Pixelfed bans AI generated contributions.
We heard you! We are not accepting any AI or agentic code contributions, and will keep building Pixelfed by hand.
Thank you for your feedback!
https://github.com/pixelfed/pixelfed#ai-generated-contributions
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@pixelfed glad to hear. It is the right thing to do.
@pixelfed it might be pretty unrealistic to keep AI entirely out of your code if you base it on any other open source code that’s not yours. A range of other projects struggle with that.
@pixelfed Actually banning agentic contributions isn't really a good idea, as people can actually achieve good quality with coding agents.
@alexchapman @pixelfed It's not about the outcomes, it's about how they were achieved. "Exitus acta probat" is one hell of a way to go through life.
Yeah, maybe someone can whip together code that works using Ai. Does that make it okay how LLM infrastructure is killing any progress we've made towards mitigating climate change? How it rots people's brains? How it destroying the internet?
If not wanting the world to burn makes me an extremist, I will happily bear that mark of honor.
@Legit_Spaghetti The infrastructure isn't killing anything, that's just a lie made by these people who are delusional and think extremist things like oh this is run by fascists and these people are trying to be the next version of Hitlar, like come the fuck on people, stop indulging in your dumb delusions for once. @pixelfed
@alexchapman @Legit_Spaghetti @pixelfed Taking a "no entry" sign as both an insult and an invitation.
Bringining out the same three arguments at length.
You AI boosters are fucking *tedious*. And utterly predictable.
@helge OK then, thanks for that pointless reply lol. @Legit_Spaghetti @pixelfed
The infrastructure isn't killing anything
You can tell yourself whatever you want so you can feel better about using this shit, and you can use whatever excuses you like. But just because you refuse to face reality, that doesn't mean the rest of us have to applaud your decision to ignore facts because they inconvenience you.
Every lie we tell ourselves incurs a debt to the truth, and eventually, that debt will have to be repaid.
@alexchapman Code is art ai cannot make art @pixelfed
@sackofbones Code isn't art, its the thing that makes programs possible, its a utility. @pixelfed
@alexchapman
Yes, computer programming is often considered an art form.
Definition and examples
For example:
- Wiktionary defines art as "Skillful creative activity, usually with an aesthetic focus" and even gives "art of programming" as an example.
- Donald E. Knuth wrote a classic of the field called "The Art of Computer Programming" about contemplating the beauty of algorithms.
- Practical disciplines like architecture can be considered arts if they focus on creating objects of beauty and creativity as well as utility.
How art applies to programming
As for programming, it could be considered an art because:
- The source code is beautiful and elegantly coded.
- The algorithms used are brilliantly applied.
- The architectural design is pleasantly well-organized.
- The user interface is simple, colorful, and well-polished.
- The overall aim is to inspire as well as to enable.
State of the art
So you can see something like the iPhone advancing the state of the art, not just in making phone calls, but in bringing Steve Job's creative aesthetics to the masses.
@pixelfed
@sackofbones OK but if people can produce good quality code, then so what if an agent was used somewhere in the process, that's irrelevant. @pixelfed
@alexchapman @sackofbones @pixelfed My first encounter with generative AI was in my job as a translator/proofreader. Proofreading AI is the most exhausting task there is in that job. It introduces very subtle errors that are hard to spot, because it all *looks* correct. I burn out fast.
@alexchapman Do you do programming? Or are you like the ai bros insisting ai slop is art? @cinebox @pixelfed
@sackofbones There's no such thing as AI slop in programming unless you mean those idiots who one shot everything. @cinebox @pixelfed
@sackofbones I answered it dumb fuck! @cinebox @pixelfed
Please stop spamming my notifications with this pointless back and forth.. I don't think you're ready to have this conversation
@cuirass_entertainment Oh I've had it, and its clear people are too full of themselves to even see both sides of it. @pixelfed
@alexchapman We are here because we're happy that a project listened to their user base and decided to no longer allow AI generated code. Why, exactly, are you here?
@chadmccullough Because if it were not for a few dozen anti-AI people, the dev would not have done that. And to put it into context, there's thousands of Pixelfed users, and a few dozen, maybe a couple hundred at most, are part of this anti-AI nonsense, so quite a minority. @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman So, how do you know how many Pixelfed users wanted the project to stop using AI?
Being anti-AI is not nonsense. Its use is full of ethical issues that people like you don't seem to give a shit about, but many people just like me do give a shit about.
@chadmccullough @alexchapman @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed AI does have it's uses, i have used it for things i haven't been able to doo before, like having it describe immages and other things
@J3317 Yep, that as well, my Meta glasses are extremely useful for that, especially if I am in an unfamiliar area, or I'm in a shop and trying to browse the isles, and even just reading signs on walls. @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@chadmccullough That's your view, but more people either don't give a damn or also think that AI has its uses. @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman Listen, use or don't use it. I don't really care. I choose not to use it or support it any way. If you want to support it, then support it. But you really need to do a better job of knowing when and where to defend your use of it. This is not the place.
@alexchapman @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
alex i glanced at your profile
you're blind?
you're not the first blind person i've met who defends AI
and i understand it. it must be such a boon for those with vision impairments
is it this that drives your position?
i think AI, if done ethically, can be a great benefit for people with disabilities
but alex, you have to understand: pushing the current AI manifestation *in general* is not the same issue. be more nuanced
@benroyce That and also that me and my other friends and even people that I know through Blind Information Technology Solutions (BITS) struggle to code by hand and thus AI helps us get good quality code done and thus we are making accessible programs. Also we're not just one shot prompting everything, some of our stuff we've worked on for weeks and some repos have like hundreds of tests, and not just that, we test things to make sure everything is perfect, and if something's off, we go back to the Claude window and tell it what's wrong, and what's missing or what it needs to do, even researching documentation for the NVDA screen reader and libraries that help programs interact with the screen reader APIs, and it does really well because we take the time to make it work. @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman @benroyce @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed thanks for sharing your experiences, so important!
@alexchapman @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
that's wonderful
a suggestion for you:
do not champion AI
champion AI for people with disabilities
if you champion AI in general, you're going to be met with venom. because, in general, AI is terrible
just last week i got in a similar argument:
https://mastodon.social/@benroyce/117322597908342619
the blind guy wound up agreeing with me by the end of the back and forth
it's about nuance: bad in general, good in niches
alex: just voice the nuance
@benroyce Yeah, and that's why devs outright banning AI/agentic code contributions is not a good thing because people like me and those in BITS that would want to contribute accessibility fixes, because yes blind people can access visual apps like Pixelfed and obviously Instagram, because of alt text and the audio in videos, and Loops has an alt text feature for videos, but for example I wanted to fix the top bar icons in the Loops app, where it wouldn't say back on some screens but just select with VoiceOver and nothing would be said, I hope that's fixed in the next update, but if AI contributions weren't banned, I could literally describe what the issues is, explain to the AI that it needs to add an accessibility label for that icon, and it would go and do that, then I could test it, commit and push, then do a PR. People need to see those uses rather than going AI bad, AI banned. Yeah there's some disadvantages, like people who will one shot prompt something and submit it claiming to fix something and all they've done is made it worse or added unneeded nonsense, and also the whole debacle with datacenters, but people need to see the positives, like how its allowing blind people and those with cognitive disabilities that mean the traditional coding process is extremely difficult or impossible, to make cool things and fix issues in other places. @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
but alex do you see how if you led with this angle instead of defending AI *in general* you would have a nicer time here?
because you have a point
AI *in general* fucking sucks
i don't know the answer for people with disabilities. but it has to be something that doesn't feed a dehumanizing theft machine
the problem is the corporations. they are ruining AI
running protein folding or cosmology simulations is not the problem
@benroyce I tried and some people threw the oh you're using disability to defend AI BS at me, so I came back at them, and they didn't like it. @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
in another thread? because i don't see that here
i understand the psychology of that. you don't want to cite the people with disabilities angle because then it gets personal, and that hurts
but if you remove that angle, you wind up defending something that, objectively, is terrible
i admit AI helps blind people
now you have to admit AI sucks in general
or... you get all this disgust dumped on you. that's a hard road man
@benroyce Yeah I just think people need to calm down on the hate, yeah the way AI is ran isn't good but holy hell people are taking their disgust too far. @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
the fediverse is full of programmers who resent the dehumanization and mediocrity that AI at their jobs has created. this is a different experience than yours. the fediverse allows them to dump their frustrations. so when you come here and defend AI *in general* you're just setting yourself up for a drama wave of attacks
but i also understand if you say it's good for blind people it's hurtful to get clapback
i don't know man
@benroyce I'm not the only one who defends AI, there's a whole load of us blind people on the Fediverse that defend the positive aspects of AI, and all of us should be able to do that without getting hate for it. Just ask the BITS people, or any of the people I've boosted that talk about the amazing things they've been able to accomplish thanks to the rise of coding agents. @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
i'm not going to attack you (although i started out above mocking you before i glanced at your profile and remembered the other blind person i got in this argument with, sorry for that)
but i am going to continue to attack AI
i am not an omnipotent being, and i don't know the solution. but i do know the solution should probably be something like local AI rather than feeding vile corporations. they are turning AI into a monster
@benroyce I wish local AI was as capable as Opus 5.5 and GPT 6 Sol, but the BITS people have tried local models and they can just about do basic stuff, but when they try to do accessibility APIs that's where it falls apart, and thus we are stuck using the corporate cloud models. And I forgive you for earlier. But at some point I am gonna do a thing that people can read whenever they wanna throw their hateful crap, and then I'm just gonna say, here's why you should see the positives, read this thing I wrote to explain it all, and if they don't wanna do that, that's on them. @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman @chadmccullough @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
it's a complex topic, full of emotion. i get it. well met! well, not really well met, due to my mocking. so like in a bar where two guys yell at each other then smile and share a drink i guess
but, i'm sorry alex: fuck AI *in general*
i understand your angle though, and i appreciate you
@alexchapman it doesn't matter what the results are, dude. It wastes massive amounts of resources to run, it centralises power and money with terrible people, and it can't function without industrial scale plagiarism.
It's unethical technology. It doesn't matter if it does the job well
@Hyperlynx Well, it doesn't matter if we use it, we just have to fight for on device AI, but until that happens, we use what we can.
@Hyperlynx @alexchapman Sadly, these corporations are fighting tooth and nail to prevent on-device LLMs because they can't profit on them.
- They've jacked up GPU and RAM prices so nobody can build a powerful enough machine to run the biggest LLMs.
- They're spewing out all kinds of propaganda stories to try to get the government to outlaw local LLMs.
So until we take the corporations down, most folks won't be able to run sufficiently useful LLMs locally.
@tk I get that, but there's also the fact that there are blind people and also people who have cognitive disabilities that make the traditional coding process really difficult or in some cases impossible, and thus AI has helped them bring their dreams into reality. This is why I'm against the whole banning of AI contributions, as someone might wanna contribute an accessibility fix, but can't due to the fact they could only get it done with a coding agent. @Hyperlynx
@Hyperlynx @alexchapman Why couldn't they file a feature request that a human can fulfill?
Just another example of LLMs destroying community. :/
@tk @Hyperlynx @alexchapman The person has an use case for his case, l Do not see any reason why he should not use AI if it opens his world.
We all disagree on big Tech farms taking the monopoly of it, and I agree that I can only run an LLM on domain specific or local host > so it does not even reach the net with RAG training data all offline.
You guy's over react as always and I have as many opposer's on my block list as they are rude and take it to the man not the subject from this thread alone, The ones that self host or are in a server I amply see is by now ignored server from here. Me and others made the point you think we miss about it and we wont stop whatever you retards think of it and your spite should be addressed to those CEO's of BIg Tech that happen to be fascist which product I do not use at all and spit on them as they took the monopoly and their face became the face of fascism or whatever you can imagine which is not the Tech. I admire alexchapman@vee.seedy.cc to stand up against a bunch of Jihadists as he has the right to have a decent life and tools to use as incapacitated person. I mean what is wrong with you wildling idiots? For real, keep your spew as you pollute the sphere on Fediverse and go you way but shut up the vocals or at least be decent in a conversation.
I have very much more to tell for you guys ignorant stance on this but it would be kinda rhetoric which I'm tired of. No decency is left in you people reacting as such towards someone with an incapacity that on top is more intelligent than you all here. You should be collectively ashamed. Also I wish devs of Pixelfed good luck nor do I reproach their decision personally as they do it to themselves and let us see their wonderful work from today going further. Stop the hate towards people, blame the wealthy that already took over your internet . Hate the game , not the player and mostly not if the player can not achieve something without using that dreadful AI in your eyes. Please stop the hatred like some impotent rage and keep it for yourself> do not use AI and stfu.
We all disagree on big Tech farms taking the monopoly of it, and I agree that I can only run an LLM on domain specific or local host > so it does not even reach the net with RAG training data all offline.
You guy's over react as always and I have as many opposer's on my block list as they are rude and take it to the man not the subject from this thread alone, The ones that self host or are in a server I amply see is by now ignored server from here. Me and others made the point you think we miss about it and we wont stop whatever you retards think of it and your spite should be addressed to those CEO's of BIg Tech that happen to be fascist which product I do not use at all and spit on them as they took the monopoly and their face became the face of fascism or whatever you can imagine which is not the Tech. I admire alexchapman@vee.seedy.cc to stand up against a bunch of Jihadists as he has the right to have a decent life and tools to use as incapacitated person. I mean what is wrong with you wildling idiots? For real, keep your spew as you pollute the sphere on Fediverse and go you way but shut up the vocals or at least be decent in a conversation.
I have very much more to tell for you guys ignorant stance on this but it would be kinda rhetoric which I'm tired of. No decency is left in you people reacting as such towards someone with an incapacity that on top is more intelligent than you all here. You should be collectively ashamed. Also I wish devs of Pixelfed good luck nor do I reproach their decision personally as they do it to themselves and let us see their wonderful work from today going further. Stop the hate towards people, blame the wealthy that already took over your internet . Hate the game , not the player and mostly not if the player can not achieve something without using that dreadful AI in your eyes. Please stop the hatred like some impotent rage and keep it for yourself> do not use AI and stfu.
@tk Because us blind people shouldn't be excluded from coding because we struggle to manually do it. @Hyperlynx
@Hyperlynx @alexchapman Asking a bot to generate code isn't coding and never will be. 😐
@tk That's your opinion, but not the facts. The fact of the matter is that code is generated, we then test it and iterate on it until its perfect, and then we make a release. @Hyperlynx
go back to twitter, techbro
well it's nice you complained to me, that someone else reported you?
sounds well-adjusted
but on the topic you introduced: i enjoy engaging and mocking bigots and vatniks and other sordid types (you're not that, bear with me here). in order to keep them talking, until they generate enough material for a completely airtight case to get them banned. *then* i report them
what do you think alex:
should i add AI techbros to my troll hunt amusements?
@benroyce @alexchapman @pixelfed i'm not alex, but please do
@GroupNebula563 Whatever that’s supposed to mean. @benroyce @pixelfed
@GroupNebula563 OK? What about me? You’re making no sense. @benroyce @pixelfed
@alexchapman @benroyce @pixelfed ben asked if he should add ai techbros (like yourself) to his troll hunting endeavors. i said "please do"
indeed, you can do whatever you want
so enjoy pushing AI here, and harvesting disgust
some people have a kink
@alexchapman @pixelfed
Pixelfed made a decision, a fresh and bold one, and I'd like to hope it's not up for debate.
@cuirass_entertainment Well, the maintainor didn't originally wanna make it, but anti-AI extremists pushed him to it. @pixelfed
@alexchapman @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed this is called collective bargaining HTH
@alexchapman
I guess Instagram's going to have the back of the pro-AI-extremists, so everyone can be happy.
@cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman "Anti-ai extremists" fuck off, either you're being a troll or you're actually braindead. If being against the fascist slop machine makes me an extremist then so be it, being extreme isn't bad. MLK was an extremist in his age @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@sackofbones I'm neither, the anti-AI people need to give it a fucking rest. @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman So the latter, got it. If you aren't against it then you're for it, in this case, like with fascism.
> the anti-AI people need to give it a fucking rest
"The anti fascist people need to give it a fucking rest"
Now tell me you think I should take a rest opposing the fascist failed technology burning up the planet and wasting so many precious resources that cements in place the permanent under class while empowering the ruling class to control literally everything we do?
@cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@sackofbones Fascism has nothing to do with this. @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman So something made and controlled by fascists has nothing to do with fascism? @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@sackofbones Its not controled by fascists, that's just a lie by you extremists. @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
@alexchapman @cuirass_entertainment @pixelfed
Frodo was an anti-ring extremist.
@alexchapman @pixelfed I'm sorry, I don't feel like engaging with someone who is taking this both extra-serious and not serious whatsoever.
@alexchapman That’s two “well actually”s in one sentence, plus you missed the point entirely. Congratulations.
@pixelfed great position
I bet your code base will be way healthier compared to others once the poison in the well of ai contribution start to accumulate
@pixelfed@mastodon.social not sure how much I would trust someone who couldn't make this decision on their own.
@pixelfed and the agent preparations? Can you shed some light?