SL Creators Debate Using Gen AI in the Face of Community Controversy (Comment of the Week)

Above: From my 2024 State of the Virtual World Economy report

Last week's guest post by Maxwell Graf on why we need to decide now how to regulate content that uses AI being sold in the SL Marketplace (and beyond) generated some pretty passionate conversation. It came with this additional comment by Max that's also worth highlighting. In it, he talks about the ethical debate his fellow content creators are having among themselves, on whether to use gen AI in their commercial offerings:

My main worry is that people react to my comments as being "Pro AI in SL marketplace" because I'm not. A lot of people f***ing hate AI and I've spoken out on a lot of platforms the reasons I don't intend to sell with it.

A lot of designers I've spoken with over the last few years are going to continue on doing what they do without AI, which is awesome and shows character and principle. As someone once said, "You can't eat principles," which is right; if you own a business you have to compete and SL is very competitive and its going to get harder as people adopt AI as a way to speed up the revenue stream.

Somebody else said, "You can't eat principles, but you can live by them," which better highlights the choice in front of us. If you are in this to compete and make a living or your brand is caught up in the event grind, principles may not continue to supply what you need to survive, but if, like me, you are really only making a few items here and there to satisfy your artistic cravings going forward, then maybe you can live without AI and without sales being a primary goal of what you do.

Other creators however, do have sales as a primary goal, and many have already turned to gen AI to help them expedite their production.

Indeed, in my June 2024 report on the State of the Virtual World Economy On Its 21st Anniversary, I surveyed SL creators, and 1 in 4 reported that they do use generative AI platforms -- with 15% saying that they use it in the direct creation of their SL content, or in both the creation and promotion of it.

And I took that survey almost 12 months ago. If I were to ask the same question now, what do you suppose the breakdown will be?

Speaking of f***ing hating AI, there's now a SL community petition, "A reversal of standing company policy and doctrine on generative Artificial Intelligence", demanding:

1. Immediate sunsetting of the ConvAI bot system within 90 days of approval of this request.
2. A permanent ban on the commercial use of generative artificial intelligence in Second Life in any capacity, with moderate warnings for infringers, or explicit bans for use of generative AI that directly undermines an creator on our platform.
3. Assurances by Linden Lab Product Operations, Marketing and Development teams that under no circumstances will Linden Lab in the future, pursue the use of generative AI as part of the development, maintenance, promotion or support of the Second Life platform in any substantial capacity.

Much more here. As of posting date, under 400 SLers have signed the petition, but I'm still keeping an eye on it.

Comments

[SatanicPanic]

1.If someone prefers not to use a ConvAI bot, they are entirely free to make that decision. Forcing others to conform to this preference, however, infringes on individual autonomy. Technology should remain a personal choice, not a mandate.

2. Prohibiting individuals from using AI tools as part of their creative process is not only absurd but also counterproductive. Such restrictions amount to extreme gatekeeping, stifling innovation and creativity. Many creators rely on AI to streamline their workflows, whether it’s generating textures, brainstorming ideas, or automating repetitive tasks. Denying them access to these tools forces them to waste valuable time and resources on manual alternatives, which could otherwise be spent on refining their craft.

3. Preventing platforms like Second Life from utilizing AI in their development processes is an incredibly short-sighted move. AI has the potential to accelerate development cycles by automating complex processes, analyzing data more efficiently, and enabling developers to focus on higher-level tasks. By rejecting these advancements, the development process becomes unnecessarily slower and more cumbersome, ultimately harming both developers and users.

The behavior of certain anti-AI groups has reached an alarming level of hostility and irrationality. These individuals have turned their opposition into a form of crusade, engaging in online witch hunts to expose anyone suspected of using AI tools. This behavior not only disrupts the lives of creators but also fosters a toxic environment that discourages innovation and collaboration. In many ways, this movement resembles a quasi-religious ideology, complete with its own skewed moral framework that vilifies technological progress.

I fully expect the next meeting for ConvAI bots to be filled with a bunch of protestors, unaware of what they are even talking about. I believe that is Friday, you should pop in and witness the possible insanity that is to be unleashed.

[Haridsam]

I'd like to see a conversation about using AI to improve search in both the marketplace and the viewer, both of which are dumb as a brick. Seems to me that would bring immediate benefits to residents, creators, and sim owners, and not ruffle anyone's feathers.

[Nodoka Hanamura]

As the one behind the petition, I need to clarify:

1 - I am unable to adapt or modify the petition in the face of community feedback. This is a limitation of Canny.

2 - I am not against AI in its' entirity - I too agree it can be a useful tool, but a tool does not build the house, the carpenter does. GenAI as it stands is not only unethical in its' exploitation of existing creators' works, but tends overwhelmingly to produce subpar products, and in the case of LSL, likely products vulnerable to exploitation.

3 - A large amount of creators, many of which have been here for years, have supported this measure, and I'm certain if I could adapt modifications, they would. Many have said that a strict AI disclosure policy and accompanying infrastructure on the marketplace would be sufficient if we cannot pursue an outright ban. Regardless, Point 3 is non-negotiable. Linden Lab cannot in all good conscience continue to promote Second Life under false pretenses. Doing so is an exercise in futility.

4 - I posit the following to those who defend GenAI so veraciously - What industry do you work in? What can I do to replace you? And when you are forced out of a job, where will you go next, so I can replace you with a AI there? And so on, and so forth? And then what shall you do for a living, when your skills are rendered null and void in the dwindling workforce, and you are living barely on welfare, because you never thought that UBI would be useful in a circumstance like this, given the money that would have gone to your paycheck, now goes back to the corporate bigwigs that you used to answer to. And if you think things will get cheaper because they're automated, then you my friend are delusional.

This is not the invention of the computer. Or the Internet. Those in turn created new jobs. There will be no new jobs with AI overwhelming our economy, because any new jobs that could manifest, can easily be snuffed out by AI. It's the economic equivalent of the Ouroboros, a snake that consumes itself.

[Alex]

Was there a petition against the sale of fulperms? Fulperms filled the market with cheap textures created by scripts in photoshop in 1 minute - 100 pieces. You didn't care about fulperms? But fulperms changed the market too. AI will come to SL and automate everything there is to automate. Whether you want it to or not, it will happen. There will be more cheap, homemade goods. Things won't be the same - because things will never be the same in the future. The world is changing. How do you survive in it? I don't know. But I do know that you and I will have to change, change our approach to business in SL, learn new skills, learn new technologies and continue to build strong brands that people are willing to pay good money for, regardless of how they are made.

And two. SL's main problem is not AI, it's that the platform has had 500K active users for years. And that audience is not growing, but rather slowly shrinking. What needs to change in SL, and what SL needs to be filled with to get that audience to start growing is the most important question. There is something wrong with the game itself, since its audience is slowly but surely shrinking.