John Oliver Commissions Real Artist to Carve AI Slop Image as ‘Petty' Revenge
John Oliver is no big fan of AI creations — at least, not in a way that goes beyond amused horror — so, on Sunday night's episode of 'Last Week Tonight,' he took his 'petty' revenge on the machines.
The HBO host centered his main story on the use of AI programs, conceding that mastering them has proven financially lucrative for a handful of creators and just about all of the businesses that incentivize them. But he also pointed out the many flaws of AI, including the fact that, more often than not, it is simply stealing the work of real creators.
'And look, I'm not saying some of this stuff isn't fun to watch. What I am saying is some of it's potentially very dangerous, and even when it isn't, the technology that makes it possible only works because it trains on the work of actual artists,' he explained.
'So any enjoyment you may get from weird, funny AI slop tends to be undercut when you know that someone's hard work was stolen in order to create it.'
The host zeroed in on one creator in particular, a wood carver named Michael Jones. Jones uses a chainsaw to create massive, life-like carvings of various creatures, and an image of his work turned into a trend of AI-generated images of people posing next to more carvings, claiming they made them themselves.
So, as the show ended, Oliver gave Jones a chance to not only show off his abilities, but also do the same thing to AI that AI did to him.
'I don't have a big fix for all of this, or indeed, any of it. What I do have, though is a petty way to respond,' Oliver said. 'Because perhaps one small way to get back at all the AI slop ripping off artists would be to create real art by ripping off AI slop. So please come with me.'
At that, he stood from his desk and took the camera over to a real-life wood carving of an AI-generated image — in this case, a weirdly buff man made out of cabbage, the AI version of which simply tickled Oliver — and Jones standing next to it.
'Look at the details there! This thing is an absolute masterpiece!' Oliver crowed. 'And seeing this, does it make you want to thank the real artists who made it? Well, I've got some great news for you. You can do that because we flew him here too. Michael is here!'
'What a fun way to celebrate the destruction of our shared objective reality!' Oliver added as the show wrapped up. 'We are f–ked!'
You can watch the full segment from 'Last Week Tonight' in the video above.
The post John Oliver Commissions Real Artist to Carve AI Slop Image as 'Petty' Revenge | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
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