Even verified social media accounts are fake đ€
This edition: false verification, the ethics of AI art, and itâs not too late
Before we dive into it, I want to know: what do you like about this newsletter? Are there topics that you want me to write about? More fun finds? More in-depth ârabbit holeâ dives?
Just reply directly if youâre receiving this by email! Iâd love to hear your thoughts.
Have a great week, folks! Be well.
âConnie
Badge of dishonor: does the blue verification check even mean anything anymore?
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That blue checkmark you see on âverifiedâ social media accounts? Could be ill-gotten.
Unsurprisingly, thereâs a market for that little checkmark, especially for accounts with decently sized followings that want to level up their monetization game. While itâs completely possible for regular social accounts to land paid partnership deals, having a verified account can open up opportunities to bigger deals.
Imagine being so desperate for the blue verification check on your Instagram profile that youâd shell out $$$ (weâre talking at least $25k USD) to someone that can get one for you⊠by setting you up with a fake music career. By all standards, you look like a legit musician, with a couple of short (paid-to-publish) articles written about your genius compositions. But if someone were to hop over to your Spotify, theyâll realize youâre a downright sham.
On the one hand, these folks saw an opportunity and seized it, and I can understand the temptation, given how difficult it can be to stand out on social media. But to me, these âpay to winâ schemes are gross from a moral standpoint.
Can we also address the fact that these schemes also flood streaming services with garbage tracks? The only upside is that theyâre recycled. /s
Time for armchair philosophy: the ethical and legal considerations of AI-generated art
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When I last wrote about AI-generated art, I was excited, from a marketerâs and content creatorâs point of view, about being able to access an abundance of novel images. But admittedly, that was just one side of the story.
What about the artists whose art is fed into AI learning sets?
Some artists are precious about how their art gets used, and in all fairness, their concerns about their work being used without permission or due credit is valid. The internet makes it easier to share, gain a following, and profit from their work. But with ease of sharing, itâs also become easier for others to steal artistsâ work and present them as their own, sometimes allowing these âbad actorsâ to profit from work they did not create.
Piracy aside though, artists take inspiration from history and from their contemporaries. And while an artist may talk about their inspirations for their works, theyâre not necessarily going to credit those sources as co-creators. So perhaps the issue comes down to whether AI-generated art can be considered art.
If art is the result of human expression, then thatâs a relatively simple line to be drawn. But what about paintings created by elephants? Do those count as art? And if they do, then do we expand our definition of art as âthe result of sentient expressionâ? What about AI if it gains sentience? Would AI-generated art be considered âartâ then and only then?
Let me pour myself a whisky and ruminate a bit more on this.
Side note: As far as AI has improved, some software still struggle with creating works that look proper. Granted, I used a free tool so the outputs may not be as accurate, but still⊠theyâre not quite right.
For realsies: time is on your side
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This weekâs FR section is dedicated to all yâall who hate your jobs and feel like itâs too late to change what you doâ
Itâs not too late!
I mean it with all the love and energy I can muster and express through text! Because you deserve better, at the very least to have a job that doesnât drain you. To live a life where you can thrive.
If that next move seems daunting, take time to break out the process into separate steps until you know what you have to do. You donât have to solve your situation in one day. Take it a step at a time. And while youâre at it, breathe.
Fun finds
Artichoke garlic herb bread put this California mom-and-pop deli on the map. If only they were local to me! Iâm drooling.
Say goodbye to shoulder and neck tension in 30 seconds. If youâre hunching over your desk or phone often, this video is for you. No massaging or stretching required! Itâs scary (good) how quickly it fixed a knot in my shoulder.
Best resume ever. Some HR folks might not have the humor for this, but itâs gold to me.