my opinion on this whole a.i. training fiasco

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[ EDIT 1/23 ] my theory proved semi-true! a new creative learning assistant will be coming to scratch to help scratchers w/ their code! read more here: https://scratchfoundation.org/blog/coming-soon-your-creative-learning-assistant [ EDIT 1/23 ] here's the discussions post i found of scratch confirming the fact that generative a.i. art will not be coming to scratch: https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/834371/ - - - - - below is the original description posted 1/22: [ important ] i am in no way attempting to disparage scratch, the scratch team, or their descision to go through with this new initiative. i am simply expressing my own thoughts and opinions on the matter. please keep this in mind while reading. hey guys... earlier today, i was on scratch, working on some art prizes, when i was asked to input my state and agree to the updated terms of service. at first, i thought this was just a yearly thing they did to keep their terms of service up to date, but then i checked my messages and saw that someone that recently claimed a part in one of my MAPs had told me that they were leaving because of this new "a.i. training" movement scratch was initiating. i was like, alright, so maybe the scratch team is trying something new, i guess i'll go with it. however, a few minutes later, i discovered @CupieMaster's project containing screenshots from the new terms of service that basically say, "we're going to be claiming ownership of all your work to train a.i.!" then i saw @GirlInAHoodie's project. then @disneyanddinosaurs's project. all were pointing to one thing - a.i. training has spread to scratch. when i realized, the only feeling i felt was shame. i had always thought that scratch was a place of purity, where all the scandals and cancellations that had been present on all other social media platforms wouldn't reach. i have seen dozens over dozens of incidents play out on my screen and seeing all the pain and trouble it brought to the creators on those platforms. i thought that scratch, unlike all the other social media platforms, was a place where i could create and innovate without fear of it being taken and fed into a machine. a place where age verification bots wouldn't have to exist because this website was for kids. that's what made this website unique. but i was wrong. i am still deliberating whether this whole a.i. thing is good or bad. maybe it's both, maybe it's neither. with all the projects i've seen, it seems that the general consensus around this new initiative is leaning towards the negative side. however, i believe that the scratch team is trying something new, and that we should give them a shot. then only after, can we decide whether this new thing they're trying is bad or good. i am still upset about the fact that they're claiming automatic ownership over everything you post, though, especially the art part. taking someone's art that they've spent hours on and using it train a machine that would exploit it to make their own "art" is one of the worst things a website can do in my opinion and is one of the main reasons i decided to leave deviantart. the only reason art is called art is because it has emotional meaning behind it. a machine doesn't have feelings. it has a prompt to complete. and if the scratch team will be taking your art (and code) and are going to be feeding it to generative a.i., it's kind of messed up. not only that, but it also completely goes against their purpose of creativive learning. there is absolutely nothing creative about ordering a machine to draw or code something for you while you sit back, relax, and enjoy the reapings of a machine's success packaged as your own success. but, i digress. i have no idea why they might be using our hard work to train ai. perhaps they're cultivating their own ai. but either way, it's what we have to deal with at the moment. and, althought this may seem bad at first, i believe this could actually benefit us in a way. it seems implyed by the new terms of service that this new a.i. training initiative is going to be applied to a new scratch a.i. instead of third-party ai programs. (although they have also claimed rights to do that) and because there is no way for the scratch team to benefit off generating their own "code" from a.i., i think this new a.i. feature will be helping us scratchers instead. think about it -- if you're struggling with coding something, you could turn to this a.i. for help. not only would this be teaching the younger generation how to code with more ease, but also be pushing the limits of block coding itself. a new a.i. has potential to think of or help with the creation of some new and unique coding blocks/features created by scratchers like you and me. have you seen that fancy new fisheye thing animation memers use to warp their sprites into looking like they're moving like real life? we could have even more coding features like that with this new a.i. feature! [ CONT. BELOW ]