Generative AI is already doing one of the very worst things it could possibly do

It has escaped the lab, it is out in the world, it cannot and it will not be contained.

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Techtris, your weekly dose of tech, the internet, culture, and how it all fits together (or doesn’t). I’m doing something slightly different this week – it’s just one item, it’s quite news-y, and it’s honestly a bit bleak.

This is the kind of thing that I’ll usually do on top of the paid weekly newsletter when it’s called for, and it’ll go to everyone on the free list. But given the subject matter at hand, I’m going to keep the other (somewhat lighter) items for next week and give over the letter to this.

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AI is already doing one of the very worst things it could possibly do

Just a note to flag that this section features a discussion of AI generating (simulated) images of child abuse,…