I am gently taking your hands and begging you, BEGGING YOU, to understand that humans are not inherently harmful to the planet. We are animals who are part of the ecosystem. We belong here. This is our home. We belong here. You belong here. Yes, you belong here.
u know besides the million other reasons i hate generative ai i also refuse to use it bc i dont trust anything being pushed on me this hard. why does every company desperately want me to get on the bandwagon. whats in it for you. whats in it for me. if ur pushing this shitass product into my life so intrusively u must have nefarious intentions. i dont trust anything being shilled like this
It's a lot healthier to go for a daily walk than to sign up for a gym membership you won't be using because you hate that kind of exercise. It's a lot healthier to eat a frozen meal than to skip a meal because you were too tired to cook something healthy. It's a lot healthier to take a quick shower than to procrastinate an elaborate routine for days. Don't aim so high that you won't be hitting anything!
So you can avoid them stealing things from you, the artist/writer, etc.
Pro GenAI websites/Programs:
Facebook
Instagram
X/Twitter (Remember, Grok gives people cancer)
Threads
Pro Writing Aid
Grammarly
Duolingo
Google Docs
Microsoft Word/all Microsoft products Takes from and will feed their machine.
Youtube (taking advantage of people who are hearing impaired. ==;;)
Adobe Products. All of them. If you HAVE to use them (Some businesses require it), save offline because there is a film of at least some privacy protections there, so if you have to sue, you can say it violates US privacy law. Remember, contracts do not circumvent US law.
Corel won't feed the machines, but still uses AI stolen from other artists. Which sucks since Corel Draw is the second best overall for vector programs. (Plus I love Painter, but I bought the offline version to avoid AI). (Canadian company)
Canva Takes and feeds their machine.
Deviant Art Not only supports AI, but put a tool in and said they are going to steal your work if you like it or not for their machine.
Sketchup went Pro-GenAI. The thing is that you can do the same thing in Blender these days with precise measurements.
Autodesk has stated they are Pro-Gen AI here. It is not clear if they will use your models to feed their machine. But be on guard. They make Maya and 3Dmax. You can replace it with Blender.
Neutral ground:
Tumblr (there is a way to opt out [Link] and they don't have an active AI machine.) https://www.tumblr.com/dookins/743519550598987776/heres-how-to-disable-third-parties-like-ai
Etsy allows GenAI, but still has some (minor) restrictions. I'd still be cautious. (Also be cautious of drop shippers). Complaints about too much AI and AI images+patterns made by Ai still exist on the website. They lean slightly more pro-AI, but still won't let it run completely amok, say like Facebook. They won't feed your work into a machine, but also don't ban it through robots.txt.
Bluesky They don't use an AI algorithm except for in the "Discover" section of their website, but while they are anti-GenAI strongly, they don't seem to block the Gen AI bots from entry, so you'd still have to use Nightshade or Glaze (links below). There is no opt-out because they don't need an opt out. (Leaning towards strong position on AI, but I wish they would block GenAI bots).
Searxng- If you super want to screw over Google, in general, and have some tech savvy, you can set up your own search engine through searxng. It's easier on Windows and Linux than it is on a Mac. (Mac you need Docker), but if you're determined on privacy, Searxng adds a layer of privacy. Some of it sometimes uses bits of AI, but most of it doesn't and you can fuss with the settings so it doesn't spit out AI results. At sheer minimum Google will stop spitting out weird videos on Youtube at you because in your private browsing, you searched for the origin of ball bearings while not logged in for a book and Google likes to break privacy laws.
Strong positions against AI:
Scrivener (Creator vowed against AI) Writing program. There is an active forum, and versions for Mac, Linux and PC. It is paid, but at ~60 USD, it's cheaper than most programs. There is usually a holiday sale around Christmas. It has a learning curve, but with an active forum with the programmer of it there to ask obscure questions it's not a dead zone. They often take suggestions and implement them over time. (Especially if you rank the importance, applications, etc) US company.
LibreOffice Open source and free Spreadsheet and Word processor program that can replace Microsoft Word. Some people might have seen older versions where it was called Neo Office (now extinct) and Open Office. LibreOffice is still populated, plus the forums are super helpful if you get stuck. The UX is pretty intuitive if you've used Microsoft Word. Scrivener, BTW, supports exporting to odt (the native file) as well as .doc, and this can open both. The slight thing is that sometimes it doesn't export to .doc smoothly. And I DO wish more magazines, and agent (big clue here) supported .odt files since it is free. Part of the reason .odt isn't as supported is because Microsoft and Adobe have a deal with the devil with each other, so Adobe's Book formatting program InDesign doesn't support ODT. (BTW, if you have a good open source replacement for InDesign that supports ODT, let me know.)
Dabble (as suggested by SF stories, see reblog) is a writing program. Similar to Scrivener. Has vowed against AI and to resist it. 108 dollars a year for Basic. It is almost twice the price of Scrivener who lets you update for fairly cheap. 29 dollars a month, v. 59 dollars for the whole program (Scrivener) for the same features of Premium. You choose.
yWriter is a free Writing program and like Scrivener, and has vowed against AI Last I looked it had some UX issues, but some people swear by it. The learning curve is higher than Scrivener which is saying something.
Ellipsus is an online writing program and vowed against AI. The main feature I like (which Scrivener doesn't have) is the ability to change spellcheck based on region/language. It is a requested feature of Scrivener, but lower priority. So if you have a Brit, you can get the spelling for the character. They are a British-based company.
Cara.app (The creator of the website sued GenAI there is no chance they'll convert) is an artist website. Cara is trying to institute an auto Glaze/Nightshade into the website if given enough funds. People see it as a soft replacement for deviant art. (which went fully AI) If you believe in human art, please donate if you can. Zhang Jingna, the Creator,is Chinese-Singporean. She lives in Singapore.
Clip Studio Paint added AI, but saw the light and decided to protect artists instead because of protest and removed it. There are tutorials and a good forum if you get super stuck. Based in Japan, so the UI and UX is really clean.
Davinci Resolve Pro is a film editing software that's super good. There is a free version and a paid version. The forums are responsive. The programmers aren't always present. There is a healthy group of tutorials. US company. Clean UX. It does take a little bit of time to remember the shortcuts.
Tahoma2D is anti-AI and open source animation program. Takes a little getting used to, but is good for animations and doesn't crash as often as Animate. Programmers are in the forums and some bugs are fixed within hours. The forums are super responsive and helpful.
Krita open source and free, no AI. I'd rank it secondary to Clip Studio Paint (which is paid) I haven't tried the forums, but it's pretty intuitive and can stand for a lower level replacement for Painter, and do a lot of the basics of Photoshop. It's usually ranked higher than the equally open source Gimp.
Writer P AKA Writer+ (app for when you're on the go) is a simple word processor app for your phone that doesn't use AI. The original programmer stopped updating, so Writer+ person took over and isn't out to make a profit since it's free in the spirit of the original app. It has subfolders you can use. Since it was programmed before GenAI it doesn't have AI. Intuitive, easy to use. Fairly easy to upload the files through three dots->share. The files can save to your card or phone with some settings fussing. Simple word processor.
Inkscape is a free vector program and no AI. It is harder to use than illustrator and has less features. But if you're doing smaller vectors for one-offs with less complexity, it'll do you after some learning curve. Best of the lot. I hate Affinity Designer which is the same thing, only paid. (Neither Affinity program was worth the money paid)
Affinity (Designer, etc) swore to be AI-free and does Vector and Photos. The UX is messy, I dislike the program and regret paying for it. Inkscape and Krita are better UX and do the same thing. The forums aren't as friendly since there has been an onslaught of people seeing it's supposed to be a replacement for Photoshop and Illustrator, but the programmers aren't present. The people on the forums are often on edge about this assertion. And the capabilities of the program don't outshine basically Krita or Inkscape capabilities (both free). What is usually intuitive is not. UK company. If you're going to pay for a program, go for Clip Studio Paint which rivals Corel Painter.
Blender is a 3D art program and does not use GenAI. It can do 2D animation, but Tahoma is easier to use in this regard. It's open source and free. Plus there are plenty of tutorials. The forums can be touch and go sometimes, but there are plenty of sub Blender communities that might be responsive. It can also do animation.
Handmade vowed against AI and promised to never sell itself for stock prices to prevent AI (as a replacement for Etsy.)
Discover a world of creativity and craftsmanship through Handmade, an innovative platform connecting passionate artisans with discerning buy
Proton (to replace Google Suite) as suggested by SF Stories (see reblog) Vowed against AI. They are missing a spreadsheet, but have online and offline capabilities, plus a built-in VPN.
But you need a pro website...
Look up robots.txt and AI bots: https://www.cyberciti.biz/web-developer/block-openai-bard-bing-ai-crawler-bots-using-robots-txt-file/
Use cloudflare:
Use Nightshade:
https://nightshade.cs.uchicago.edu/whatis.html
which will poison the algorithm
Use Glaze:
Take Away:
The thing is you think you doing it alone will do nothing, but the more AI feeds on itself, AI images, the worse they become, and the less detailed so, denying it the images, adding poison or not being able to read the human text is eventually going to lead to an AI collapse.
Analysis shows that indiscriminately training generative artificial intelligence on real and generated content, usually done by scrapi
And why not help that along?
I don't want to give cancer to poor people [Link] or make the planet burn faster [Link]. So GenAI collapse is everything I dream of. GenAI apocalypse is not.
Btw if any fans of horror are feeling they might go a little stir crazy in the YouTube boycotts then fear not. I have downloaded 53 and a half hours of long form mostly horror video essays and if needs be I will try and get them to you. I will probably download more. You won't catch me unguarded when the strikes come. I'm ready and prepared. Never thought I'd be pirating YouTube but I'm gonna try and do my part the best I can.
Youtube is going to try to implement AI into their platform to find people's ages based on their viewing habits!
What does this mean for you?
There is a very high margin for error using AI, so you may be incorrectly accused of being under 18 where you WILL HAVE TO PROVIDE A GOVERNMENT ID. This should not happen as it is under the GUISE of protecting children, BUT THE CHILDREN WHO WATCH CHILDISH THINGS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PRESENT AN ID TO CONTINUE WATCHING WHAT THEY LIKE, ANS IF CHILDREN ARE WATCHING 18 AND OVER CONTENT, THEY WILL BE MARKED AS FINE.
THIS WILL NOT PROTECT CHILDREN.
They are testing this out, so please don't go on YouTube on the 13th, we can make the platform safe, because they will see that the numbers are down, and that people don't want this!!
Also, if you are a parent and don't want your child exposed to adult content, monitor what they are watching and if you allow them on YouTube, make it YouTube Kids.
Hey btw don’t forget to boycott YouTube during August 13th. That’s when their stupid AI is gonna roll out. Delete the app, cancel any subscription.
The AI will look through your watch history and determine whether or not you are a minor. If it believe you are, you are then required to upload a photo of yourself/ or give out personal information.
This will be the end of internet anonymity if we do not fight for it.
About the YouTube AI age verification thing in the US:
Here is a link for another post detailing a boycott plan on the 13th of August. And if you think that it's not gonna be that bad...
IT WILL AFFECT YOU, TOO.
If you watch:
Gameplays and gaming-related videos, for example Minecraft, Undertale/Deltarune, The Sims 4, GTA/Minecraft roleplaying videos, mod videos (even if the mod is 18+), Genshin Impact and other gachas, horror games no matter the rating
Unboxing of Pokémon/Magic The Gathering/any other type of playing cards
Table Top Games, including watching TTRPG campaigns
Slime tutorials, probably (yeah, both kinds)
Essays/Commentary/Theories about IP for children, like cartoons/anime - Gravity Falls, Winx Club, Monster High, Pokémon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, My Little Pony, Miraculous Ladybug, Spongebob Squarepants, and the like
Anything about Doll Customizing, including ball-jointed dolls, Blythe dolls, OOAK projects, and anything similar
Cosplay videos, probably
Videos about collectibles like Labubu, Funko Pop, plushies, and similar
Videos and YT podcasts about Anime, like Trash Taste and Mother's Basement
VTubing, most likely, given the nature of animated avatars
And maybe, Draw With Me/Art tutorials of all kinds
There is a chance that the AI will target your account, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT FROM THE USA, and flag it as an underage account because of your watching habits. Therefore, requiring you to provide your identification or photo to YouTube in order to continue using their services normally and not have your account deleted.
And here is the kicker: IF YOU DON'T and continue to use the service disregarding your account's newly found underage classification, THEY WILL CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN WATCH EVEN MORE. They are banking on you being too tired to fight this, and just accepting it as the new normal.
This is a blatant ploy to monitor the people and gather massive amounts of data to sell to governments, plural. If it works without too much of a hiccup in the US (and in the UK as well, since over there it's affecting every online service), other countries will follow suit.
If you are in the US, you have to fight this.
They've already come for Steam and Itch as a way of controlling self-expression and speech. This is yet another tool of censorship. And it WILL affect all of us, globally, eventually, because the internet serves a lot more people than the US and the UK, and the rules are applied mostly equally.
Share the boycott plan. Tell your friends and family about it. It will affect them, too.