This machine kills AI

Text reads: "posting this on behalf of a member [if Artists Against Generative AI] who would like to remain anonymous:

"I'm an art director and supervisor for a large studio. The studio heads had the bright idea before I started to hire prompters. Several bros were brought in on the film project. I absolutely hated myself for not quitting on the spot but stayed because it's mercenary out there. Have a family to feed etc. I decided to use this time wisely. Treat them as I would any artist I had hired. First round of pictures of a sweeping Ariel forest landscape comes through and it's not bad. They submit a ton of work and one or two out of the 40 are ok. Nearly on brief. So the first round of feedback goes through and I tell them about the perspective mistakes, color changes I want, layers that any matte painting would be split into. Within a day I get 5 variants. Not changes to the ones I wanted but variations. Again. Benefit of the doubt I give them another round of feedback making it clear. Next day it's worse. I sit there and patiently paint over, even explaining the steps I would take as a painter. They don't do it, anomalies start appearing when I say I want the exact same picture but with changes. They can't. They simply don't have the eye to see the basic mistakes so the AI starts to overcompensate. We get people starting to appear in the images. These are obviously holiday snaps.

"Remove these people."

"What would you like them changed to?"

"...grass. I just don't want them there."

They can't do it. The one that can actually use Photoshop hasn't developed the eye to see his mistakes, ends up getting angry at me for not understanding he can't make specific changes. The girl whose background was a little photography ends up giving me 40 progressively worse images with wilder mistakes every time. This is 4 days into the project. I'm both pissed about the waste, but elated to see AI fail at the first hurdle. It's not even that the images are unusable, the people making them have no eye for what's wrong, no thicker skin for constructive criticism and feedback, no basic artistic training in perspective and functionality in what they're making.

Yes the hype is going to pump more money into this. They won't go anywhere for a while. But this has been such a glowing perfect moment of seeing the essential part fail in the face of the most simple tasks. All were fired and the company no longer accepts AI prompters as applicants. Your training as an artist will always be the most important part of the process and it is invaluable. I hope this post gives you a boost in a dark time." [End text]

kevin hense

"In a historic “first-of-its-kind” agreement the government of British Colombia has acknowledged the aboriginal ownership of 200 islands off the west coast of Canada.

The owners are the Haida nation, and rather than the Canadian government giving something to a First Nation, the agreement admits that the “Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai” or the “islands at the end of world,” always belonged to them, a subtle yet powerful difference in the wording of First Nations negotiating.

BC Premier David Eby called the treaty “long overdue” and once signed, will clear the way for half a million hectares (1.3 million acres) of land to be managed by the Haida.

Postal service, shipping lanes, school and community services, private property rights, and local government jurisdiction, will all be unaffected by the agreement, which will essentially outline that the Haida decide what to do with the 200 or so islands and islets.

“We could be facing each other in a courtroom, we could have been fighting each other for years and years, but we chose a different path,” said Minister of Indigenous Relations of BC, Murray Rankin at the signing ceremony, who added that it took creativity and courage to “create a better world for our children.”

Indeed, making the agreement outside the courts of the formal treaty process reflects a vastly different way of negotiating than has been the norm for Canada.

“This agreement won’t only raise all boats here on Haida Gwaii – increase opportunity and prosperity for the Haida people and for the whole community and for the whole province – but it will also be an example and another way for nations – not just in British Columbia, but right across Canada – to have their title recognized,” said Eby.

In other words, by deciding this outside court, Eby and the province of BC hope to set a new standard for how such land title agreements are struck."

-via Good News Network, April 18, 2024

got a bunch of wafffle lovers, not surprised

Cinnamon Roll is the item I would most want to eat, but I don't equate it with breakfast as much as French Toast.

Just a reminder for people cause I haven't seen many peope posting about it:

If you can, please braid your hair today in honor of Cole Brings Plenty. Cole was a Lakota actor who was found murdered with his hair cut. Rising Hearts has asked that everyone, indigenous or not, wear braids to honor him and remember those that have suffered the same.

If you can't braid your hair, then share posts of others!

Now is also a good time to share some support to indigenous charities, if you're able

https://www.risinghearts.org/

https://landback.org/

https://mmiwusa.org/

https://narf.org/

https://ndncollective.org/

https://www.niwrc.org/

Eclipse

Hey, this is relevant again after 7 years~

For those that are going to miss the eclipse on Monday, I have created a simulation of what the eclipse will look like along the path of totality

{you'd think i'd take the time to prepare something for a solar event that has been known about for a looong time, that is also incredibly relevant to xhuuya/raven spirit in mythology. well.... you'd be wrong.}

Every so often Xhuuya just has to remind everyone what they're capable of.

{this just in: resident god of change and transformation gets bored and chokes on the sun. reports say the divine story keeper is attempting the Heimlich manoeuvre to give us back our fiery sky orb. more at 5.

will the Great Raven be charged with any crimes against the sun as a repeat offender? sources say: likely no. Crow keeps trying but the Great Spirit likes the old Raven too much.}

oh btw reminder for monday!

even if it’s obscured by the moon!! it’s the quality of light rather than only the quantity—even during an eclipse sunlight is very high energy and looking directly at it will burn your retinas and can cause permanent vision loss!! so don’t do it unless you have proper eyewear!!!

{not just that, but because the eclipse will trick your eyes into dilating your pupils to let more light in which will cause worse damage as you're blasted by solar rays even when slightly out of totality.}

“you should be at the club” i should be by the sea. i should be in the mountains. i should be awestruck and rendered speechless by the majesty of the natural world. if you even care