The image generation AI 'Midjourney' is prohibited from generating images of President Xi Jinping of China, and there is also criticism that it will strengthen censorship by the government
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Image generation AI and interactive AI, which have developed in recent years, may be used not only for generating images and sentences and playing, but also for various social and political activities. However, David Holtz, CEO of Midjourney , a high-performance image generation AI that can take first place at art fairs , has banned the generation of images of President Xi Jinping of China. Techdirt of the media is appealing 'the danger of technology companies following government censorship'.
Midjourney CEO Says 'Political Satire In China Is Pretty Not Okay,' But Apparently Silencing Satire About Xi Jinping Is Pretty Okay | Techdirt
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/31/midjourney-ceo-says-political-satire-in-china-is-pretty-not-okay-but-apparently-silencing-satire-about-xi- jinping-is-pretty-okay/
Each company's image generation AI has its own regulations on the content that can be generated, and Midjourney prohibits the generation of ``essentially rude, offensive, and other violent images'' in its guidelines. These prohibited contents include adult contents and violent contents. It has become clear that the person who published it has been banned from Midjourney.
A person who generated a fake ``President Trump was arrested'' image using the image generation AI ``Midjourney V5'' is banned from use - GIGAZINE
Midjourney then suspended the free trial, citing 'abnormal demand and trial abuse.'
Image generation AI 'Midjourney' stops free trial due to 'abnormal demand and abuse' - GIGAZINE
The Washington Post reports that Midjourney produces images of Chinese President Xi, even though it allows it to produce images of US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is forbidden to do so.
In a Discord post, Holtz said, ``We just want to keep the drama down.'' ``Political satire against China is not good. , is more important than the ability to create satire,' he said, claiming that he banned the generation of President Xi's images to maintain access to Chinese users.
Commenting on the decision, Techdirt said, 'Mr. Holtz believes his program (Midjourney) is so important that he must do whatever it takes to make it accessible to people inside China. However, At the same time, I believe the program is so important that it doesn't matter if it can't formulate a basic political statement about one of the world's most powerful authorities. increase.
The Chinese market is now too big for many tech companies to ignore, so it's no wonder tech CEOs are making concessions to China. However, if censorship laws enforced by a powerful country like China are applied to global companies, the regulations may extend to the whole world, so following national regulations will cause greater problems. In fact, it's not just users in China who can't generate images of President Xi on Midjourney, users anywhere, including the US, can't generate images of President Xi.
'What this really means is that authoritarian leaders can not only apply repressive laws restricting political speech within their own countries, but they can also set rules for the global community,' Techdirt said. That's what it means, 'he said, citing the dangers of technology companies supporting censorship in one country.
International tech companies following the repressive efforts of authoritarian leaders could send the message that enforcing repressive policies at home can also lead to repression of activities abroad. At the time of writing, the only national leader that Midjourney prohibits generation is President Xi, but Techdirt said, ``Will Midjourney stop with Mr. Xi Jinping alone? Access to India, which is becoming more and more politically inconvenient If you want, will Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's satire be next on the agenda?' He pointed out that Midjourney's regulation could be tightened in the future.
Techdirt said Holtz might argue that Midjourney's availability in China would help not just the company but the Chinese people, but criticized this as a patriarchal idea. After all, people in China may want to 'use Midjourney to criticize their government,' and Techdirt said, 'Why the freedom to satirize their own rulers is enough to criticize the leaders of the rest of the world.' Isn't it more important than the freedom to ridicule?'
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in Software, Web Service, Posted by log1h_ik