[atq2119]

Another important ingredient of informed consent is that there are realistic, viable alternatives. Those alternatives may have downsides, but if those downsides are so large as to become crippling, they stop being realistic and viable.

That is often a crucial issue in these discussions around big tech, enshittification, and so on.

[arp242]

Yes, it depends on the specifics though. "Simply don't use any AI tools" is a viable alternative, IMHO.

But "simply don't use Windows" is already a lot more tricky, because so much of the world runs on it. You and I can get away with just running Linux, but we're not normal people in this regard.

[atq2119]

Agreed, though I'd add that it's quite likely that "simply don't use AI tools" will become less and less viable relatively quickly.

[arp242]

Meh; I think it's the reverse and that more and more people will find that automating these type of tasks is not actually a good thing because unlike automating manual labour, there is value in doing the work yourself, as that is the only way to have a profound and deep understanding of things.

[atq2119]

I think both can be true.

By analogy, consider mental arithmetic vs. electronic calculators and spreadsheets.

Being able to do mental arithmetic is an important skill, arguably the only way to have a profound and deep understanding of many things. At the same time, calculators and spreadsheets allow an individual to do things that just would be totally out of reach without these tools.

Some people argue that generative AI has already reached this point, and I think that's plausible in a few narrow domains. It's also plausible that the domains to which it applies keep broadening.