AI; it has been a bit of a topic on here for the last few weeks, and in that time I've been trawling Hive and reading comments and kind of looking at the whole thing from an outside perspective and with a completely unbiased mindset; while formulating my own thoughts on the subject.
I was in the process of writing a post about its use for writing, and the more I read about it, that opinion changed slightly here and there, so it became a bit of a tough topic to talk about with a definitive opinion or idea of it.
The Use of AI
I've seen a lot of people using excuses about the use of AI to write posts, or "correct posts," or to help "Translate posts."
Seeing people complain about it to anyone demonising its use by saying things like, "You're fighting an uphill battle." or, "You can't stop it forever. or, "You're not rolling with the times, this new technology is valuable and you can't stop it!"
All of these ideas, to me, seem a bit threatening, and personally, I don't want to imagine what Hive would be like if we all just let it happen.
My opinion is if you want to use AI to write your post, burn your rewards. Obviously what you want the machine to write for you, is more important than money, so prove it; put your money where your mouth is.
Oh, you shouldn't have to burn your rewards? Why? Because you put so much work into editing it? Give me a break, editing something is tough, but writing it is a hell of a lot tougher. It takes time, dedication, and a certain amount of discipline to be able to sit at a computer and turn those random thoughts in your head into something, and I think the entire art form of writing means nothing if a machine is doing it for you.
Writing is fun, especially fiction, because you have no idea where it might go. When you're going along the trek of writing a story, you have absolutely no idea what little off-shoots can come up, and that is completely non-existent if you're using AI to do it for you.
I'm A Hypocrite.
I was talking to my partner about the drama on here that was going on, and voicing my concern and thoughts about the use of this evil AI that people are trying to introduce, by vocalising their reasons for it being included and forming little echo chambers of people complaining about having their AI written posts zero'd.
After a bit of ranting she gave me that smile she usually uses to tell me "Ahh Ha, I have you know." Without saying a word.
"Well, you're a bit of a hypocrite." I shuddered at the thought. "What? Me? I don't use it." I shook my head.
"You use AI to produce art for your posts." Check mate, she continued to say with her eyebrows as she folded her arms.
Well, I couldn't help but smile at that one. You've kind of got me there. I thought, while preparing my counter argument.
Because, if there's one thing I can do well, it's talk myself out of any issue. Que, a throat clear, as I stand up on a pedestal; ready to address the nation.
"That's different. Yes, I use AI to produce my art, which serves as a thumbnail for my posts, and a way to paint a picture in the minds of a reader, and my own to be fair; I like having a visual representation of a location in the stories. But, those pictures aren't the main content or draw of my posts, and I don't post them into one of the many art communities and pass them off as my own." She heard me out, nodded, and agreed.
But, decided to continue playing devil's advocate she shook her head. "Yeah, but it's still the same." "Nope, totally different." I won the argument, because, I'm right.
If Hive Was Full of Crap, I wouldn't Be Here
I like reading posts here on Hive, I like catching up with friends and seeing what they're up to, and reading about what's on their minds.
I don't want to read about the best way to apply sellotape, or the easiest way to make friends... Sorry, to anyone who has written posts on those topics, without the use of AI, I'm just trying to voice a point about the kinds of posts I've read by people caught using it.
They're basic as f*ck, and pretty much common knowledge... we all know how to apply sellotape. You pick at the spool until a piece comes off, then it splits in half and you're left with two useless little bits of it, and then have to bite that whole section off and start the process again... Duh.
Point being, no one cares. It's not teaching anyone anything and it's not telling anyone about yourself, other than you're someone who needs a computer to write you a post about something everyone knows, in the hopes of earning a couple of cent.
It Will Affect Everyone
If we don't make a stand, Hive will be cesspool of useless crap, and no one will read anyone's posts anymore, the autovoters will still do their thing and everyone will post and run, hoping for a little upvote now and then.
Do I think I add value to Hive? No, not really, but I guess it depends on what you consider value; sometimes I write about things that might mean something, but most of the time it's just fiction. If someone wants to read some sci-fi stuff, then maybe I add value to that person, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think I do.
Could I write anywhere else? Yes, I could post my stories on Reddit, I guess, or go to one of the many other blogging sites out there and post. Hell, I could even copy and paste my fiction and post the same story on multiple sites a day... To be fair, I would get a lot more eyeballs and readers doing that, but I choose not to, because I like Hive. I like the people, and I want to see it grow and evolve into something we couldn't imagine; and I believe it will.
But, if we allow crap AI written content here, more people doing that will be who we'll attract and the whole ship will sink.
Excuses For Using It
I read one comment and they were saying how they need it because they're dyslexic and they're at a disadvantage because of this affliction and that AI helps them put their thoughts into readable posts.
You don't need to be on Hive for starters, and you don't NEED, to monetize your incessant, AI written Drivel. You want to earn a quick buck.
Dyslexia is a disadvantage for anyone who wants to read and write, but it is NOT, permanent... Well, it is, but not really.
It's something I've never mentioned before, but I have dyslexia, and have to think most of the time before writing b's, d's, q's and p's. I used to be really bad... like ridiculously bad.
My hand writing is absolutely terrible still, thank god for keyboards, because I have become a really fast typer over the years.
Mistakes still get made, sometimes I edit my posts after posting them because things slip through, I re-read before posting a bunch of times and after a day goes by I go on and give it another re-read just to be sure.
My dyslexia didn't stop or stifle me and I've managed to force myself to write and spell better than I could before because grueling practice works for everything. My advice... Don't use auto-correct on your phone; write, write, and keep practicing, and you'll get there.
That goes for anyone who doesn't speak English as their first language. Practice, don't give up, and use AI, otherwise, you'll never learn. So, my second bit of advice is, don't give up on yourself.
I'd rather read something with mistakes and that looks a bit messy, than an amazing-looking post devoid of all voice and quirkiness.
Embarrassing
Here's a tidbit of information about me. I use this to remember which way b and d go; the word bed. b is the headboard and d is the footboard, because bed written in words looks like a bed in real life.
I don't know if that would help anyone with a bit of dyslexia, but maybe it will. q and p, I don't have a word for them like bed, so I just remember p is an upside down b and q is an upside down d and think of the word bed again.
Closing This Rant/ Argument With Myself
Does it have a use, yes, from what I read, people have made some decent points. Someone mentioned that they're a tutor and apparently students have been using AI to research their paper.
Kind of shocking really, if we automate everything, even learning, who knows what the next generations will be like. Good thinking though, so kudos to the students of tomorrow; I wish I had AI when I was in college.
Did the AI argument reveal peoples other gripes with Hive, yes, but I don't have time to really go into those arguments. My main complaint is about AI being used for writing posts, because that sucks.
I could be inviting some hate, but I've wanted to write this for a week or more now, and I've finally been able to put it all into words.
This is a pretty long post, I might have cut it down without writing out the little argument/ debate somewhere in the middle.
But, feck it, I liked the little argument, so decided to keep it.
TL:DR, AI takes the fun out of being a human, and nobody wants to read computerised garbage on Hive... if we did, we would read the mainstream media's news articles... Baz-zing...
Wacka Wacka...
(The Wacka Wacka doesn't work if you don't shimmy your elbows while saying it lol.)
