What does it mean that AI is “remixing existing work”?

Marcus reminded me of the common claim: “AI is just remixing existing works”. Or the more colorful version, “AI just regurgitates existing art”. This is in reference to creative uses of AI image generators or LLMs.

While there may be a grain of truth to the claim, I have difficulty making sense of what it’s even saying. It’s basically an unverifiable statement. I think both pro- and anti-AI folks would be better served by a more technical understanding.  So, instead of being stuck at an impasse, we might be able to actually find answers.

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Link Roundup: January 2025

This month, I wrote a history of color symbology in ace and aro flags.

Atheist group faces backlash after publishing, then removing, anti-trans article | Friendly Atheist (via) – If you’re interested to know how atheist organizations deal with trans issues, Hemant provides a pretty good summary, through the lens of one recent incident.  Some orgs are better than others, but it’s frustrating how even trusted orgs can’t seem to maintain a consistent trans-positive stance.  Thankfully there were enough trans-positive voices to pressure FFRF to retract.  But I think atheist orgs have likely suffered from evaporation, with many trans-positive folks simply opting to leave (like me!).

Matthew S. Burns on AI, Empathy, and the Making of Eliza | Circuits & Synapses – As people become broadly familiar with AI chatbots, most old fiction about AI has not aged very well.  After all, the fiction was never about AI, it was about exploring humanity.  Eliza is a visual novel about using AI for talk therapy, and I think is one of the few works of fiction that has aged very well, because it was grounded in the realities (and pitfalls) of tech.  This is an interview with the author, looking back at Eliza.

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