The fast and the really furious

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, May 24th, 2023 - 30 comments
Categories: chris bishop, Christopher Luxon, copyright, national, politicans, same old national, Simon Bridges - Tags:

National has a history of difficulty with respecting the intellectual property rights of artists.

Who can forget 2014 when National chose an Eminemesque tune for its main video advertisement.  Eminem was not impressed.

Stephen Joyce thought that the arrangement was pretty legal.  The courts thought that the tune was really, really, really Eminemesque, so Eminemesque that use of the tune breached Slim Shady’s copyright.

There are other instances, the use of Coldplay’s Clocks in 2008, a Dylanesque song in 2017 and a Katy Perry song in 2022.  There was also that occasion when a Simon Bridges Chris Bishop car kareoke session involved potentially serial copyright breaches of songs by Elton John, Pearl Jam and Franz Ferdinand.

Fast forward to this week and National has chosen a new way to avoid pesky copyright claims and also avoid the reality that no ordinary kiwi would ever consent to being in one of their ads, they decided to use artificial intelligence generated images.

They also came up with this image to highlight their bonding policy to attract more nurses and midwives but for some strange reason chose to use a couple of AI generated models rather than real humans.

Don’t they realise that the health system will not be helped by their AI generated ghost nurses?

Yesterday National leader Christopher Luxon was asked if National was using AI generated images in their ads.

He said that he was not sure.

I don’t know about the topic in the sense of I am not sure. You are making an accusation that we are using it, I am not sure that we are. I will need to talk to our team.”

Note twitter exploded on Monday night over the allegations and Luxon had plenty of time to be briefed on the subject.  Which you would normally expect in the heat of an election campaign.

Put to one side the ethics of using fake people and dodgy attempts to avoid copyright what surprised me is that Luxon had no idea that the issue was brewing.

And he expects to become the leader of the Country?

Helen Clark used to be on top of the detail of everything.

A Government appointee could not fart in the Koru lounge without her knowing about it.

But with Christopher Luxon the standards are more loose.  Which is fine, but when kiwis think about who they want to be in control of the country my personal preference is the person who is on top of the detail, not the person who is blissfully unaware of his party’s campaign strategy.

And National have blundered into an area that has huge ethical issues.

Even Jenna Lynch can see the problem.  From Newshub:

I spoke to a copyright law expert who says by using AI National’s probably in the clear as they haven’t used any actually copyrighted material.

While what National has done with these pictures is relatively harmless, AI could be a slippery slope, we don’t want politics descending into the world of deep fakes, videos made to look and sound like real life people.

National says AI is an innovative way to drive its social media and would be used responsibly. Labour’s view is it won’t use AI because it wants to run “an honest and upfront campaign”.

And therein lies National’s potential political problem with this.

Labour is aware that Luxon has a trust problem as shown in our Newshub-Reid Research poll and we’ve already seen them trying to make hay with the “can’t trust National” line.

National using fake imagery doesn’t exactly conjure thoughts of honesty and trust, feeding directly into Labour’s lines.

Another day from hell for Luxon and more evidence that he cannot be trusted with the job.  I suspect that right now he really wants to lose himself.

 

 

 

 

30 comments on “The fast and the really furious ”

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  1. Sanctuary 1
    24 May 2023 at 8:35 am

    Just quietly I think deep down Willis wouldn't mind losing by just a little bit, having a fatter liberal wing in caucus to roll the God botherers and with her at helm, set their sights on 2026…

  2. Reality 2
    24 May 2023 at 8:42 am

    Luxon continues to stumble around in media interviews. Isn't showing any improvement at all.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3
    24 May 2023 at 8:53 am

    Please, please Natzos–do retain the services of Baldrick Mark Luxon as your beloved leader–so many will thank you on Saturday October 14.

  4. Ngungukai 4
    24 May 2023 at 8:56 am

    Baldrick is a bit clueless at present, a gift that keeps on giving.

  5. Incognito 5
    24 May 2023 at 8:59 am

    I think that AI is a great way to promote stereotypes to the people wrapped in nice narratives.

    People don’t want honesty, they want confirmation, of themselves and of their views. That is their ‘honesty’.

    • alwyn 5.1
      24 May 2023 at 9:41 am

      Well are the Labour Party going to give us true honesty?

      When they use a stock image in their advertising will the get a statutory declaration from the person whose image they have used that the person wholeheartedly approves of whatever the ad is advocating?

      After all, without that how can we possibly know that the earnest looking person is really what they are purported to be, A true believer in whatever the ad claims.

  6. roy cartland 6
    24 May 2023 at 9:21 am

    See this is what happens when you ridicule funding for the arts, then get some idiot to copy "what's popular". Advertising may not be art per se, but it uses skills and experience directly related to.

    NAT will never learn. They're fundamentally opposed to it.

    (Incidentally, my favourite election ad fail ever, was when that guy Jamie White was leader of ACT. It was so hokey, it was like a grotesque parody of 'the individual doing it for themselves'. I was never able to find it again, if anyone knows a secret archive.)

  7. arkie 7
    24 May 2023 at 9:25 am

    Luxon says:

    "Here's what happens: you either go out and buy a standard, stock image… of an actor playing a fake nurse or a doctor or whatever it is, or you can create it now through AI and I don't think there's any difference in both of those approaches."

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/national-leader-christopher-luxon-defends-party-using-artificial-intelligence-to-create-fake-photos-for-attack-ads.html

    There is a significant difference that I don't see being mentioned; buying a photo from a stock photo agency helps the actors/models and photographers make a living for their art, using AI not only avoids 'copyright' (which isn't an issue if you purchase stock images) but also means that real people don't get paid. Very 'efficient', very National.

    • Alan 7.1
      24 May 2023 at 9:30 am

      Damn those spinning jennies eh Arkie

      • arkie 7.1.1
        24 May 2023 at 9:35 am

        These AI image generators use artwork (without payment) created by real people to manufacture its images; they are plagiarism machines.

        The 'utopian' future under capitalism: Real people doing menial work; the robots making art.

        • Jack 7.1.1.1
          24 May 2023 at 10:17 am

          Terminator 2 came out in 1991. If you still think computer generated images are a new thing, time to get your head out of the sand and see how the world has passed you by in the last 30 years.

          • arkie 7.1.1.1.1
            24 May 2023 at 10:29 am

            The computer generated images in Terminator 2 were created by visual effects artists. That you don't understand the difference between that and AI generated images shows your lack of understanding of both the creative processes of film making and the new technology of deep-learning image algorithms:

            While both AI art and digital art involve the use of technology, AI art is characterised by its use of generative algorithms and deep learning techniques that can autonomously produce art without direct input from human artists.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_art

            • Jack 7.1.1.1.1.1
              24 May 2023 at 10:33 am

              So you think CGI works in the same way as a Disney cartoon from the 1930s, each image frame by frame created by hand? Keep up mate. The world keeps moving.

              • arkie …
                24 May 2023 at 10:47 am

                Irrelevant and not at all my claim, the 3D models, textures, rigging and animation in Terminator 2 was created by skilled artists. AI generative art uses artwork taken without payment to train the algorithm to create images without human intervention. It's clear both you and National don't value the time, effort and training of creative people nor do you understand my criticism of this use of AI.

                • Jack …
                  24 May 2023 at 11:37 am

                  Well, we can agree on one thing. No, I don’t understand your criticism of AI.

                  It sounds a bit like those that criticised mechanised production at the start of the Industrial Revolution, Henry Ford when he rolled out the Model T or those that though the new fangled thing called a TV would corrupt society forever.

                  Here’s a scary thought for you. They are teaching AI in our schools. Right here in NZ. Right now. At year 8. I know, shocking!

                  • arkie …
                    24 May 2023 at 11:52 am

                    I can't help those who refuse to understand. You don't understand what is unique about AI and you are deliberately ignoring my explanations of the difference. Stay ignorant then, much like Luxon and National in general.

              • Tiger Mountain …
                24 May 2023 at 11:34 am

                arkie did not contend that at all–you are diverting from the point made that hands on CGI is different from AI.

    • Peter Kelly 7.2
      24 May 2023 at 6:36 pm

      Or they could find real health workers who believed in National policy and were prepared to put their name to it.

      • Rodel 7.2.1
        24 May 2023 at 10:07 pm

        Hear Hear. Can't stand actors who are paid to bullshit and tell lies for money. ( from any political party and in ordinary adverts and infomercials)

  8. Reality 8
    24 May 2023 at 10:04 am

    If the AI images above are the ones National used, in my opinion they do not look "real". There is a blankness in the faces which is rather creepy. National stooping to using so called "people" is not a good move.

  9. AB 9
    24 May 2023 at 10:15 am

    Copyright law probably needs to move on to regarding AI-generated simulations of copyrighted content as a new form of breach that has to be caught.

    And as everyone has noted, the use of AI in political advertising has potential to be a danger to the democratic process. If Ardern was still PM, what are the odds that the deep pockets of her far-right enemies would have seen fake videos circulating of her saying outrageous things she never actually said?

    Luxon may understand all this – he can't be as shallow as he appears.

  10. Mac1 10
    24 May 2023 at 10:26 am

    "Here's what happens: you either go out and buy a standard, stock image… of an actor playing a fake nurse or a doctor or whatever it is, or you can create it now through AI and I don't think there's any difference in both of those approaches."

    Is National using AI to write Luxon's speeches?

    Is National using AI to write its policy?

    Is National using AI to cost its policies?

  11. woodart 11
    24 May 2023 at 2:12 pm

    so, with AI luxo can really phone it in from hawaii. the hollow man has come of age!

  12. Rodel 12
    24 May 2023 at 10:10 pm

    Hear hear. I can;t stand actors who bullshit and tell lies for money. From any political party and even ordinary infomercials and TV advertisements. If someone explains their product and its good points in an honest nonflambouyant way..OK.

  13. Graeme 13
    25 May 2023 at 6:34 am

    Pesky things like details are below Luzon’s pay grade. He didn’t bother with the minor detail like how much was being paid out to pensioners before going on RNZ to publicly state it was unaffordable and the age needed to be pushed out.

    [Please stick to one approved username here, thanks – Incognito]

  14. Adrian 14
    25 May 2023 at 11:27 am

    Read the Herald this morning, an unblocked article has unhinged Luxon supporting farmers but also changing his mind and now switching to more greenfields housing along highways instead of increased city density, therefore obviously using the most productive land, which is after all why the roads and highways are where they have been for over 160 years, so as to get access to the best farmable land. C'mon tell me he isn't a secret Labour Party plant!.