this post was submitted on 17 Feb 2024
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I get what you're saying, but there isn't really any NEED for that
Thats kind of like saying we never needed cars because we had horses.
I mean, yes in so far that it opens those options up to people who may not have been able to afford it before. Whether that's a 'need' or not depends on your opinion of the company I guess.
Also there are other applications beyond this, of course. Easily made videos could help reduce the costs associated with treating some mental health issues for example.
The you have the ability for novice film makers to make content, a bit like how engines like Unity have made it easier for people to make games. Sure there'll be shit-tier tat, but there'll also be content made by creators that may never have had the chance otherwise.
It may help to make synthetic training data for other models / simulators
Which then just feeds to the system. But as this is a globally impactful thing, is there any real world need that outweighs the harm?
Cost savings are a need. It frees resources for everyone. Sure the vast majority of the profit goes to the shareholders but that's true of every labor saving device.
Do we NEED computers? You can hire people to do calculations by hand. The word Computer used to mean a job title, not a device.
OpenAI’s take is someone will create this technology - it might as well be them since their motivation is relatively pure. OpenAI is a non profit and they do work hard to minimise the damage their tech can cause. Which is why this video generation feature has not been launched yet.
OpenAI is no longer "pure." They are not open. They do not publish the details of any of the discoveries they've made (which used to be standard practice, even in the private sector). Their leadership is now in the "effective accelerationism" camp that worships capitalism, and sees developing AGI as their moral obligation, regardless of what harm it may cause to society. (They are also delusional, because it's very unlikely AGI will be developed anytime soon).
OpenAI is only technically non-profit. They're a proxy for Microsoft in all but name. They started out mostly pure, but their dickhead CEO has worked hard to undo all of that nonsense and has created parallel companies for OpenAI that can absolutely make profit while the main company gets to keep its nonprofit status. That was literally the entire basis for the board firing him (the CEO) a few months back.