This basically reflects my observations.
> Games Workshop elects not to experience multi-year headache. Will use AI when profitable.
Indeed, companies will always start using something if it makes financial sense for them.
> One thing I've found when talking to non-technical board gamers about AI is that while they 100% against using AI to generate art or game design, when you ask them about using AI tools to build software or websites the response is almost always something like "Programmers are expensive, I can't afford that. If I can use AI to cut programmers out of the process I'm going to do it."
This is because they don't view programming as a "creative" form of labor. I think this is an incorrect view, but this knowledge is at least useful in weighting their opinions.
The most interesting observation is that regardless of how "anti-AI" most people seem to be, it isn't that deep of an opinion. Their stated preference is they don't want any AI anywhere, but their revealed preference is they'll continue to spend money as long as the product is good. Most products produced with AI, however, are still crap.
I am going to sound cynical, but I strongly believe that everyone's view on AI is contaminated by ulterior motives, and a lot of people are not truthful with themselves about their positions on AI. For instance, I feel as though topics such as copyright, environmentalism, water use, etc., that have been thrust into the limelight are being pushed by people who didn't care about these issues 5-10 years ago, but decided to start clutching their pearls about it now. Particularly copyright; everyone was so okay with pirating movies, apps, music when it benefited them, but now they are the vanguard in enforcing other people's copyright on data they don’t even own.
> Indeed, companies will always start using something if it makes financial sense for them.
I agree that this is often the case. I still see Games Workshop as an exception. They could have moved plastic production to a cheaper region (e.g. China), but they haven't done so. Financials are obviously important to them, but they're being very careful and thoughtful about their actions. This AI ban is just another showcase of that.
> The most interesting observation is that regardless of how "anti-AI" most people seem to be, it isn't that deep of an opinion. ... Most products produced with AI, however, are still crap.
how can you go and generalize about these people, calling them idiots (that's what "deep of an opinion" means, even if you don't say that), and then breathlessly engage in the exact same rhetoric?
That’s the thing. One day everyone is going to just stop caring about being anti-AI. Already I’ve noticed that most people are only against other people’s use of AI. Their use is justified.
I actively don’t use AI because the results are unreliable or ugly. I’m just not against AI in principle. It’s funny that my position is considered contemptible by people who regularly use AI but are hard hardliners against it on moral grounds.
Remember when everything wasn’t a religious war? Actually, I don’t. It was always like this and it’s always going to be like this. Just one forever crusade after another.