative method, when he adopts an image or a suggestion from a predecessor, and works it up into his own glittering fabric, I shall give a few instances, offering as the result and summing up of the preceding inquiries a modest canon: “That great poets imitate and improve, whereas small ones steal and spoil.”