It's so depressing to think that this is what people want.
No this might not be the most beautiful font with the most perfect kerning or optimized code. But if it’s functional enough for the person who requests it, that should be good enough shouldn’t it? Most things people are printing on their 3d printers aren’t high quality designed parts either. Plenty of scientists and accountants have scripts and code that would make most developers cringe, but if it’s good enough then why be bothered?
The ability of people to make things with tools that they otherwise never would have been able to make before without dedicating months or years of time they may not have is awesome and we should be excited for it. I’ve watched 70 year old grandmothers learn to make little home movies of their grandkids in iMovie. No they weren’t doing “real” film editing and certainly weren’t learning any skills that would transfer to avid or Final Cut. And so what? That home movie cut together with a minimum of skill and a whole lot of technology hiding the esoterica was probably more meaningful and joy inducing for that woman than most blockbuster cinematics produced by the best minds.
The grandma doesn't need generative fonts. She already has fonts that ship with her phone and computer. She already has iMovie for her grandkid videos. Does she need the ability to generate videos of political figures saying things they didn't say?
Obviously, what concerns us is a race to the bottom for the value of all human output.
>The grandma doesn't need generative fonts. She already has fonts that ship with her phone and computer. She already has iMovie for her grandkid videos. Does she need the ability to generate videos of political figures saying things they didn't say?
Would you say the same about people, their computers and programing languages? You already have the programs that ship with your computer. You already have Internet Explorer and Solitaire. Do you really need the ability make viruses and worms? Do you really need the power to create ransomware or crash the network?
>Obviously, what concerns us is a race to the bottom for the value of all human output.
The value of human output will always be there. Go get a quote for a hand carved and built table. Go get a quote for a bespoke set of clothes. See how much a custom song will cost you. Commission a book and get back to me on the price. Heck just go get a quote for some contractor work. Human output is in no danger of losing value.
What people are really concerned about is the reduction in the number of people that can capitalize on that output at any given time. When only 100 people can craft a custom font, 100 people have lots of work for lots of money as long as there is demand for custom fonts of any type. When a machine can generate a custom font for anyone, the only people that can make money from crafting a font are the number that can fulfill the demand for HUMAN created custom fonts. That's what people are worried about. Automation comes for us all, and we'd be better off spending time figuring out how to ensure people can still live a healthy, productive and free life in that new world than wringing our hands about how "depressing" it all is and fighting against the inevitable march of technology.