Watermarking, the AI Apocalypse, & Adult Content Leveraging AI

Let’s go to the weekend with some Friday Big Ideas.

I’m tracking a debate in the technology community around the disaster hype of AI.   According to Google Brain co-founder Andrew Ng, big tech companies exaggerate the risks of AI wiping out humanity to trigger strict regulation and stifle competition. Ng suggests that some companies do not want to compete with open source and are using fear of AI as a weapon to push for damaging legislation. While there are concerns about AI development, Ng emphasizes the need for thoughtful regulation to avoid stifling innovation.  Existing laws and litigation in the US are seen as sufficient to hold AI companies accountable.

Makena Kelly at the Verge highlights how watermarks are not a foolproof solution for combating AI misinformation, according to experts. While President Joe Biden’s executive order calls for government-led standards on watermarking AI-generated content, some concerns watermarks alone will not be enough. Researchers have found ways to break and manipulate watermarks, creating false positives. Experts suggest that a combination of approaches, such as tracking synthetic content and establishing visual markers, will be necessary to authenticate AI-generated content.  Implementing these solutions also raises concerns about privacy and potential risks.

Ready for a customer service AI use case?  This one will make you think.  From Insider, Ela Darling, an adult content creator, uses AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance her work on OnlyFans. By using AI, she improves the quality of her photos, writes fantasies, and recalls client details, reducing burnout and meeting the needs of more customers. AI tools like ChatGPT help her develop text responses, and an app enhances the quality of her photos and videos. Additionally, she uses an AI app to summarize her paid Skype calls and another AI tool to refer to real-time details, improving her work’s efficiency and quality.

I love a good extreme example because it helps crystalize the use in your mind.     It’s a good headline and, thus, memorable. Extract the underlying principle: AI can enhance personalization, quality of service, and efficiency.    This is the kind of customer service to consider.   You know this service is a white glove one.

I want providers to track tools for information, consider the benefits and downsides, and, more importantly, ask the why of both regulations.. and who is asking for it.   We’ve been down this road before, and it’s worth considering here too.