Artificial intelligence told me how to spin yarn. I have thoughts...

[@MijnWolden]

What I dislike the most about the current use of AI technology is that it has the power to free People from a lot of menial tasks, but instead it is directly used to make art and creative content - stuff that gives people joy and makes us unique. But I loved your weird and creative take on how to present this video, even when it was inspired by AI art!

[@LonaMcJope]

Exactly! Robots are supposed to be doing the manual labor while we do the creative labor. Then there's that robot that was given a repetitive task and decided to turn itself off instead... hmm.

[@MijnWolden]

@@LonaMcJope if I were that robot: honestly same 😅

[@ArwynArising]

Exactly. As with most things, the problem isn't necessarily the technology, but who's controlling it (or choosing not to, or "teaching" it on property they didn't have the right to), and for what ends ("making more money for the sake of making money" rarely results in the betterment of humanity; we don't need to posit more nefarious ends than that to explain some truly horrific means).

[@bilunala]

omg I saw the hottest take on Euronews about "what menial tasks can AI free you from doing" and it listed writing and graphic design. Then the article concluded by saying all these 'menial' tasks being freed up means you now have more time to be creative. Like, hello? The literacy and awareness was just not there

[@MijnWolden]

@@bilunala insert .gif of very fast blinking dude here

[@aliceDarts]

As an artist with very severe imposter syndrom (I can't even upload anything yet), more and more artists are starting to give up on the fight of artist vs AI. PLEASE do not give up the fight. This can be a very beneficial tool of used correctly, though, many people will not be using AI as a beneficial way. It has to be controlled before it is too late.

[@alekfelis]

The saddest thing is that we (my friend's crew) were expecting the day when robots will do all the boring jobs so the human race can benefit from them for daily tasks, and to be left to relax and create art. But now instead of my vacuum cleaner to give me more time to sit and write crochet patterns, it will generate them in a few seconds, and probably will start to sell them!!! (I'm creating amigurumi patterns only for my personal joy, but I know the vacuum dude pretty well, it will want to sell!)

[@sadmac356]

_That's_ how I feel about it. If you're not making money off the piece and you're just using it to get an idea of something, *and if it's trained on work from consenting artists* I don't really care

[@lindseyB_33]

That was a great conversation Evie. and hit on a lot of my fears but also dug way way deeper into aspects I hadn't even considered. As someone who loooooves history and learning new things..... I could see myself digging into AI, but then it not citing its sources...and it not giving turely accurate information.....while it's not there yet It may be there very quickly. And the bit about consumerism (paying for their product to be mentioned) and bias especially racially in many of those images.... the implication is HUGE. and quite terrifying. I have a lot of thinking to do on this. I'm excited about the aspect of "pooled knowledge" but also know how quickly that can become manipulated......Thank you for bringing this video. I think it's something that really needs to be discussed a lot more about a lot of things. It's a fun now but has major implications for how things are used and taught In the future.

[@ArwynArising]

This might be my favorite video of yours. 10+ years ago, when blogging was a more major thing, I remember the difference between the blogs that were from and about people working to really share their experiences and thoughts (some of which were monetized and some weren't), and those that seemingly existed *only* to sell... something. Ad space or sponsored products or what have you. And I remember having some of my work (the former) be repackaged and sold to a conglomerate of the latter style, and how angry I was, and how hurt, and it absolutely contributed to me walking away from my writing, for a very long time. I remember how important it was AS a writer to reference back to any other writer whose work and thoughts influenced my own, and how outraged we were at the writers obviously responding to a community conversation WITHOUT linking back to it -- ie, stealing our thoughts and our ideas and our work without citation. And now it's happening to artists and creators of all stripes, wholesale, and seemingly without recourse. And without any individual humans actually responsible for it. I'm not a technophobe, by any means. (Sorry, you're never going to outthink Commander Data!) But I absolutely agree that it's crucial that we take steps to product ourselves and each other -- and future newcomers to our crafts -- from the theft, the bigotry, and the misinformation that is clearly happening and will continue to happen if these technologies aren't redirected and guided by actual, ethical, human beings.

[@everspace8913]

100%! I wish I could like your comment twice :)

[@JillianEve]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm so sorry that happened to you!

[@rochellehancock8120]

Thank you, Evie, for this educational (although alarming) presentation of how AI works. I appreciate your focus on the fiber community, but I see the ramifications of this spreading far beyond and into many other areas of our lives. Thank you for raising our awareness of this problem.

[@scrapbagstudios]

The problem I saw with those instructions (I am a very new spinner) is that although nothing was actually inaccurate, it generated more questions than it answered. For instance it talks about drafting the fibre, pull off a small amount of fibre but which hand,which fingers, how do you hold it all. When I was first learning I relied very much on watching what you and other spinners were doing with your hands and copying your actions. Words can't tell you that. Although experienced spinners and even me who is a beginner can understand what is being said and follow it, when I was very first learning, this text would have just confused me. It would have been pretty useless. And then it is pretty scary to think of how AI could be used by unscrupulous and/or greedy people. Thanks for this video. Much food for thought.

[@janeanderson3905]

I find the concept of AI terrifying. Thank you for broaching this thought provoking topic.

[@Rhaifha]

I must admit, I was thinking "What would AI have to do with fibre arts?!". But you make a great point about how all nuance and diversity could be lost when AI just echoes stuff it finds on the internet with zero judgement. I also find it really odd that most AI bots can't seem to show their work, aka their sources.

[@ColorsofHopeCraftsASMR]

Thanks for doing this! I shared it in a Community post on my channel. I think we should be more conscientious of this and some of the dangers of AI.

[@JillianEve]

Thanks!

[@heatherforsythe8525]

I’m so glad you tackled this topic. You addressed so many aspects of AI and it’s possibilities as well as shortcomings. Your examples illustrated your points clearly and with context to our craft. Thanks!

[@ainsoph906]

Have a nice day all.

[@dessyedeeclark1144]

So glad you're covering this topic. As a medical professional I am mixed about AI, it seems to be both motivator and menace. I was trained to document everything and practice evidence based medicine. Now we have lots of ungrounded health information on the Internet. The fiber world has been my retreat. One thing your videos provide that i love is demonstration of techniques AND how they feel about in a tactile way. what you sense and the haptic experience. AI cannot do this as yet.

[@pommerainette375]

I’m à French follower, I support your work and absolutely love your work even it’s the first time I post a comment on one of your video. Amazing, interesting, concerning…

[@CrowingHen]

Wow! That's a deep topic. Thank you for opening up the conversation. As someone who can't get the hang of 20thC tech, I'm struggling with the recent changes in AI. There's going to be a lot of adjusting over the next few years. I suspect in the end, it's about trust. When I learned to spin, I read books. And magazines. And by then there were websites. Some of these were written by people who knew what they were doing, and others were regurgitated by people eager to make content to fill a quota. The latter caused a lot more harm than good and I learned to find the chain of trust to understand which voices to listen to more. In the end, I spent two years unable to spin even though I knew all the details of how it should work. It wasn't until I took a class from a local spinner that I could make yarn. With AI we have a change in how we view the chain of trust. I suspect this will mean more for society than any other technical change of the last 90 years. This is likely to result in an increase of in personal learning like classes at fibre festivals or through local guilds and other communities. Or should I say "the desire for in person learning" because we're quickly losing that option for so many people. More and more I feel that we need to keep these in person options. Be it a counter-culture fight against the machine, or simply because some people are like me and learn better by doing than by reading.

[@silverwitch6863]

I totally agree - we need to keep the in person options. But in order to do so, we need to have enough people who are still interested in learning what we have to offer. Especially for many younger generations, it is awfully tempting to go the seemingly easy and faster way. As soon as it gets tedious, they drop off…

[@LadyWiggin]

This was thoughtful and insightful. You were so eloquent with this conversation. Thank you

[@MegawattKS]

Wonderful video. Thank you. I'm not a spinner, but was refered to your video by a friend for the excellent points it makes about AI use and the problems it will generate if we don't address them. NOTICE: This comment was generated and edited without any AI tools used. IDEA: I may start adding the above text/statement to any work I do. The idea being that it could help the reader/viewer in judging how much stock to put in the ideas set forth. 🙂

[@beverleylawton6899]

Great video - as always, thank you Evie. Soooo much to think about and discuss. My son was talking to me about this last week and it’s certainly a vast area of concern (amongst other things). The whole generating misinformation is very concerning…and not only in the fibre world! Great that we are beginning to engage with this.

[@sophiafeist6211]

I love all of the points you brought up in this video. You've been eloquent about the issues with AI, and especially the issues with art/content theft and sponsored content creation appearing to be earnest and instructional. I hope everyone in the fiber community sees this!

[@LadyValkyri]

Until yesterday I had given very little thought to AI technology. I presumed it to be a not-very-accurate-curiosity, not good for much of anything except amusement -crazy knitting patterns and horrible recipes, not very good art, etc... A friend had posted a YT video to her Twitter feed about an interesting video she watched. I watched it, too, and became increasingly alarmed and convinced as the subject of the interview had incredibly valid points and cogent arguments against "open source" AI and it's impact on our species, globally. It cannot become benign without human intervention creating "alignment" within the system. And no one has determined a way to do that, yet. We are quickly running out of time to walk this horse back into the barn. Whether or not you believe this gentleman, he seems to be one of the smartest people on the planet, and I think we should listen. Even the interviwer had trouble grasping some of the points, but I was able to understand the fundamental concerns on a human level, if not on a technological one. For those interested, it was The Logan Bartlett Show, episode 63, "Eliezer Yudkowsky on if Humanity can Survive AI". At over 3 hours long, the information is alot to digest and internalize, but it's so very important to consider. And, yes, Evie, the AI stating that Merino is difficult to draft for beginners seems like it did use you as an uncredited source. Thank you for this video, and for creating a safe place to discuss this. Hugs, always.

[@sonjanordahl3158]

Thanks for the show/interview info. I'm heading there next. If it's too deeply technical it will probably take me sever bites to get through it so it is digestible.😉

[@lumikkihusu7259]

Very good thinking, as always. Thank you! I just HAVE TO comment, because something parallel gave me such a laugh: The first time I was playing this video, at 16 minutes and something, at "That's it, we solved the problem. Don't go there and we'll be fine!" my graphics card overheated and my ancient laptop shut itself down. Not in the middle of the sentence, but at the exact end! As if that really were all there is to it. As humorous as this was, it got me thinking. One of the problems that AI is compounding is our short (and shortening) attention spans. We have created a technology culture that does not discern between complex background processes and motivations for our actions. The machines analyze our behaviour, not our minds. Idle pastimes are dumped together with all levels of interest, even serious scholarly research. The value of content is measured by the clicks it gets, not the engagement of minds and souls. The worth of an article is determined by the attention it gets, not how well it answers the question it was written for. Or what that question was. Or if there even was a specific question. Everything is lumped together, and whatever floats to the top is touted as so obvious that "everyone knows" (and no credit needs to be given). We cannot blame only technology for this crop we are now reaping, just because it has cultivated the field. The seeds were already within us. We have evolved to make use of the sparse energy-rich foods when they are available. Finding the rare delights encourages us to look for more, in order to supply us on the long haul where there is less excitement. But those resources are no longer scarce, and the long haul is seen as undesirable. We have become children who only ate the chocolate bits from their cereal, and now throw a tantrum if not all the cereal has chocolate in it. Never mind who got enslaved to produce that chocolate. We are also internally wired to look for patterns and apply explanations based on our own minds to phenomena outside ourselves. We, as a species if not as individuals, are inherently biased toward believing that another mind created an event, such as an AI consciousness rationing information by shutting down a machine at a certain time. And this bias is also fed into the artificial intelligence. Are we perhaps becoming a cargo cult? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult

[@victoriaressler3547]

Thanks for your thoughts on this!! You brought up very good points on how to be careful and smart when interacting with date online. Libraries with physical books just got SO much more valuable to me!

[@alicesulzer1412]

Food for thought that's for sure. Thank you !

[@staciehite6834]

This is so concerning to me. You brought up things I hadn’t even considered. Thanks for this episode.

[@tashacano3324]

I saw this on Twitter but someone said "Me working the underpaid labor jobs & robots making my art wasn't what I wanted but here we are..."

[@jenniferrosener4668]

I completely agree with you. It’s concerning on multiple levels… on so many levels that we aren’t prepared to deal with but it WILL be prepared to deal with in a hundredth of the time that we can. If we thought there was division and turmoil in our culture before, now we have the perfect storm.

[@learnwithlillian8509]

This is a fabulous post. I had thought that AI had nothing to do with me. Now I see how wrong I was. Wow! I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.

[@TheGabygael]

plot twist : evie is a computer generated character i think you hit the nail on the head with the points you approach, it doesn't come across as a moralising fearmongering on how computers ruin our lives but a pertinent detailed analysis at the effects AI is already having on our lives. A lot about it reminds me of the societal and mental health issues we've been experiencing since the democratisation of the internet and social media (and the industrial revolution at a large) I hope (though i doubt it will happen and if it does it'll be to ensure some people's priviledge) that we will have some regulations or transparency to help us really understand what we're getting into when engaging with AI please keep on being an optimist, we are really in need of people like you nowadays

[@bjchadwick4261]

A very interesting and thoughtful video. Thanks for sharing this and giving us a lot to think about.

[@needleandhomestead]

As a professional ghostwriter I’m skeptical and nervous about AI’s ability to paraphrase and not provide sources. How can we know if the material is accurate and if it should be cited? AI can be a great tool for planning and idea generation but if you’re using it for writing it’s crucial to have it be a starting point or part of your research and not your finished blog post. As the community noted - the blog posts feel off especially when you know the author’s voice. Always add yourself back in. Thanks for talking about AI and addressing the pros and cons in both visual and written contexts 😊

[@LatahAshford]

I know AI exists but I didn't know how extensive it is or its implications. So thankful you are REAL and not a generated AI persona. ❤

[@lindaholmes1920]

A very thought provoking and timely post. Many of these thoughts and arguments were popularised in the late nineteenth century too, through the Arts and Crafts Movement of the likes of William Morris et al, and concerned with Industrial Revolution’s effect of rendering the works of crafts people unnecessary.

[@janstoll8881]

This is scary… it will affect everything we do and most parts of our lives whether we like it or not 😢

[@christineriley9044]

Great conversation. It does give me a heavy heart because of the damage that AI is/will cause.

[@melissamybubbles6139]

Thank you for addressing this. I've never played with AI so I haven't given it much thought beyond it sounding scary.

[@craftdesigneditsleeprepeat5624]

This is an incredibly important topic, and I really appreciate your dive into the concerns that we all need to think about and respond to. Your concerns about the lack of cultural accuracy and inclusivity issues need to be addressed by all of us. I would also like to mention that in my quest to see if AI could generate a knit or crochet pattern (it can’t, btw, as the instructions produced will not accurately direct you through the process, ending with a finished item that even remotely looks like what you wanted) I discovered that US Copyright is already addressing some of the issues of AI generated art. There is a lot of work to be done, and I love that you really thought about the potential harm this technology can do.

[@Denuhm]

this is onhe of the BEST discussions on AI that I've read so far.

[@jeanneb6320]

This was a very evocative video, the contrast between the generated images and your own are perfectly chilling.

[@rebeccahawrot8345]

Lots of great discussion going on - which is what we need! I am so glad you posted this video and gave me (and others) a lot of different aspects of AI to consider. I watched this while chain plying yesterday, so it was very good timing. Ty for all the different aspects of your channel!

[@WOOLNEEDLESHANDS]

This was so well done Jillian. ❤

[@gardin-b]

Thankyou evie, i am so ignorant to technology, that was food for thought. Love your presentation .

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

Very well written. There’s so many things that I hadn’t even considered. But of course if it has access to everything online there’s no control over the output. The lack of sources is scary. I’ve seen people in the sewing community make clothes from AI. I’ve heard of people getting it to generate patterns for knitting as well. It’s alarming that the information given you was just slightly out of focus in terms of accuracy. We already have problems with this thanks to the Victorian re-write of history. Without the results now being slightly off kilter. You’ve brought up a lot of things that I hadn’t really thought about. It had never accrued to me that it would be miss labelling thing and not checking or showing sources. Shannon Makes sent me and I will have to thank her for that. At present I don’t spin or weave but I do knit and have friends that do spin, weave and felt so I will send this on

[@barbaraireland6772]

You are brilliant! And courageous! And extremely talented!! Thank you. I love your lectures!❤

[@sunriseeyes0]

Thank you so much for bringing up this topic and sharing all of your insight about it. You brought up many points I didn’t think of. Like people not thinking to, knowing to, or being given the option to fact-check the results against non-ai generated results. Also that it doesn’t cite the sources it uses.

[@bunnimayhem2548]

'Liked' to boost the signal, so this gets seen... but in NO way do I LIKE the implications! Thanks for starting this conversation! As an aside, I ADORE the way you played with the transitions for each segment, to show us a glimpse into the Uncanny Valley. That was brilliant! I don't know what the Robot Plagiarists have in store for us - but I already hate it.

[@JillianEve]

Thank you! Creativity is my personal rebellion.

[@Bluewaterpinessantarosabeach]

@@JillianEve 🙌☀️🙌

[@Bluewaterpinessantarosabeach]

Jillian , in conversation today with a friend, it was stated that chat gpt is very outdated. Interested, but not surprising.

[@SarahPepperfur]

First of all, you have a wonderful sense of humor even when discussing a very serious issue! I was using Dall-E a few months ago and it seemed like a total failure. I'm currently in Saskatchewan and wanted an image of a beaver in a Roughriders shirt mowing a law. It didn't even get the team colors right. Maybe it has learned what the first W in WWW means, perhaps not. I haven't tried again. I also tried a couple things in different artists' styles. Again, really bad. I eventually just wanted to compare a "Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol style" with the original. It looked a fair bit like her, but it also looked like she was kind of melting. I'm sure that it will get better because, as you said, it's learning.

[@teacat55]

Your description of time spent on the internet, items arriving days later, tens of windows open on the laptop and hours missing sums me up perfectly. Am I neurodivergent?

[@HeleneDesilets]

you are a wonder...I always find your videos captivating. you are like no other spinner, weaver, knitter, etc'er I found so far on youtube. I love the content and the honesty in witch you present that content. looking forward to the next video.

[@roxymcrae4645]

Great conversation! I agree with your concerns and worry for the people who have put in so much time and effort to put together patterns only for AI to steal them 😢

[@Dollcan]

Thank you for heartfully reporting this information. You have echoed my thoughts.

[@coleperry9509]

I don’t disagree with your concerns at all. Honestly, though, these same problems exist with random people on social media. So many people use Andean, Navajo and chain plying incorrectly. It has been a problem since social media started. The AI is calling it the wrong thing because PEOPLE have been doing it for a long time. There has been no accountability to people online, by and large, for too long. So often people repeat something they heard someone else say on some site with no experience of their own. It happens constantly in the fiber community. As mentioned, I don’t disagree with your concerns. It’s scary how people will believe anything they see on KZbin or any other number of sites with no fact checking whatsoever. Now it extends to AI. This is a problem that has existed in some form since people have existed. The checks and balances seem to be disappearing.

[@teacat55]

“You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.” is here.

[@barbkenney5843]

this is so important! thanks so much

[@amd57432]

I have a couple of friends that have recently had experiences with AI. One is a Professer at a local University. She now has to use software to scan papers from her students for plagiarism and AI. Unfortunately, a couple of the AI papers would had slipped through if the AI's hadn't told on themselves in the last couple of paragraphes. The other friend can't wait to get an AI program to argue with it. She loves to argue and most of her friends are fed up with her. I am worried for her. Worst yet, she has add and I am worried that she will be caught in a rabbit hole she will not be able to get out of. Thank you for this video.

[@kieraoona]

I have also come across students that have vented on the internet of never using AI in their work, and it got flagged for AI use, despite them recording their process for their writing to prove they were not using AI. Unfortunately it may become to the point where the line is indistinguishable. The other downside of AI, is that it takes a LOT of water to cool down the servers each day. on tech sites such as Gizmodo, it's claimed that Chat GPT alone can use up to 700,000 liters of clear freshwater each day to cool it down, which can have its own severe environmental impact as well. One might think it's almost as bad as crypto mining.

[@jirup]

@@kieraoona First, I'd like to correct some misinformation. GPT3 took a total of 700,000 litres of water to cool it's data stacks over the course of its training. This was an estimate for the total training period, not a daily use figure. That said, this is not unique to training Large Language Models (aka AI). All data centres require massive amounts of electricity and water to run and maintain their stacks in the environmental sweet spot. Maintaining 68-71F and relative humidity at 40-60% is a water and power hungry business, especially when data centres are built in hot places (like Texas) or farmed out to less developed countries with less efficient systems. "AI" is already ubiquitous, from predictive text and spelchek to cloud services and the mighty KZbin algorithm. Unless you totally unplug from the modern world, you are using "AI" on the daily.

[@erikagreenwell9892]

amazing and thoughtful thank you

[@brandonwellmon1160]

Thank you Evie! This was a great video!

[@everspace8913]

Wow. Thank you so much for this video. My jaw dropped when you showed how AI was integrated in the teleprompter and Instagram posting app, but it totally makes sense. I agree that AI can be used for good--like any other tool--but right now it seems like we're using it as a misinformation engine that's still going to take all our jobs.

[@tiffanytomasino335]

Thank you for sharing

[@bonnie5601]

I love watching your videos because of your talents with all and any imperfections with your presentations. AI is a program written by others. I don’t want to watch others.

[@dianaw9829]

Fascinating!

[@auroraasleep]

I adore Chat GPT for my Sunday RPG games with the kids. It helps me sort though ideas for plots, and develop NPC characters, and create puzzles and riddles (that need quite a bit of editing), BUT that information isn't coming out of a void, it's coming from somewhere else. When I sift through that information I need to be careful not to just lift it wholesale, but to actually make it into something my kids will enjoy. It definitely has a place in our online spaces, but you are right, we really need to be careful to give it a good place, not a bad place.

[@JillianEve]

Would you call that use of AI chaotic good or neutral good? 🤔

[@johannageisel5390]

I tried Chat GPT for figuring out ideas about what could happen to some people on a foreign planet, but the answers were incredibly vague and not helpful. I also wanted it to help me make up a believable alien bioweapon and it told me that was unethical and refused to help. I assured it that it was a fictional weapon and that I didn't intent to actually build one, but then it simply wasn't able to come up with something creative. I would need an actual person with knowledge in genetics and microbiology to help me through this process. So, for the only thing I could think of where Ai could have been useful to me, it let me down.

[@auroraasleep]

My player characters would say Chaotic Evil after the last adventure where every door was locked MUAHAHAHA! But seriously, Neutral Good. I'm using it to help me sift through ideas or flesh out fixed scenes that I'm stumped on. If I were to sell that as a pre-made adventure unedited, #1, it would be unusable, and #2, unethical because those ideas and phrases are coming from somewhere else. I'm using it as a Random Adventure Table, not as a pre-written adventure generator. IMO there is an ethical difference there, but I'm policing myself in that case, and I know not everyone will do that.

[@elfieblue3175]

I think you're addressing very specifically the misgivings that so many of us have difficulty articulating. Particularly problematic is the lack of source citation. AI that generates content so quickly should be able to leave a massive bibliography in its wake. It's only inconveniencing a few billion electrons, after all. But whoever owns a piece of AI virtual real estate doesn't want the liability of transparency - there is the problem.

[@TheChroniclesOfYarnia]

What I found haunting about the AI generated script was the way it pantomimed human humor😮. This is changing EVERYTHING! I crochet and spin and this is changing the fiber arts community…what happens when people start posting images of “projects “ that they did not create but are just figments of an AI generation?

[@alisonanthony1228]

I asked Chatgpt to write me a knitting pattern for some handspun that fell between standard yarn weights. I told it my size, the wpi of the yarn and various design elements I wanted - it wrote a pattern for me within about 2 seconds which astounded me. I then asked me to write a "David Gilmour guitar solo". Again, I had the guitar tab in a second or two. I played it back, not really expecting it to be too good or, indeed, anything like David's style. I was wrong! It could have been a "lost" Gilmour solo! It freaked me out so much that I haven't used it again. (I kept the solo though 😋)

[@eirrenia]

A conversation I listened to recently likened A.I. to a genie escaped from the bottle. It is an incredibly powerful tool, but we need to be very careful the wishes we make.

[@beatrice7789]

Hi Evie, what do you think of adding a . . . I'm not sure of the word, maybe "certified", similar to food that is non GMO or meets organic standards; some kind of certification added to the blog post, or pattern, or book, or vlog/ podcast, that says "this information was created by a human and not with AI" --- something like that, I don't have it figured out and I'm not the one to figure it out, but within the Fiber Arts comunity, there would be a "certified not AI generated content" --- thank you for this awesome video Evie.😊

[@feltlikeitbydebs]

Thanks Evie for making me think. I haven't knowingly used AI as yet but l remember a quote ... don't know the source 😂 ... oh yes my mum. 'Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear ... or now read. To be yourself think for yourself. Interesting discussion and my thanks for starting it on your channel.

[@tracysmith7935]

My granddaughter creates patterns for knitting and crochet. This will affect her livelihood, won't it?

[@JillianEve]

Unfortunately, yes. I think it will have a big impact on pattern designers.

[@knittingsinmyDNA]

Thank you for making this video, Jillian! Just like any other computerized functions, if we feed AI garbage, it will give us garbage in return. Garbage in, garbage out! I agree with you that we need to be diligent about putting accurate and complete information in any of our online content. If we use AI for fictitious endeavors, we need to specifically state that the scenario is fictitious. AI is like a toddler learning new things and trusting everyone. Tale care to teach it correctly, and it will grow to be a kind and helpful technology.

[@Hartsikasvo]

This video is excellent! It hadnt even crossed my mind that AI can mix and match cultures and misappropriate cultural traditions.

[@charlot-temisery]

i watched a video done by complicated knots about seeing if chat GPT could create patterns for amigurumi crochet. she found that the patterns were indeed being made, but there were a LOT of shortfalls with it, such as crucial details being left out of the end design.

[@kathleengerwien845]

thank you for doing the research and providing this information. Creators are in deep trouble, obviously, with AI, in terms of protecting their copyrights. Yet, consumers of information from the internet are going to losers as well as we will not be able to trust the content (was it simply a copyright violation or is it a total misrepresentation of the concepts).

[@MsHedgehog]

As a person with an education in computer science I find that you describe the problem fairly well, but are still contributing to the misunderstanding. Why are people always focusing on the technology instead of the actual problem? The problem here is misrepresentation and the spreading of misinformation. A very old and an entirely human problem, something AI can only mirror or as you said, amplify. It essentialy enabling us do it faster. Something which was also true of computers, of TV, of radio. Of books even. Social problems require social solutions, and by focusing on the technology people are ignoring the root cause. My main problem with chatGPT is that it should be required to provide a list of its sources, as should any article. Fact checking is, as always, up to us.

[@linnit6481]

Thank you A really thought provoking video

[@GaraksApprentice]

I first encountered websites claiming to let you use "AI" to write blog posts and articles over a decade ago - for a price, of course. This technology isn't new. It's just become more widespread, free to access, and yes, more sophisticated. ChatGPT moving to an open beta (so the creators can refine their model with the unpaid labour of its beta testers, I might add) has shifted the conversation around what algorithms are capable of, for sure. Though I wonder what's going to happen when the team behind it inevitably start asking for money to continue using their shiny new toy? Making a cool new thing both free and widely available is just the first step to demanding money from users - we've seen it happen with Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. It's only a matter of time before these new technologies go the same way. (Corey Doctorow calls it the enshittification cycle, which I think is apt, since user experience tends to get worse and worse as time goes on.) Also a technical note because I am That Kind of Person - ChatGPT and Dall-E etc are not AI. None of it is. There's no Intelligence in there, artificial or otherwise. AI is just the trendy buzzword being used to describe it. ChatGPT is a Large Language Model, which means it's analysed lots of words and how often they appear next to each other, then attempts to replicate that when asked a question. (It really likes starting its concluding paragraphs with "Therefore" or "in conclusion", have you noticed?).

[@joanntakehara458]

Wow! Eye-opening and scary. As a retired engineer, I’ve been aware of pros and cons on the tech side but first time considering the Art side. And don’t want to think about politics! We have hopefully learned to recognize abuses by greedy people earlier than prior centuries! Need AI that combs out false info

[@amandag5072]

But define "false info". Who ever writes the program will get to define what is false and is true. That is a very scary thought.

[@Meredith36]

This is wild and scary for our future. Technology is wonderful- it can be the best tool ever. But money rules the world, and that’s a fact. How very overwhelming

[@inarikun1348]

Is that a MingoAndAsho supported spindle?!?!?!?! I love mine. I still need more practice on it, but I absolutely love mine.

[@JillianEve]

It is! 💜🧶

[@alekfelis]

I am the heir of a few generations of East European shepherd and I can't even count the times when I've been arguing with the vegan community, because in some magazine articles they read about the harmful way of shaving sheeps. It doesn't matter that there are different climate reasons, breed and health related needs of sheep shaving. They have decided already, based on New Zealand research, that the wool production is bad and don't want to listen to the other side. I can't convince them not with my experience nor animal care degree. What if the whole information you get comes not from experience, but provided by AI generated answers, the market will pay to control the way that you are seeing the world, even more easily than commercials make it nowadays. Such a madness!

[@SocksnGreys]

When I was a kid and watching The Jetsons, I imagined robots cleaning and doing heavy labor, not creating art and literature and eating bon-bons while we do all the cleaning and heavy labor. This is not the future I was promised and I don't like it one bit.

[@kieraoona]

As an artist, fiber content creator and sewist, I downright refuse to use AI wherever possible. It has its benefit for some, but I could see it having a lot of negative impacts on how we express ourselves, or as a tool so people don't have to pay people for work needed in specialized fields such as art and design, where artists are already severely underpaid for their work as it is.

[@valeriebishop561]

Oh my stars! I had never heard of these AI tools. Yikes. You are right about fact checking. I am not sure how much fact checking is done even on a google search usually.

[@equitime77]

As soon as i have about this sort of thing some years back (ai) I strongly believe to the opinion that just because someone can do something doesn't mean we should. Unfortunately people in general don't hold to that opinion and that is one reason we've ended up with such things as this. Computers have their place but people are better all ways around so keep to people... Sigh. Not going to happen

[@elisedawn7130]

I think part of the issue with ChatGPT when it comes to sources is that it is meant to answer questions in a conversation format. If you try to dig in and ask it about where it's information comes from, it changes the answer depending on the context like someone would in a conversation. If I ask about technical information and then start asking about how the AI works then it will tell me that it was trained on sample data that it no longer has access to, but does not have access to the internet. If you ask about horses, or knitting and then ask for it to cite its sources it will point to general knowledge, and it might add the caveat that its information can be incorrect. If you ask about the data it was trained on, it will tell you that it was trained on visual and textual information, but if you ask about something visual and then get it to talk about the data it has access to it will tell you that it was not trained on images. Like a human in conversation, ChatGPT tries to give you the answer that you are looking for, instead of necessarily giving you a researched answer. If you ask it about copyright it will tell you that it does not know where its information comes from and therefore it cannot guarantee that anything it says is not an infringement of copyright if you use it. It does not seem to have access to its own sources.

[@catzkeet4860]

While we talk about AI, it's important to remember that what were talking about here, really isn't AI. AI is artificial Intelligence... ie: a machine that can think. These modern "AI" programs mimic AI, but what they're actually doing is the same as the great YT algorithm has been doing for years. They look for certain keywords, and search that information, then put it together. They're usually set up with basic grammar and syntax programs, and what they do is evaluate what it's parameters deem "relevant", then regurgitate that information. The trouble is, it's NOT intelligent..... the only way it can tell if something is relevant is how many times it's repeated. As we know, this is how misinformation becomes gospel for many people. There's a great danger in handing over information curation to a programme, which is that it has NO IDEA what it's presenting. The only critical facility that an AI programme has, is the ones built into it. Yes some of these DO "learn" but as the old adage goes, garbage in/garbage out.

[@CharleneHoffman]

As a person that used to work in the advertising industry as a content writer and social media administrator, I would have killed for something like ChatGPT back then. NOw, after listening to your take on it, I think I might be a little more worried about where we go as a species moving forward and keeping cultural traditions pure and alive.

[@stitchwithbritt5922]

I don’t think there is much to worry about. For the AI vs artist argument I would like to say don’t give up on what you love most people search out original art from artists because of how unique and beautiful original art is because it’s expression of the person who made it🥰 arts not a competition you put you’re love into it and someone will notice it💕. For us crafting artists the same is also true people will search out real live people for a craft they want to know about and do thier own research into the craft. Whether it’s from books or video tutorials on YT or places like skillshare. All we can do is make sure any information we put out into the world is as accurate as it can be we can’t control anything but our own thoughts and actions.

[@TartantazCreates]

Interesting conversation Evie, thanks. I have seen a lot of chat about AI vs Art so to see it being talked about in this context has been good. We of course cannot uninvent AI so it is really important that we move forward with open eyes. As you pointed out there has been lots of misinformation available on the internet for many years regarding lots of different subjects. You just need to look at facebook and the different arguments between people to see the impact of that misinformation. This is a rather large can of worms unfortunately. No doubt eventually it will become a taboo subject much like the restrictions placed on other topics I won't mention but I am sure you are aware of what I talk about. T x

[@alexvyse4295]

Off topic, but representative of language preserving the information of cultural relevance, Pandora’s Box was actually a **jar.** It was Pandora’s Jar. Large clay jars filled with food were buried in the earth… this is the original context of the story. If you like ancient history and mythology it’s a really fun rabbit hole.

[@JillianEve]

Of course it would be a jar! 🤔💯🏺

[@sonjanordahl3158]

I like the comment it will not become accidentally benign. One of the things I think a good algorithm should Supply is references for the compilation it has generated. Also I agree that when something is repeated over and over it starts to become thought of as fact even though it is incorrect. Rather like the news. Certain things are repeated frequently until people start to believe even though they have done no fact checking.....You know with the medias non-voice writing style that is designed to enrage maybe it is being generated by a chat bot. 🤣

[@reavanante2160]

This reminds me of the conflict between sall local retailers and the giant warehouse stores. Edit: Also the dependability of Wiki.

[@pinkrubix]

Legal Eagle, a law youtube channel run by a lawyer, did a video about lawyers who used ChatGPT to create actual case paperwork that they then submitted to a real judge in an actual case. They ended up getting into a lot of trouble because the AI cited a bunch of fake cases to support the argument the lawyers were making and the actual human lawyers just assumed the AI was correct and accurate and so didn't check its work before submitting it. The judge, also an actual human being, however did check the work. He didn't recognize any of the cases and so he looked them up and found that they were fake. They didn't exist. Obviously, he was quite annoyed and that is when the lawyers who submitted the paperwork said they had used ChatGPT to generate it.

[@jessicaneal8553]

One thing that has always bugged me is how, in children's books, spinning wheels and the spinning process is usually portrayed wrong. The wool does NOT go around the big wheel! This proliferation of inaccurate information will skew results, and as you mentioned, reinforce its' own mistakes.

[@vane_lao]

We wanting or not, this debate is just at the beginning :p

[@JillianEve]

Yes it is. Thanks for joining the premiere chat!

[@nataliehowe6213]

I asked it for a knitting pattern for a hat that said “Made By AI” I have knit the hat and it is super cool, but to me, it can only do the mechanics of something, not the vision, passion, or intentions of the maker. AI is amazing but it definitely has its limitations.

[@JillianEve]

Agreed about it lacking passion, but I'm sure it will improve on its ability to generate complex patterns. I have big concerns about that for pattern designers and tech editors. 😞

[@GaraksApprentice]

@@JillianEve I think tech editors will be safe for a while yet, *IF* those who hire them can be convinced that LLMs like ChatGPT really do need a human to double check its output. I've played around with ChatGPT a few times, and it eventually fails even basic arithmetic problems because it's not actually calculating anything. It's just throwing words up on the screen that it's calculated have the most probability of being "right" for whatever it was asked.

[@timothychandler1725]

I think this is very scary 😮. In the pasted i learned how to do things from a community of people who got together every other month as a group. It was on hand learning from older people doing this for years. When this is from the computer, i can not touch the yarn someone made with their hands. I feel 😪 it's robbing us to see things in personal. I mess badly 😢 😭 😫 😩 my spinning group i meeted up with every two months. I like what you had to say 😏.

[@missypodbielski3050]

I have noticed a tremendous increase in blogs generated by AI. When I search for ‘how to’ do whatever I often find that several of the top hits are AI generated. At this point in time I can recognize them by little clues. The voice is often the most obvious. The quality of the information and the supporting rationale are always lacking. But this is now. Over time these flaws will be reduced and people will begin to have difficulty differentiating from human generated content. That will make us, and all information seekers, susceptible to the mother-lode of misinformation! The controllers of the AI will be able to influence and eventually control our thoughts and beliefs. I find it terrifying.

[@nicolelafontaine1720]

I quite understand what you are saying, yet I am left with a question: What can we do ?

[@JillianEve]

I think solutions will evolve with the conversation. At the very least, we can start asking for transparency from people who are using it. We can look for quality sources when people publish information. We can boost marganilized and underrepresented people by engaging with their content. We can learn more about the technology and understand how it works so we can be aware if we are interacting with it and how it might be integrated into our internet usage. I think there are small ways that we can make a difference together. I'm always hopeful. 💜

[@Bluewaterpinessantarosabeach]

@@JillianEve Yes. Thank you.

[@nicolelafontaine1720]

@@JillianEve Thanks for this clear answer. I have difficulties catching up with technologies and every time I do, there is something new ...

[@JillianEve]

@@nicolelafontaine1720 you aren't alone there.

[@Ann-ed1bq]

I love the discussion about Ai, as I myself do use it to generate images. I have never used straight chat GPT, but regularly do use Bing chat which seems to be highly more ethical in citing sources and creating images based more on prompting details rather than plagiarizing and pillaging the data pool. I feel Ai is here to stay and we need to have these conversations in order to formulate ethical Ai platforms. Jordan Peterson has a fascinating video about the pros and cons of Ai, and some great ideas on ethics including having an internet bill of rights for people to prevent Ai plagiarism. Since we are pretty much at the point of no return, I believe it’s important to create ethical parameters for Ai.

[@linr8260]

Honestly I feel like "we should be careful to give quality things to the thief stealing from us" isn't quite the solution here. But also there needs to be a real change in how we look at "content creation" "Content creators" are what we are to the big companies profiting from us, and I understand that using it as a self-descriptor was probably to try and put some pressure on them because "we are the ones who MAKE the data you make money from" is a valid argument, but... Well, they sure found a way around THAT, didn't they? When art, education, discussion etc are seen as "content," of COURSE it doesn't actually matter if it has truth, context, emotion, or if it's moral and lawful (and by that I mean "doesn't steal from others and doesn't encourage violence against the vulnerable," before anyone thinks I'm supporting said violence lol). And playing into that, calling our art, our work, our important discussions "content" is encouraging stuff like this and also leading so many artists to burn themselves out chasing algorithms. We need to stop calling it that and seeing it as that. We are artists. We are educators. We are community members. Computers (in reality, assisted by thousands of underpaid workers, btw) can make "content," because content is just data for people to passively consume. And who cares if that data is just a HD collage of stolen things that may or may not be good or true?

[@lisaseverance6785]

As an artist, I am not thrilled with AI. Especially when it comes to copyright. As a graphic designer as my profession, I am not allowed to just any image. I have to use images that are either free use or come feom a company that provides them to me for a fee. AI needs to be held to the same rules. If I was to write an article or even just a paper in school, I had to cite my sources. AI needs to follow these rules as well. As a starting point for a topic, like a prompt, it is a good tool. When I have an idea of what I want to paint, I don't simply look up a similar painting and copy it...that's called forgery! I research and look at various images. Like in your example of a medival woman spinning in a field with sheep, I would resaerch and find reference images for clothing, hair styles, the type of spinning done in medival times and sheep. Only then would I feel ready to paint the scene. But the resulting artwork would have something more...elements of me in how it was painted, the color choices etc. AI takes that all away. Though, AI may make it so that actual human created things gain more value. But things will have to get worse before it gets better I fear.