As
artificial intelligence
-based chatbots and image generators explode onto the tech scene without any apparent braking measures, we’ve seen several mild controversies about the social and political biases that have gone into
AI development.
Take the recent reporting from
Tech Dirt
, for example. It suggests that Midjourney, an AI image generator that produces items that are terrifyingly close to photorealistic images, is censoring any satire of Chinese President
Xi Jinping
, as well as the Chinese government itself. Per
the
Washington Post
, Midjourney “allows, for example, users to generate images of President Biden, Vladimir Putin of Russia and other world leaders — but not China’s president, Xi Jinping.”
In a chat on Discord last year, CEO David Holtz wrote that “we just want to minimize drama.” He added, “Political satire in China is pretty not-okay” and “the ability for people in China to use this tech is more important than your ability to generate satire.”
Holtz, like most U.S. tech and media CEOs, is attempting to have it both ways with China. Financial interests mean he doesn’t want his technology to offend China. At the same time, he’s also imposing China’s national speech laws on his platform in the United States.
Midjourney was responsible for AI-generated images of former President Donald Trump being arrested and in fights with the New York Police Department by several users on Twitter this past week. It also gained notoriety for a Twitter user creating a fake viral photo of Pope Francis, hip-hop style. Nevertheless, China not allowing satire of its dear leader is nothing new to AI, as the CCP banned any likeness of Winnie the Pooh after several comparisons to Xi. But technology companies adhering to China’s strict speech policies is a different threat altogether.
The central risk associated with AI has always centered on who controls the development of the technology — Google, Apple, and Microsoft are all developing their versions of chatbots — and the politically shaped algorithms that are implemented into that technology.
China has already managed to gain major leverage over several U.S. industries, including Disney, Hollywood, and the NBA. But the same should not be allowed to happen with AI technology. Midjourney should be put on notice that it can capitulate to China’s anti-free speech and anti-democracy laws, but doing so will come at a cost.
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Stephen L. Miller (
@redsteeze
) has written for National Review, the New York Post, and Fox News and hosts the Versus Media podcast.
