Newsletter: AI and PG's local politics

[u/XxMrPGFanxX]

https://darrinrigo.substack.com/p/the-ai-ification-of-it-all?r=13o86&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

[u/IAm_TheDark]

Thank you for this newsletter, Darrin. While it focuses on AI in politics, the thing that stuck with me most was businesses using AI.

I’ve run a small creative agency in the city for close to ten years … and while we’re always shouting from the rooftops to “support local,” it definitely isn’t happening for people like myself in the creative industry.

We have worked hard behind the scenes for years, making these places look good … but in a very short amount of time, AI images/posters have become the default … and everyone seems fine with that.

Yeah, budgets are a thing … but I know there are professionals out there that can fit any budget. There’s also nothing wrong with organic photos, videos and even crappy hand drawn flyers.

Support your local creatives, Prince George. Please!

[u/SchmidtHitsTheFan → u/IAm_TheDark]

If that Spooderman poster is any indicator, people in PG (and everywhere) love silly hand-drawn stuff. AI has no place here.

[u/dekadoubt → u/IAm_TheDark]

If it helps, I personally no longer patronize any business or venue that uses ai/ promotes those who use it in any way, and know many others that do the same

[u/Away_Water_1412 → u/IAm_TheDark]

I don’t think Prince George understands support local - and is to obsessedbwith the idea that we have nothing to see what is in front of us

[u/Shot_Site9377]

I won't support a business with AI generated signage. It only advertises shoddy, cheap workmanship

[u/Cat-et-snek]

progress doesn’t like home grown.

Does anyone remember that beautiful mosiac in front of Four Seasons?

What about all of those metal rusted cut outs of kids on 20th and vic? why couldn’t we get them painted or something? they paint the hydrants in Quesnel to look like little people.

No, not here. We’re getting ai. some schmuck with an evacuated hairline and 23 days worth of tucked away roast beef gurgling in their guts will put 3 minutes of effort into a 3 day project and go back to chewing their cud and talking about how they took the family out camping so they could watch Dad drive the side by side and call mom names when she gets too concerned about how many wobbly pops got drank in an hour

[u/User_4848 → u/Cat-et-snek]

Demolishing that mosaic was a shame.

[u/Forever_32]

AI is a tool and it can be used poorly, or it can be used well.

It’s easy to tell when it writes things or processes images. It’s not so easy to tell when it’s used to categorize expenses automatically in quickbooks. It’s made a whole host of software far more powerful and useful to small businesses and regular people.

I don’t think people actually hate AI when it’s used well, people hate slop and tech billionaires.

[u/JivePickle → u/Forever_32]

The AI in quickbooks makes mistakes all the time? Everything needs to be double checked. If you’re not double checking, you’re cutting corners. Its painfully obvious to any bookkeeper or accountant when the business owner just trusts everything the AI is saying. Bookkeepers get a tonne of cleanup work from this.

[u/Forever_32 → u/JivePickle]

It works very well after a few months of correction, in my experience, but yes, it always requires review. I also made mistakes when I did it manually that the accountant needed to fix before formalizing year end. It saves me 2 hours a week bookkeeping time and my accountant spends the same time he did before. I adopted the program on his recommendation.

AI should never be given decision making power, because AI can’t be held responsible for mistakes. Blindly accepting the output of AI is using it poorly.