Server Suggestion Ban AI generated images on signs / billboards

Having not read any of the millions of replies in this thread, I feel well informed enough to offer a nuanced take on the matter.

Yes, AI is cringe, and if you want real art, you should commission an actual artist to make what you want, or do it yourself, because that's the honest and right thing to do. However, this is a video game, and some people just suck ass at art and graphic design in general. You just need to look at like 75% of the signs in bazaar to realise that.

I don't think blocking the use of AI generated/assisted artwork on signs on any kind of moral grounds is practical, feasible, or even desirable. It will just result in people accusing each other of using AI, probably when the sign still looks like ass anyhow. It'll waste staff time, waste players time, and be a pain in the ass for anyone needing something quick for a shop.

If the main concern is to be the overuse of AI slop on signs and image boards, then perhaps just lobbying for staff to be harsher on rule 2.9 and perhaps suggest a rule change adding a bullet point to it regarding your typical AI slop images. But you're not gonna stop people making a gun shop sign out of the studio-ghibli version of their perp character, and I don't see why you would want to either.

@rat if you dont mind what are the enviormental and biggest consequences of using ai as some of us might not know

Tarone Idrin (mohammed) said:

@rat if you dont mind what are the enviormental and biggest consequences of using ai as some of us might not know

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In short:

Each AI generated image can use as much energy as fully charging a smartphone (https://www.technologyreview.com/20...i-uses-as-much-energy-as-charging-your-phone/)

AI often trains on datasets from artists who have not explicitly consented to have their work used in such a way

As a whole, AI generation takes work away from real artists who have practiced for years to get as good as they are.

rat said:

In short:

Each AI generated image can use as much energy as fully charging a smartphone (https://www.technologyreview.com/20...i-uses-as-much-energy-as-charging-your-phone/)

AI often trains on datasets from artists who have not explicitly consented to have their work used in such a way

As a whole, AI generation takes work away from real artists who have practiced for years to get as good as they are.

Explained: Generative AI’s environmental impact

MIT News explores the environmental and sustainability implications of generative AI technologies and applications.

news.mit.edu

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so me asking like 1 sentence being for example " what is todays weather" is the equivalent of charging a phone?

Ngl that is sad that u could have such a niche design be stolen to be used on shitty gmod roleplay and i understand the struggle, im not as committed against ai as u I'm ngl but like yes i support the idea as it does feel sloppy and some of the ai shit i see people do is kind of weird at times but I also believe a moderation of ai is better cause ai can be genuinely useful to make shit work like maybe just a cool poster not even for org but as friends but also some of it is just so sloppy and shit that i would rather photoshop based community rather than ai but certain things u just cant do stuff about as in my opinion photoshop or actual design is better (not shitting on anyone who uses it) than ai as it feels sloppy and sometimes cheap

Tarone Idrin (mohammed) said:

so me asking like 1 sentence being for example " what is todays weather" is the equivalent of charging a phone?

Ngl that is sad that u could have such a niche design be stolen to be used on shitty gmod roleplay and i understand the struggle, im not as committed against ai as u I'm ngl but like yes i support the idea as it does feel sloppy and some of the ai shit i see people do is kind of weird at times but I also believe a moderation of ai is better cause ai can be genuinely useful to make shit work like maybe just a cool poster not even for org but as friends but also some of it is just so sloppy and shit that i would rather photoshop based community rather than ai but certain things u just cant do stuff about as in my opinion photoshop or actual design is better (not shitting on anyone who uses it) than ai as it feels sloppy and sometimes cheap

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Text generation AI is a lot less power intensive, image generation on high powered AI engines is what that article was talking about

I would be against banning AI images, for a few reasons.

1. Real art is accused of being AI sometimes. Do you really want to make more work for staff by inspecting every single image to work out if it's AI or not? They're already overworked and underappreciated for what they do for the server.
2. Considering how unbelievably slow real artists *can* be when making art (myself included when I make images using GIMP/Photoshop), the idea of adding more wait time to image creation for assets in-game is nonsensical and only erodes the process.
3. While AI art is generally not very good, some of it can be. As long as the same standards are upheld so that only good images get in, the quality of the server doesn't suffer.

I will now address some of the points OP made.
"AI is incredibly cringe" - Opinion. Some people like it some don't. We shouldn't ban things based on your own personal feelings.
"harmful to the environment" - So is you using your PC/Laptop to run Gmod. So are tea bags, laundry detergent, driving, etc. So unless you're going to give up tea, never wash your clothes and stop driving (while never powering on an electric device again) then this is a non-point to make.
"detrimental to real artists" - No it's not. If your own argument is to be believed that AI is cringe, then it pales in comparison to real artists who are then providing a superior service.


All due respect, but the world doesn't revolve around you and your own personal likes and dislikes. The server shouldn't ban an otherwise useful tool for quick images because of your personal vendetta likely inspired by using twitter too much, or something.

rat said:

In short:

Each AI generated image can use as much energy as fully charging a smartphone (https://www.technologyreview.com/20...i-uses-as-much-energy-as-charging-your-phone/)

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This is a poor argument considering that 128 players pulling 100W to play would use 12.8kWh, which is roughly like charging 1000 phones an hour. So in the grand scheme of things, compared to playing here, it really means nothing.

rat said:

Text generation AI is a lot less power intensive, image generation on high powered AI engines is what that article was talking about

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i mean sure it might use high power but

how many hours/mins do you take to make photo

dont you think that you have pc on and that take power as will also time ?

i think useing AI will save your time and save more power than you will use to make photo

i mean i think you made this suggestion for your own benefit so people order from you ?