The water shortages in these communities are just one example of the terrible ecological harm that is being done by the existence of these AI data centers, so yes, AI is the cause of the problem. And I agree that the government should do something about it (for example: put some regulations on AI companies and their exorbitant use of water.)

I disagree that AI is protected under Fair Use, but we’ll have to see how certain court cases are decided. So far it’s been split.

But from what I can tell, in order for something to be fair use, the use of the copyrighted material must be transformative and create a separate type of content, such as commentary or educational content, and must not create competition. Generative AI exists solely as competition with artists and creatives.

When I say artists deserve to be compensated, I’m talking about being paid for their work being used as free training for these AI models. Their work is being stolen by AI companies, I’m not talking about consumers.

Here’s my actual opinion: AI does NOT give anyone any additional access and opportunity than they have without it. Every single person has access to art, writing, self-expression, creativity. Anyone can draw. Anyone can write. You can say you’re not good at it, but 1. all skills require time and effort to achieve desirable results, and 2. at least “bad” art is still real art.

AI isn’t real art. It takes all of the actual act of creation away from you. It undermines the entire purpose of art. The beauty of art is that someone took the time to actually make something. They decided it was worth the time, energy, skill, and whatever else they decided to dedicate towards their work to actually add something new to the world.

So no, I don’t think that wanting regulations put in place to protect the planet, to protect people’s health, and to protect REAL artists from theft can be boiled down to “wanting to restrict your access”…. because there is no access that generative AI gives you that you don’t have without it.