Why We Cannot Have Nice Info Things
June 9, 2018
With every good invention there comes a time when somebody figures out how to use it for the porn industry. The examples include the inventions of the Internet, animation, comic books, writing, drawing, plumbing, electricity, printing, movies, videogames, and the list goes on. Now we can add AI algorithms to the list. Quartz shares how innocent AI algorithms became used for porn in the article, “Google Gave The World Powerful AI Tools, And The World Made Porn.”
Google released its internal tool TensorFlow to the public in 2015. This changed the way AI tools would forever be developed. TensorFlow is a powerful tool that can turn anyone with a little know how into an AI developer. For a while, academics were the only ones using TensorFlow, then the Reddit community got hold of it. What did Reddit do with it? They used TensorFlow to make porn and lots of it!
Reddit user deep fakes built a video editing app that allowed users to seamlessly put people’s faces on porn actors’ bodies. It escalated from there. Blaming Google for bringing a new dimension to porn is like saying the entire Internet is bad. Yes, the Internet has a figurative and literal dark side), but the benefits outweigh the negatives. Also Google is not liable for the porn:
“Since the software can run locally on a computer, large tech companies relinquish control of what’s done with it after it leaves their servers. The creed of open source, or at least how it’s been viewed in modern software development, also dictates that these companies are freed of guilt or liability from what others do with the software. In that way, it’s like a gun or a cigarette.”
But there are ethical concerns:
“The tools that Google offers today are not the keys to creating Skynet or some other super intelligent being, but they can still do real harm. Google and others like Microsoft, which also offers an open-source AI framework, have been vocal about the ethical development of artificial intelligence that would not cause harm, and their on-staff scientists have signed pledges and started research groups dedicated to the topic. But the companies don’t offer any guidance or mandates for those who download their free software. The TensorFlow website shows how to get the software running, but no disclaimers on how to use the software ethically or instructions on how to make sure your dataset isn’t biased.”
There is a right to be concerned, but at the same time there is not. Should this be monitored? Of course, especially if it will do harm to others. But if it is self-contained and no innocents are being hurt, it is arguable to leave them alone too. We all know, however, that harm will come from this. It is the same story in a new medium.
Whitney Grace, June 9, 2018
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