The one used in this thread: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/12973939

Mind you, I didn't set out to deceive anyone. It was more of a "why call attention to it" thing. It's probably the only time I've posted anything AI where I didn't explicitly call attention to it as AI. But I've learned in the times I did do that here that some person or other would be upset, pretty much no matter what the content was of what I posted.

I figured, one of the primary complaints about AI generated images, is essentially that they look like they're trying to look professional but make basic errors. Which I think is a fair criticism. So I thought, what if I use stick figures. That's closer to meme level of illustration and expectations are lower for it, so if some basic mistakes exist, that's par for the course.

I did write the text itself as rhetoric and fictional conversation, but I didn't draw any of the image, nor did I place the text in the image. It was received extremely well for a lemmygrad post. I'm sure it is easily the most upvoted post I've ever made. I don't know what made it work so well, maybe the commonness of issues with landlords, but I can only guess as the responses didn't tell me much about the why.

One person did say "Ai stickfigures?" which surprised me a bit. I didn't think it looked overtly AI genned. But I asked them "why do you ask?" because I wanted to be sure whether it was confrontational or sincere interest in where it came from. They never responded, so I'm not sure.

But anyway, the fact that it was AI somehow didn't prevent it from seemingly resonating with people. I never would have drawn any such image on my own. I could make an attempt, but it would probably look like a child's fridge drawing and I would have especially struggled with the vividness of the facial expressions, which was where I sought to do the contrast between the feigned victimhood followed by literal mustache twirling villain. Caricature, but gets the point across.

Given how I've seen some react on here, I can't help but think it would have been a shitshow if I'd called attention to it being AI generated or if it had been drawn in such a way that it looked stereotypically "AI". Instead, as of posting this, it totaled at 111 upvotes and 0 downvotes.

It's always hard to tell the impact things have in a virtual forum, but with the limited metrics I have to go by, it went really well. And I didn't draw a pixel of it. This paints a picture for me that the issue with AI generated content in these spaces is not when it's AI generated but when people believe that it is. But people can believe something is even when it isn't. Or in this case, likely assume it isn't when it is. Maybe I'm wrong and the 100+ people who upvoted thought "AI" and upvoted anyway, but given how things usually go here, I doubt it.

I hope no one takes this as trickery or something. Having seen more recent angst on here relating to AI, I thought calling attention to this is an opportunity to make a point. When I went to make that image, it was mainly about seeing what kind of effective agitprop I could make with AI. Maybe knowing this explicitly will inspire some people to think more about how they can use it too, beyond the hated stereotypes, with thoughtfulness of design put into it. I am still determined to aid in strategic thought and practice, no matter how much mud is slung. Liberation demands it of me.

You're right to be mad about a lot of things. Help me help you be mad at the right people in a way that will change the world for the better.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [S] 6 points 10 hours ago

Memes can absolutely be useful at communicating. I don't think that is in question. The question here, in terms of agitprop, is whether AI generated imagery can also be useful and the image I posted a couple of weeks ago demonstrates that it can be, provided people are not reacting to it negatively out of belief that it's AI. I don't see how it looking different from other memes is a negative if the evidence leans toward it having resonated well with people. Agitprop can range from memes to tens of hours spent drawing with years of formal artistic training behind it, as effort goes. However, if there's one thing a lot of people have a lack of under capitalism, it's time. Memes are one way to save time, but they are also highly limited to pre-existing templates. You kinda have to know the templates well in order to use them effectively and if you want to communicate something outside the templates, you're stuck.

Basically, there are strengths and weaknesses to different approaches and I don't think we should be neglecting uncommon ones as a possible help just because they are uncommon. A media team in Iran used AI lego videos to try to influence people. If you're a small group of people with limited time and resources, working outside the norm, looking for any way you can to make gains in saving time and cost without qualitative loss of quality, may be the only way you've got to give your influence a needed boost.

Figuring out how to reach a goal under highly restricted conditions is a fundamental challenge of communists, historically. Entire AES states under siege who couldn't wait around for their development to catch up to western powers and had to make do as they were. Likewise, we cannot wait for conditions that provide us with the best tools for liberation, but instead have to make do with what is there.

  • source
  • parent