Slop is Plagiarism
5 months ago: "LLMs Are Not Much More Than Plagiarism Engines"
Plagiarism is not "theft" and copyright infringement is not "piracy". Both are bad and morally objectionable actions, but for different reasons (somewhat overlapping) and they're not the same as stealing or physically attacking ships to plunder goods on board.
What is slop? Well, as fair use doctrine exists as an exception/excuse/legal defence in the face of copyright claims, some sleazy people and their companies (or people who entered those companies) decided to call training - based on statistics - fair use. A new court ruling disagrees.
Doing a large-scale 'mix-and-match' with a lot of hardware and energy does not mean original works get generated, it simply implies obfuscation. The resultant work (typically text) is just a derivative of some originals, lacking both attribution and a permission to use.
Ultimately, in defiance of media bribed by slop pushers, the public will come to the conclusion that slop is plagiarism and low-quality copycats at that. The originals are always better; slop tries to use brute force to "drown out" the originals.
If you don't push hard against slop (or if you call it "AI" or "SI" as the Super Demented insists so as to shore up his rogue investments), then you'll be out of touch with reality and out of the loop.
Many people out there reject slop (employers try to force people to use it) and they neither use nor consume it. They'll be better off. Those who reject slop won't be "left behind" (FOMO lies), they'll be in a position of genuine advantage.
People who build a career on top of plagiarism can end up dead:
- It Took a Long Time to Show What Jason Arday (at Cambridge) and Harvey Weinstein (in Hollywood) Really Were
- Always Independently Verify What People Claim to Be (or Find Yourself in a Jason Arday-Type Moment/Dilemma)
It's not sustainable because sooner or later people find out you do not know what you claim to know (or to have done). No skills. Then it's the same with institutions. This is why there is an oral viva for doctoral degrees; they need to ensure one actually understands the topic one writes about (a plagiarised thesis or dissertation would be insufficient).
Suppose the world is full of cheaters and honest people; the "shelf life" of cheaters is short. We'll soon see if the EPO gives the boot to cheaters; if it does not, then the EPO as an organisation will perish in a mountain of cocaine and invalid European Patents (wherein algorithms are dubbed "AI"). █
Image source: Pirates Fighting