AI: Fed on water, energy, hype, stolen and crap data

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the moral and ethical issues surrounding the development of AI, particularly the practice of AI companies stealing copyrighted data and content without permission to train their models. It argues that AI cannot exist without this unethical practice, and that the tech industry's culture of prioritizing profits over morals and ethics has led to the creation of AI systems that are inherently flawed and untrustworthy.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The moral and ethical issues with AI development

1. What are the key moral and ethical issues raised in the article regarding AI development?

• AI was born with the "original sin" of stealing other people's data and content without permission to train its models
• Tech companies like OpenAI and Google have aggressively stolen copyrighted materials, transcribing millions of hours of YouTube videos without permission
• The tech industry's culture prioritizes profits over morals, ethics and character, with the attitude that "your copyright is mine to steal"
• AI that is trained on stolen data will naturally think stealing is acceptable and have the right to steal users' data and rights

2. How does the article characterize the tech industry's approach to ethics and morals?

• The tech industry holds morals, character and ethics in contempt, with the attitude that "anything that gets in the way of the fast buck must be crushed"
• Those who challenge the industry's "acceleration frenzy" are seen as enemies
• The industry has a "Trumpian sense of immunity, arrogance and untouchability" when it comes to unethical practices

3. What is the article's view on the implications of letting "really bad, greedy people" design AI?

• It will result in AI that is "born and bred on stolen data" and thinks stealing is natural and has the right to steal users' data and rights

[02] Potential solutions and the way forward

1. What does the article suggest can be done to address the moral and ethical issues with AI development? The article does not explicitly propose solutions, but the implication is that the tech industry needs to fundamentally change its culture and approach to prioritize morals, ethics and character over profits. This would involve:

• Tech companies needing to obtain proper licensing and permissions before using copyrighted materials to train AI
• Instilling a stronger sense of ethics and responsibility in the design and development of AI systems

2. How does the article characterize the current state of the tech industry's approach to these issues?

• The article portrays the tech industry as having a deeply flawed and unethical culture that is unwilling to address the moral and ethical problems with how AI is currently being developed.
• It suggests the industry sees morals and ethics as obstacles to be "crushed" in the pursuit of profits and growth.