EDIT: It’s honestly hard to believe how intense and personal some of the hostility in this thread is. I understand objecting to something when there is a valid concern, especially about ethics or consent. But this is something else entirely. It feels less like people are engaging with the actual work and more like they are reacting to the mere presence of AI in any form, regardless of context.

I don’t think LLMs are universally good or bad. I think they are very very bad at a large number of things, especially when people try to use them as shortcuts in places where care, originality, or expertise (or human understanding and subsequent empathy) are required. But they are also extremely effective in other use cases when used with skill, intention, and thought. That is the position I hold. It is nuanced. It does not dismiss the criticisms people have raised, but it also does not treat every use of the technology as automatically unethical or invalid.

What I did was not a random one-line prompt into a generator. I gave deliberate, specific instructions about pose, anatomy, style, and tone. I gave feedback. I adjusted the inputs. I guided it through a process that produced something unique and original. The result is not a collage of stolen images. It is not a copy of anything that has ever existed. That is important context, and it is constantly ignored in these arguments.

There is a real difference between raising concerns in good faith and launching personal attacks at people who use a tool in a considered way. The people jumping into these threads with moral outrage are not engaging in objective analysis. They are repeating talking points as if AI art is some kind of singular personal enemy. It often feels like they are reacting based on something they heard someone else say, rather than thinking critically about what is in front of them.

And this is happening in a community that is supposed to be supportive of neurodivergent people. That is the part I find most maddening. There is room here for discussion and for disagreement. But instead of debate, we get judgment, condescension, rabid hostility, and attempts to shame people for trying something different. That is not the kind of environment anyone should want to foster.

  • @[email protected]
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    1011 days ago

    Pangolin had it coming, setting up meetings without looking at coworkers’ calendars. Fuck you, discount armadillo, you’re not more important than me!

  • @[email protected]
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    2712 days ago

    AI can generate an absolutely perfect pangolin, but keyboards? Mathematically impossible!

        • DominusOfMegadeus
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          1712 days ago

          Since I can’t draw, but I still have ideas, this seemed like the best way. ADHDinos is basically like the same 3 images over and over and no one seems to mind that. Plus, I shudder at the thought of trying to vector trace all those pangolin scales. I’m glad you liked it though.

          • @[email protected]
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            2011 days ago

            If Dinosaur Comics can write utterly classic comics using the same exact clipart every time, you can do it too.

            • DominusOfMegadeus
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              1311 days ago

              THANK YOU SO MUCH. I was honestly hoping the Lemmy anti-AI knee-jerk responses would not have bled over into this community, but clearly that hope was in vain.

              • @[email protected]
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                1611 days ago

                Homie you’re gonna face that everywhere, not just Lemmy. GenAI is built on the intellectual property theft of thousands of artists. Nobody is going to applaud you for taking an unethical shortcut.

                • AwesomeLowlander
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                  510 days ago

                  Reality check: Most people DGAF. Check out the upvotes on the post to see how many people care.

                • Deceptichum
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                  19 days ago

                  Nothing ethical about property rights.

                  Human culture for everyone, fuck the multinational corporations who fought to make it so sacred for their profits.

          • gonzo-rand19
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            1311 days ago

            You don’t have to vector trace. Just try your best freehand with simple shapes and get better over time. A lot of digital drawing software has pen smoothing and you can adjust the paths after the fact if you use Inkscape/Illustrator.

            • DominusOfMegadeus
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              1611 days ago

              I was going to say I don’t have the desire to devote the time it would take, but then I realized: I have never tried drawing digitally before. And I totally already have everything I need to do it. And now I am intrigued.

              • @[email protected]
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                410 days ago

                do it!! im serious!! learn to appreciate the hard work of creativity! it’s a labor of love. your machines will not help you grow.

                i deeply regret having used AI after experiencing the magic that is creation

                • @[email protected]
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                  28 days ago

                  the hard work of creativity!

                  The creativity is the idea, the execution is the work. Execution is simple mechanical rote, nothing special.

                • AwesomeLowlander
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                  310 days ago

                  There is no ethical consumption under capitalism. Unless you’re claiming that you have no negative impact on the planet, you’re just arbitrarily gatekeeping which activities are and aren’t allowed.

          • AwesomeLowlander
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            911 days ago

            Just ignore the anti AI dumbasses and keep doing what you’re doing. This is literally one of the best use cases for AI - to allow people to explore their creativity in the avenue of their choice.

          • Cethin
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            1010 days ago

            Everyone can draw. You mean that you aren’t practiced yet, which is perfectly fine and everyone starts that way. If you want to make comics, then make comics. Don’t waste time and energy on AI slop that doesn’t bring the same meaning as something a person made, however inexperienced they may be.

          • Synapse
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            3711 days ago

            Just draw some doodles, you have enough talent to draw some simple characters, you’ll get better over time and I am sure you’ll have more fun doing it. Think of all the rage-comics 15 years ago, all trash level ms-paint art, massive and long lasting impact on pop-culture. Talent isn’t required for memes, just ideas!

            • @[email protected]
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              2711 days ago

              XKCD is literally stick figures, for example, and has more or less remained stick figures since its inception.

          • Nailbar
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            511 days ago

            This got me thinking… Is there a place on Lemmy where you can post an idea, and others collaborate to improve it?

              • Nailbar
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                510 days ago

                Like when you have a joke in mind but can’t draw it, or when you write a song but can’t get the melody right, and so on.

  • db0
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    810 days ago

    Don’t listen to the haters, keep exploring your creativity. If you feel like drawing, go for it. if not, or you don’t have enough time, use whatever tool you want instead. I would only caution on getting too attached to proprietary tools like OpenAI.

  • AwesomeLowlander
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    610 days ago

    Was a nice comic! Keep it up, and remember to ignore the vocal minority of idiots. You can tell from the upvote ratio that most people DGAF that the image is AI.

    • DominusOfMegadeus
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      510 days ago

      That’s OK. I’m sure all those negative people were capable of drawing outstanding pangolins before they ever saw my comic. Because they absolutely definitely knew what those were, and could draw all those scales freehand from memory.

      • @[email protected]
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        610 days ago

        Wait, what? Are we not allowed to criticize AI art unless it’s of something that we can provably draw ourselves? Lol

  • setVeryLoud(true);
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    6 days ago

    I find genAI imagery extremely uncanny and creepy, and I can’t condone the usage of a system whose creators yearn for a day where companies won’t have to pay human creators anymore and can simply funnel their funds directly into the pockets of giant corporations instead.

    Additionally, commercial-scale generative AI is already destroying the environment in communities across the world due to its power use.

    Also plagiarism: https://spectrum.ieee.org/amp/midjourney-copyright-2666872100

    Commercial image generation models are trained on real people’s copyrighted works with no regard for paying them for using said work, putting more money in large corporations’ pockets.

    It’s not something I can accept nor condone, and I will continue to shame people for facilitating the transfer of wealth and destruction of our environment.

    I thought we could do better on Lemmy than to lean on large, polluting technology companies for content, those same companies who have military deals to create civilian-killing robots.

    • DominusOfMegadeus
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      6 days ago

      This is the right approach if your goal is to change people’s minds. Reasoned, fact-supported, logical debate is valuable, and I respect that. There is no need to shame individual creators for how they choose to explore their ideas or make use of available tools.

      I do not agree with every point you raised, but I think these are serious concerns worth discussing. That includes issues like corporate influence, data usage, and environmental impact. I am always open to that kind of conversation when it is grounded in good faith.