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NSFW AI-art project Unstable Diffusion has been axed by Kickstarter, despite already hitting their funding goal. This one isn't too suprising, as KS doesnt allow NSFW and a DIY pornomaker probably was never gonna slip by that filter even if it didn't ship with visible nipples.
Kickstarter took it a step further, however, formally amending their ToS and affirming that "Kickstarter must, and will always be, on the side of creative work and the humans behind that work."
It now appears that Unstable Diffusion is being driven off Patreon too, who dont have a no-NSFW excuse. Almost certain to follow the same pattern, at this point; there are too many established artists on that platform who are willing to boycott.
The twitterati taking responsibility for the bannings are targetting payment processor Stripe next. Seems like a textbook swarm governance action.
Ks:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unstablediffusion/unstable-diffusion-unrestricted-ai-art-powered-by-the-crowd/community
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/unstablediffusion
Current fallback:
https://equilibriumai.com/index.html
Seeing all of these progressives turn into luddites in this instance, and free speech advocates after the Musk journalist bans in another, I think it's fair to say that there are no principles. There is no political theory of friend/enemy anymore. It's a law. And anyone who pretends to, in any instance, be above that law or exist outside its scope is just, through the act, a self described moron.
Have some sympathy for the Luddites! You've got to remember the context: it was the early 1810s. There was the technological unemployment, which always sucks. But there were lots of exacerbating factors. Britain was engaged in a wild spending binge, driving heavy inflation. And more than that, it was embroiled in an expensive, elective war in Eastern Europe, causing a supply shock that spiked prices of essential commodities (i.e. food) at the worst possible time. Obviously people are going to be pissed in that situation.
I understand the Luddites, change sucks sometimes. Uncertainty definitely sucks.
Being forced into a change, while being uncertain about what happens on the other end is perhaps worst of all. Technology tends to do that.
But it becomes obvious that most of the complaints about technological change are self-serving in the extreme, without much regard for the so called 'greater good.' It's not as if anyone is taking away their actual artistic talent, or their body of work, or the adoration of their accumulated fans.
Just so happens that they may have to retrain into a field that isn't as legible to AI, or adapt to a world where AI exists and find new ways to compete. It's not pleasant.
My point is more about you've got to look at the broader economic trends. Technological change, including in the textile industry, was rapid in the UK for decades. Why in particular were people rioting in those years (~1810-1815) in particular? It had to do with inflation and commodity prices.
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