...so let's manage expectations.
Keeping up with change is tricky. Maybe start running.
This week of Interesting Times in and around the workplaces of today brings us officially licensed Nintendo bootlegs, India’s newfound riches, and a long overdue end to the failed Phoenix experiment.
I’m AJ Freeman, and “This Was a Real Job.”
This Week in Work: On Brand for Japan
While high courts in the US fumble with the basic building blocks of the AI concept, big news out of Japan might have just made the entire issue moot.
In what will undoubtedly prove to be a landmark ruling, the federal court of Japan has found that AI training is effectively shielded from copyright.
The same way I can look at a lightsaber and draw a suspiciously similar bladed beam thingy in my own art without fear of reprisal, Japan’s ruling on AI art ensures that utilities such as StableDiffusion can take inspiration from any of your favorite media franchises. As the first high-profile government to make any such ruling, Japan has made a radical statement on artistic democratization.
Of course, that can’t have put a smile on the execuitves at Sanrio…but like I went on at length about last week, if the ”unique contribution” of your IP is so easily replicated then there’s no real obstacle to its replication, laws being the selectively enforcable suggestions they’ve been proven to be the last few years.
Not to engage in the kind of cultural fetishization so popular in Western media—after all, thinking of all Japan as Neon Anime Tokyo is like thinking of the entire US as Street Flair Money Castle New York or Super Cool Animal Style Los Angeles—but it’s kind of not a surprise to see the ball start rolling on this there.
I mean, these are the folks that responded to being nuked by creating the world’s finest network of high speed rail lines. The country gave birth to the Toyota Way, a literal model of efficiency. They earthquake-proof their buildings in earthquake prone areas…even provide free snacks to shaken-up survivors in some places. There’s a vision of society here…agree or disagree, it’s an ethos.
Back in the old country, we don’t really do “ethos”…more like “business plan.”
Like, sure…there’s probably some link between raising children so meticulously programmed that there’s a popular show about 4-year-olds toddling off on important family errands and what is among the world’s highest suicide rates, but there are definitely some notes to be taken from Japan’s proactive approach.
I guess what I’m saying that a constant eye on the future is the kind of cultural effect that having every major city burnt to the ground, watching God die, and having to rebuild civilization from scratch in living memory can have on folks.
Returning to the core of the topic, it seems clear to me that AI’s codified sunrise in Japan will light the way for the rest of the world. The ruling means that any organization that wants to make use of AI production tools without getting sued (or worse!) by some grumpy trading-card company just has to take their business to Japan.
I think you can see how other countries are gonna want in on that action.
Years ago, my boxing coach presented the philosophy “first punch wins the fight,” and although it’s certainly not true in all cases—Hydrox is the original Oreo—it’s a surprisingly effective guide to success both inside and outside the squared circle. It’s not hard to imagine how getting out ahead of a rapidly developing technology by developing clear legal frameworks is an advantage.
I wouldn’t want to get into an arms race with my hands legally tied, yaknow?
In the realm of AI development, Japan appears poised to dominate the early rounds…not that it has to be a competition, but our current system of production incentive pretty much demands that it be one, so the framing still works.
As the transformative technologies and tests of our time continue to take shape, I eagerly await Japan's inevitable entry into our Talent Visa Tracker.
Maybe Update Your Resume: Bartender?
It’s a job I’ve had before—hell, the list of jobs I haven’t held somewhere along the way is probably shorter—so I can testify that the new tool over at BarGPT is about to shake up the craft cocktail game (don’t you hate when people go “no pun intended” when they clearly intended to achieve exactly that effect?).
Just as it promises on the label, BarGPT will do the imagineering on whatever ingredients at hand…which, other than some light psychiactric work, is pretty much the entire job of a trained mixologist. The results come complete with an image, because we drink with our eyes or whatever the type of person to perpare an alcoholic beverage with a pair of tweezers says.
Here’s what came out when I threw all the stuff currently lying around my traditionally tiny writer-style apartment into the libation synthesizer.
The Kraken's Garden This cocktail is a refreshing and tropical blend of Kraken Rum, sweet pineapple juice, tart cranberry, fresh mint, and spicy ginger. Here's how to make it: Ingredients: - 2 oz Kraken Rum - 1 oz pineapple juice - 1 oz cranberry juice - 3-4 fresh mint leaves - 2-3 thin slices of fresh ginger Instructions: 1. In a shaker, muddle the fresh mint leaves and ginger until fragrant. 2. Add the Kraken Rum, pineapple juice, and cranberry juice to the shaker. 3. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds. 4. Strain the cocktail into a glass filled with ice. 5. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a slice of fresh ginger. 6. Enjoy your Kraken's Garden cocktail!
I will update you on how the Kraken’s Garden turned out in next week’s edition, right now I have a newsletter to finish…for now I’ll say it sounds pretty legit.
What I know I’ll find at the bottom of that glass tonight is a reminder that automation doesn’t have to leave every single working-age adult—lol what a phrase—jobless…all it has to do is alter the barriers to entry in a profession to make some wild waves in society.
For possibly former freelance writers like myself, it means the path to a lucrative writing career ain’t too far off from the path to the Olympics. For a 16-year-old in Iowa, it means you can get well on your way to serving up the best damn drinks in Davenport on a school night in just a few simple clicks.
Cannot Be Unseen: Phoenix in Ashes
A recent announcement out of Arizona surprised absolutely no one who isn’t paid handsomely not to understand it.
In what is surely a glimpse at our chaotic near-future, the southwestern state announced restrictions on new developments in the Greater Phoenix area. Diminishing water reserves were cited as the chief cause of concern.
You know, water?
Here, we have the first major action acknowledgement from a US municipality of climate breakdown and its standing at odds with the principle of limitless growth. Even if a reluctant and mumbled acknowledgement, it is a moment where sanity reigns in discussions of climate action…an obvious rarity in a land of desert golf courses and warm weather ice hockey teams.
This ain’t quite a Hope Spot, but the first step is admitting you have a problem.
With apologies to any present company joining us from Maricopa County, Phoenix in its current form was a mistake.
Like, whoever had the ass-brained idea to put the 4th largest city in the United States far from sustainable sources of water should be tried for criminal negligence. The myopia certainly isn’t limited to Phoenix proper…but indeed, its very existence reminds us the wrong people make Serious Decisions.
Phoenix, Arizona is a shameful scar on our planet…probably the best thing about the area is a canning facility for White Claw, which at least serves a purpose.
The time is now to atone for these sins.
It’s certainly going to be tricky to manage the fallout from the first recorded capping of a US city—couldn’t imagine that officially running out of Phoenix will have a cooling effect on local housing prices—and slowing down the money train that is modern city development in any way points to larger resource issues with in a state where 74 percent of water is used for agriculture.
…but a lot of that “food farming” is represented by non-staple foods like alfalfa and kale, illustrating the nuance that is lost when we throw out one-word defenses like “agriculture” to resist making hard choices. If kale goes back under the salad bar at Pizza Hut where most people thought it belonged before 2012, it’s no big loss to the human pantry. That might be were we are now.
I will say that the area gets great sunshine all year…maybe they can just cover the whole damn thing with solar panels.
Speaking of which…
Hope Spot: A Sunny Outlook on India
Finally, this week we look to India for a welcome peek at a positive outcome.
Working hard to lead the charge in an investment atmosphere that is enumerated by Reuters to favor renewable energy over fossil fuels for the first time in recorded history, India is making good use of one of the few natural resources the British left behind: the country’s ample sunlight.
Now, gently drawing in energy from our incomprehensibly powerful home star seems like an upgrade from stuff like burning gas ripped from the Earth’s crust with an earthquake machine, but what do I know…I’m just a spectator.
On the other hand, the players in this game are prospectors, and more money than ever before is gambling on solar gold. India, a country so warm and sunny that it apparently looks visibly different on television, is well-positioned to make the most of the rush. The nation is already the world’s 3rd largest producer of renewable energy, with 40 percent of India’s power coming from these sources.
This initiative in India is no science fair bullshit…there’s even been a 5-year pause enacted on new coal production. Sure, it’s a little bittersweet (heh, subtle) for me since solar panels began development in the 19th goddamn Century and we could be way further along on this journey to save our civilization, but you gotta take your wins where you can get them in the Turbulent 2020s.
Besides, I had a whole podcast episode to let out my hard feelings on that topic.
Anyway, it’s singularly encouraging to see this magnitude of progress for what is often through of as one of the world’s less fortunate societies.
My secret suspicion is that that’s the kind of initiative that can catalyze among people when your administrative district includes about 18 percent of the human rice. Like, just by sheer numbers there’s a lot of brainpower there.
Another of my unsubstantiated theories regarding India’s seat at the head of the table in solar deployment is that “or else” is a fairly potent motivator for evolution…after what happened to neighboring Pakistan only last year, it’s clear to see that some countries will be left to save their own collective ass when circumstances become less convenient around our world.
Like I said earlier, there’s hope to be found in a proactive approach.