Recently I came across a reel that showed this kid. The kid looked a bit depressed and he said, "I'm bullied because I use AI." It then said, "GOOD. Pick up a pencil for once in your life." This was very upsetting to me. I'm not saying that generative AI is okay, but bullying in ANY form is NOT. NO EXCEPTIONS. I've been seeing this more and more often, and have not seen one person address this problem. 1.) They may not be aware about the problems that generative AI causes, and with a kind explanation, they may understand and stop. Yelling and hating on an individual is going to get you nowhere. 2.) They might just be seeking attention, and you're giving them exactly what you want. The best way to deal with a troll or a scammer is report them and move on. Do not throw gasoline into the fire. 3.) For things like c.ai, they might be addicted. I'm going to quote a mutual off-site (whom sadly I cannot credit here): "Harassment [about c.ai addiction] just makes them feel worse about something they're already struggling with and this applies to any addiction." It is best to give them support and kindness while helping them out of their situation. 2.) They may have different needs than you, or are too young to understand. I am in a family with a lot of people who have special needs. My cousin is one of these, and one of his special interests is using generative AI. While I've let him know about the issues it causes, he is unable to understand and such conversation only distresses him. I love him dearly and support his needs, listen to him talk about all the things he does during the day, and only remind him once in awhile that I might have different views on the matter. I'm nervous about him being cyberbullied over it, because he mentally would not be able to handle something like that. I'm going to confess something to you all now. When generative AI was first coming around, I used it. I never passed anything off as my own, and never shared it online. This was about 5-6 years ago, and stopped a long time ago. I didn't know about the issues that generative AI causes, and would have been too young to understand. The whole point is you never know who's on the other side of that screen. Harassment is counterproductive and, honestly? Immature. It only increases hatred towards the artist community and hurts artists more overall. Please be kind and respectful when speaking to others, no matter if they have different views than you.
