Why I'm against AI

I recently started removing people in my friend's list who were still actively using AI to write or "create" art for fun and profit... I posted that I was done with these people, and would be unfriending them. I got pushback from one of them saying they were "sorry" I felt that way. 

In that instance, I realized that there were people who simply didn't get it. Even now, even with all the information available on AI, what it does, what it's done, and why we are in a finite sliver of time available to stop the progression of it. 

AI isn't "just" a cute way of having your likeness drawn in whatever style you want it to be. It's literally stolen art from actual artists, to draw a prompt you've given it. This has been proven in court cases, BTW, not just hyperbole. Your prompt is taking, for free, someone's hard work, for you to "have fun".

Some (if not half) of these artists make their art for a living. Many of these artists are either dynamically disabled or fully disabled, and art is not only therapy, it's their only income.

So, imagine having a talent, and trying to make sure your rent is paid by using that talent. Then, you notice your sales are dwindling... And then seeing your art style plastered across the internet, in hundreds of prompt pieces, created by AI to feed someone's need to "join the bandwagon".

You have no way of being compensated for that, because you never trademarked your style, and you're not making enough to hire a lawyer to somehow demand that it cease and desist... Not that it would do much good, because once it's on the internet, it's there forever. So now you're stuck - you can't advertise your art online for fear of AI stealing more of it. But you also can't put your work up for sale unless you use the internet.

Something similar is having for those who make tangible goods to wear and use daily. Sewists and potters, among lots of other artists, are also being affected - by fast fashion giants like Temu and Shein, who use either AI or the pictures of final products made by small businesses, and then make horrible knock-offs for sale at less than 1/10th the actual cost of the garment in question. 

These companies exploit workers and the original artists in an effort to make as much money while defrauding the purchaser. And the purchaser is just as culpable and at fault here, don't get me wrong. You think that $600 gown you saw is going to be something you can get for $49.95?! Seriously? Not. Even. Close. 

Congratulations. You've paid for a child-labor created cheap, polyester knock-off that won't fit, will look worse on than it did in the bag, *and* you helped the company get away with intellectual theft, while also positively reinforcing that it's OK for them to steal. 

If that kind of impact doesn't hit you, let's look at the environmental impact of AI. For a single data server, carbon intensity of electricity used is 48% higher than the US average. By 2028 more than half of the electricity going to data centers will be used for AI. At that point, AI alone could consume as much electricity annually as 22% of all US households.  You can read the rest in the link below.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20737314952&gbraid=0AAAAADgO_miqIO10pAkDds0GCr5OzQkgV&gclid=CjwKCAjwidXQBhAZEiwA4egw6D5WeILfOLW-97IToqUoP_vodFEwhtHotpJlaiXJMfMDIuS-3SCrdBoC85IQAvD_BwE

AI isn't free, It isn't harmless, and with the amount of information out there about how it learns, how it's being used, and where we're going with it, if you haven't been made aware until now... That's you being willfully ignorant - like the ostrich with its head in the sand.

Stop being a willing partner, and start educating yourself about it. Make better choices, reach out to someone who's an artist and work a trade or barter, or just pay them outright for their help in realizing your imaging dreams.