The calm before the storm

[jRuutu 2,303]

This week I have decided to analyze a comment made by a user in an article. They posted the following comment: "thx" as a reply to a comment where their work was being praised by another user.  What makes this comment and article special is the fact that the article was created by a friendly AI, the user then got punished for using the help of a friendly AI.

 

What I like about this situation the most is the lack of shame shown by the user. They knew they used AI, but they proudly stood by the work. This reminds me of a video that has been around the internets for some time. There was some kind of fire. The fire department, the police, and the media were present at the scene. Some guy walked to the police officers and said they knew something about the fire, then they went on and said they set the building on fire. They stayed at the area, waited for "everybody" to come around, and then: "Yea, I set it on fire".  I imagine that most people, me included, were not as shocked that something was set on fire, but how the guy stood by and then proudly strolled into confess everything is what caused the biggest question marks to fly in the air. You are not supposed to do that, you should run away, why didn't you run away? That is what we have been taught by the entertainment industry and stories in the news on how criminals are being chased by the law. It is rare to see someone stay behind and almost mock the whole system, they are breaking the rules of breaking the rules.

 

The difference in the "VHL case" is that the villain in VHL set something they personally own on fire. I am almost positive in the other case the building was not something the guy owned. In any case, it is an important distinction because when you set something you own on fire and stay behind to "play along", that is what you are supposed to do. Most people, myself included, start to think there is some kind of financial motive going on, it is a common story. We start to feel a little sympathy for the villain before even 50% of the facts are out as, for example, money problems are a relatable problem.  In this case, the villain set something they own on fire just because they felt like watching something burn, while knowing they would almost certainly get caught.  Then they stayed behind to yell: "Oh my garden, my veranda, who would do something like this?!", only to be seen by the neighbor who happened to catch them on camera pouring gasoline everywhere before the flames appeared.  Setting something you own on fire for no real reason is something you should not do. You should have a solid reason for it. And that is what makes the whole case so interesting and mysterious, we can not wrap our heads around the case, we can not picture ourselves doing something similar as there is no real reasoning behind the action.  

You should not use AI and then also be proud of the work.  You should stay quiet and lay low, you should not come back to see the comments and interact with other users. I am intrigued and a little afraid. This user will more than likely go on to do horrific things in the future. Not because they used AI to earn magic points on the internet, but because they stood by the work created by AI proudly, as if they themselves made the work and deserved the praise.  It is too early to put the blame on anyone completely, but I am willing to throw the first stone toward the suits in VHL that have made earning TPE too hard for the modern internet user.  This is what happens. It will be at least partly your fault when we few years from now watch this person livestream themselves putting 100 dollar bills into the blender.