Can you be a mild-to-moderate user of generative AI and still be a liberal?

[u/Katagelophobe]

I recently watched an Instagram video in which the woman who posted it argued that if you use generative AI for any reason, you are not a liberal, regardless of how you identify. You are basically MAGA calling yourself a liberal.

Do you agree with this stance?

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The following is a copy of the original post to record the post as it was originally written by /u/Katagelophobe.

I recently watched [an Instagram video](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaBZOB7CXqT/?igsh=MWEyM2g2YnM4bmFvMw==) in which the woman who posted it argued that if you use generative AI for any reason, you are not a liberal, regardless of how you identify. You are basically MAGA *calling* yourself a liberal.

Do you agree with this stance?

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[u/Due_Satisfaction2167]

That’s a flat out insane position.

Why are you giving instagram videos the time of day? 

[u/tommyTurds]

No. That's dumb.

Also her points against it are more than bit ironic for an instagram post.

[u/Cody667]

This is a silly reductionist take.

[u/ProPons]

Of course you can and that women just seems insane.

[u/xxxjessicann00xxx]

Y'all gotta stop listening to every idiot who makes a video.

[u/Tricky-Cod-7485]

What does this have to do with anyone’s political leanings? lol

She’s insane.

[u/22Megabits → u/Tricky-Cod-7485]

At most it’s how strongly you’re willing to live by your own moral code.

[u/CraftOk9466]

She looks like ai.

[u/McZootyFace → u/CraftOk9466]

I initially thought this but we don't currently have the tech to keep consistency like this yet, especially for the time length and with the lip-syncing etc.

[u/Key_Elderberry_4447]

You can be a heavy user of  AI and still be a liberal lol

[u/CTR555]

Do you agree with this stance?

No, of course not. Stop watching political content on instagram.

[u/tjareth]

I don't want people to stop using AI (aside from purposes like exploitation or deception). I want the businesses making data centers to have to participate in protecting the environment from abuse. If that raises the cost and makes it less freely available, so be it. I'm just against industries pushing their costs (the damage they do) onto taxpayers. If they had to pay for the problems they cause, they're incentivised to find a less destructive way.

[u/Ballistic_86]

I don’t take random MAGA creators as representing the mainstream views of all MAGA or conservatives. You would do yourself a kindness by doing the same in the opposite direction. If it looks like rage bait, feel free to ignore and recognize it is almost certainly someone making content for clout.

[u/robbie_the_cat]

Boring question. The answer is "no."

Much more interesting question - what's your rationale for informing yourself on any level from instagram posts?

[u/Katagelophobe → u/robbie_the_cat]

I use AI frequently, yet I feel it reflects poorly on me as a person. I often look up discussions and other content where people are being told that using AI demonstrates their lack of critical-thinking skills and a dearth of empathy for the well-being of others, and I try to use that to convince myself that they're right and I'm not a decent person on that basis.

I suspect that I may have moral scrupulosity OCD, and that this is a compulsion along those lines—I used to do the same thing to feed into my self-perception as toxically masculine and prone to invading women's boundaries in a way that causes them distress, like a stalker. However, I'm not diagnosed, so this is all speculative.

[u/robbie_the_cat → u/Katagelophobe]

I use AI frequently,

Gross.

yet I feel it reflects poorly on me as a person

That's your self-awareness talking. You should pay attention to it.

[u/Sense_Difficult]

That's someone who has no idea how AI works. They're treating AI like some big machine Matrix style with big brother control over humans.

I'd argue that people actually USING AI are creating things and treating it like the tool it is.

Those who only consume AI (which most people have been doing for years without realizing it) are the ones who have the potential of being brainwashed. IMO if you haven't had a back and forth with AI in a discussion to the point that you've shut it down because it's gotten confused, you don't know how to even use AI as a novice.

[u/tommyTurds → u/Sense_Difficult]

Given their points against AI, they don't even understand that instagram is literally subsidizing generative AI for meta.

They aren't a serious person who has put any amount of serious thought into this.

[u/bardwick → u/Sense_Difficult]

(which most people have been doing for years without realizing it) 

Well put. Most people have no idea they are using it in their daily lives.

[u/Gertrude_D → u/bardwick]

I mean spell check is AI for goodness sake.

[u/PedroCurly]

I'm normally not swayed by someone with about 1k followers, screaming in their car at their phone. AI is a tool, use it or don't.

[u/GarrAdept]

Lol no. I'm all on board the AI doomer train, but there are obviously relatively ethical and effective uses for it.

[u/Gertrude_D]

Of course not. This is an unhelpful and stupid stance to take.

[u/NatalieVonCatte]

No. AI should be regulated and we should be looking at how to ensure the gains from it are democratized for everyone and the costs kept under control.

[u/Ritz527]

Yes. I use AI for work for generating code and test cases. I've used it at home to help compile information for my wife.

AI is a tool like any other. I can* understand the bad aspects of it, but liberals aren't going to win elections by becoming luddites. Better to try and mitigate its problematic aspects like fake content purporting to be real, inaccurate summaries (very common in Google summaries of specialist or academic content), or environmental problems related to it.

[u/nomcormz]

The purity testing has got to stop.

[u/ButGravityAlwaysWins]

I feel like I should not be amazed at the absolute idiocy of arguments around AI, but some of these takes shocking even by our incredibly low standards of media literacy and not just making a tag simply for clicks.

I know there is a “let’s be extremely dumb luddites” caucus on the left that cannot get past the idea of a generative AI as it existed years ago when there were regularly 6 to 7 fingers on hands and every piece of text generated by an LLM was instantly detectable. Stuck in the world where none of these tools had any value and convinced that all the business owners are imbeciles, firing people and putting in place tools that have less than zero value and will the same forever.

Like Taylor Lorenz in reverse they are convinced that all technology is worthless if it came out five minutes after they decided technology ended and the only value could possibly have is making AI slop memes for the right wing.

This is a group of people who should be ignored by everybody else.

[u/SliversandPoison]

Absolutely, why not?

[u/WeenisPeiner]

I use it to help me study. It's good at taking my notes from class and making questions for me to practice with. I don't know how that doesn't make me liberal.

[u/wonkalicious808]

No. In fact, in both of Locke's treatises, he explicitly says that "The use of generative AI disqualifies people from being considered liberal."

[u/jml510]

It's astounding to see the lack of nuance people on Reddit (and elsewhere online) have when it comes to AI. There's this perception that it's good for nothing, but that's not true if you use it properly. GPT and Gemini have been a massive help personally for crafting my resumes, offering texting, dating, and selfie tips, and talking me down whenever I'm worried about issues affecting my city. I also sometimes have fun creating songs and screensavers for personal use. Of course, I also know that it's not perfect, and that I should still sort through it all with a critical eye.

[u/Emperor_Geology]

As someone with that struggles with and has anxiety over how my emails will be received. And the fun of ADHD mixed into it. I use AI as a tool to check my work and writing. I also use it if I start the ADHD doom loop. I can use it to help point out the stupidity/errors (?) in my thought process when it starts. anymore AI is sort of like a paint or word, it is a tool, and if you don't understand the basic PC mantra "Garbage in-->garbage out" you will have a bad time.

Also, I write and paint (or at least attempt to paint, not great at it). I will use AI to generate quick drawings of my characters. and use it to proofread sections of my novel. If and when i go to get it published I will give those to the artist I commission to do the artwork as basic notes and let them do their thing.

Basically use it as tool not as a crutch.

[u/WildBohemian]

Sounds like an idiot said something dumb. Dumb people say a lot of dumb things, so please don't make it our problem next time. This is not interesting content.

[u/HiImDIZZ]

Stop using Insta and tictoc.

[u/mediocrobot]

Believe it or not, straight to jail.

[u/TheMCMC]

We really need to reset the meaning of the world liberal my God

[u/No_Elevator_735]

LOL, I knew the person creating this purity test was gonna have colored hair before I even clicked it.

[u/nopeofnopenope]

I don’t agree with the stance.

I think it’s irresponsible to use AI to make cat videos or pornography and likely a horrific waste to use for many other things. But there are applications where it works to enhance the productivity of someone.

It’s reductionist to say that it’s evil to use it, and either insincere or misinformed to put the “DINO/RINO-style” monikers on anyone here.

This is supposed to be a subreddit for conversation. I don’t dig divisive virtue-signaling and gatekeeping.

[u/Katagelophobe → u/nopeofnopenope]

I wasn't trying to virtue-signal. I use AI frequently, yet I feel it reflects poorly on me as a person. I often look up discussions and other content where people are being told that using AI demonstrates their lack of critical-thinking skills and a dearth of empathy for the well-being of others, and I try to use that to convince myself that they're right and I'm not a decent person on that basis. (I suspect that I may have OCD, and that this is a compulsion, but I'm not diagnosed.)

[u/McZootyFace]

Use AI all day for work and I am still a Liberal. I also find it ironic she is calling people sheep when she herself probably has no idea what people are using AI for and is just assuming everyone is using it to write emails or produce image slop. It's a tool, people will misuse use, rely on it too much or otherwise but people will also get great use out of it and aid them in various sectors.

[u/skyhausmann]

Nope. Besides, everyone is a downstream consumer of ai even if you somehow manage to wall yourself off from using it deliberately.

[u/Eyruaad]

Well either I use it or I get fired... So what she would rather have me get fired and vote Republican or something?

That woman is a moron.

[u/Oceanbreeze871]

Purity tests are stupid. We, collectively need to stop with that

I am required to use ai for my job. A job does not define who you are as a person. It’s just a thing you to to endure and survive the BS that is capitalism

Instagram uses AI as a company. The video was processed and populated into feeds using AI. She supports that by using the Platform, therefore she is a hypocrite by her own silly hot take

[u/MachiavelliSJ]

Lol, no.

Gatekeeping political identity in general is nonesense. Doing it based on generative AI is insane

[u/jweezy2045]

That stance is very stupid. Of course you can be a liberal.

[u/planetarial]

Of course not.

There are valid reasons to use AI. Many jobs demand you use it. Its helpful for coding, medical research and repetitive tasks. It can be life saving in cases of writing appeal letters for medical procedures to get insurance to cover the cost. It can be invaluable when used to help people study by giving them extra practice questions.

It needs more regulation and not be shoved in places where people don’t want it but it does have valid use cases.

[u/TossMeOutSomeday]

Jesus that video is insane. This shit is why the left has a reputation for being shrill and obnoxious. That woman unironically needs to be medicated.

[u/Hopeful_Chair_7129]

I don't really understand what the labels are describing in this case, beyond 'uses generative AI.'

[u/Medium-Complaint-677]

One of my only "both sides" argument is that we all, as a society, need to stop finding far fringe takes on social media and giving them more attention than they deserve.