submitted 2 days ago by mrmaplebar@fedia.io to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Does anyone know of any attempts out there of building more ethical AI models for things like text LLM, image or audio processing?

To clarify, I am talking about an AI model which is trained on a dataset of public domain, creative commons, licensed, or more intentionally fair use sampling methods.

Personally, I believe that the way the modern AI industry has built their giant models is incredibly exploitative, unethical, toxic to society and culture, and arguably not even consistent with the letter or spirit of the existing rules by which we have all been asked to play.

As a tool, machine learning may not be fundamentally bad, but who, if anyone, is out there trying to do it in better, more legitimate way?

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[-] mrmaplebar@fedia.io 4 points 2 days ago

You know, that's an interesting point and I'm not totally sure how to read into people's dislikes...

I'm probably amongst the most vocally anti-AI people I know. I fully understand that basically all of the biggest AI models today have been built on the exploitation of other people's (be it writers, artists, musicians, programmers, etc.) stolen intellectual labor. And that's not just my gut feeling either, it's been well documented at this point by higher ups at the tech companies themselves. I can't stand the AI industry, and I would argue it's pretty much morally indefensible as things are right now. The AI bubble and the way the technology is being used, I think, is truly terrible for society and culture.

But it's that exact understanding--that the AI industry has been built on a foundation of theft--that makes me wonder if anyone out there is trying to do this in a less brazenly unethical way. I can't help but be curious what all of this stuff might look like if people took a more fair approach to building datasets and training models from them. Is it even possible?

To me, part of criticizing the way things are is considering the alternatives so that we can make an informed decision on the way things should be. I'd love to know if someone out there is doing AI "the right way" and leading by example when it comes to ethical datasets.

[-] theherk@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I agree completely. What happened since backpropagation, especially with transformers, is amazing. But I have no trouble coupling that with the view that mega corporations pushing it so hard is a continuation of the wealthy exploiting the poor, harmful to the environment, and built on a throne of lies.

Not only that, but the train has left the station. I would love to find the best path forward whatever that is. Part of me feels like that is with some criminal accountability for all the theft at least, certainly heavy regulation, but maybe also completely nationalizing the technology so it can make some decisions based on public good rather than strictly profit.

this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2026

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