zerosleeps

This comic from The Oatmeal applies almost exactly to my art - software development - as well.

It was rendered by a computer, sure, but artists and engineers made the creative choices that built that dinosaur. It was an expression of human beings making human decisions. It was the product of discipline, talent, and imagination.

I had a moment a couple of months ago where I whipped up a little utility for a local business exactly as specified. Almost immediately the customer realised they needed the tool to do something a little differently, but rather than ask me to make the change they threw the code into an LLM and out popped version 2.

There was no agreement between me and this company because it was such a small little bit of work, but that was my code. It had my name at the top. I never gave anyone permission to let an LLM eat it up. I didn’t give permission for anyone not to do that, but the situation irritated me.

I find it hard to explain. I’m happy with the outcome: everyone got what they needed and nobody lost anything. It’s amazing that non-coders now have this superpower. But there’s just something ungracious about the way it’s being delivered and seized upon. We’re training these things using my comrade’s skills and experience, without our permissions, and then having that very same thing manipulate our art.