Books & Tea with Amber - Apr 2025
In which I talk about AI, capitalism and sparking joy (and run a giveaway!)
Note: I do not usually write such long newsletter spiels. This post is a consolidation of my own thoughts and reflections on the recent AI issues, which will likely evolve as I take in new perspectives on the matter. If it’s TLDR—the giveaway details are at the end lmao.
Yes, my debut book has been pirated on LibGen, then stolen by Meta to train their LLM—along with millions of other books. Solidarity with all other angry authors. According to the article in The Atlantic, the reason for doing this was because it would have been too expensive and too slow (4+ weeks? really?) to do things the ethical way and license the rights to use all of this copyrighted material. Before that fire went out, a new one started with the Studio Ghibli trend—with OpenAI offering an image generation tool that allows users to “Ghibli-fy” their photos. Again, without seeking the necessary permissions.
I am not optimistic about the outcomes of any ongoing lawsuits, because corporations like OpenAI and Meta must have already done their cost-benefit analysis, and come to the conclusion that any legal implications they might face (if any at all) will be less significant than the cost they would have had to pay in time and money in order to do the right thing. If a big, wealthy animation studio like Studio Ghibli has a low chance of winning a legal case against this, then what more the likes of us small, independent creators? And even if a lawsuit is won, the compensation will be minimal, and it won’t change the fact that my work has already been consumed by their machines. Either way, it’s not coming back out. That is not to say that I don’t think we should kick up a fuss and make our unhappiness about his blatant IP theft known—we should! The louder the better! Even if nothing concrete materialises out of this, at least we would have spread some awareness about the ethical problems surrounding the current state of AI, so that one more person might learn about what really happens in order to spit out the response they get from a chatbot.
To continue on my train of pessimism, I also don’t think AI is going anywhere. It’s only going to get more prevalent, more integrated into our daily lives the way social media has become. If you’ve read some of my previous interviews about the technological aspects in Of Jade and Dragons, you might know that my personal stance on science and technology is that it is neutral. There is no good or bad to a piece of tech—its effects lie in the hands of its wielder. Personally, I have no issues with the concept of AI. It is a breakthrough with vast potential. What I have a big problem with is the direction that many of these major tech companies have been taking in the development process.
Stop building LLMs on a foundation of piracy!
LLMs need to learn, and the more they can learn, the better they’ll be at doing their job. Unfortunately, in order for that learning to take place, you need learning material. Lots and lots of material. So where do you find this material from? It’s extremely disappointing that some of the biggest and most influential tech companies have chosen to use the worst possible way of acquiring content—through theft. Simply because it is cheaper and faster, and because they know that there is nothing we can do about it. What is doubly disappointing is how many casual users of AI tech are either ignorant about how this tech has been developed or are aware but still believe that their personal convenience or entertainment or fleeting endorphin boost is more important than defending the hard work and IP rights of others.
I have just one book that’s been fed into Llama via LibGen, so that’s only one drop of water in an ocean of content. I am in no way an A-list author that people will be name-dropping in their ChatGPT prompts, and even if ChatGPT does use my prose to generate something, rips off a line here and a paragraph there, it probably isn’t so distinct that it’ll be immediately identifiable as an Amber Chen product. In all honesty, my book going into an LLM might not have any repercussions worth shouting about. If The Atlantic hadn’t blown this into the open, I might have gone about my life none the wiser. The reason I’m still upset is because I haven’t been given a choice about the matter. There are some AI supporters who argue that plenty of artists/authors are happy about their work being used by LLMs because it’s free publicity, that it shows an appreciation for their craft yada-yada, and that might well be true because there’s bound to be differences in opinions, but ultimately it should still be down to the creative to give consent for their work to be used, and to demand remuneration if they wish. There are ethical ways of training LLMs, these billionaires have chosen otherwise. There are also a slew of other problems associated with the current state of AI, but that would warrant a whole other essay.
What does capitalism have to do with our AI woes? Everything.
Many of us live in hypercapitalist societies, where we are actively being programmed to value outcome over process. In all aspects of our lives, we are told that more is better, because this is what keeps the capitalist machinery running. “Without economic growth, society will collapse,” they say. In my country, we are reminded about this all the time, both directly and indirectly. Advertisements are shoved in our faces at every opportunity, trying to convince us of the need to buy something new and shiny; social media floods us with content and encourages the pursuit of external validation in the form of likes and comments; even at our day jobs we are expected to fulfil KPIs and chase after promotions and awards and pay increments. Efficiency is king, and the faster you work, the more successful you will become—that is the promise. Set goals. Hit targets. Exceed expectations. Succeed.
IMO, the development of GenAI and the consequent decisions and behaviours linked to the AI space is simply yet another manifestation of capitalism at work. Tools like GPT-4, Gemini, Midjourney (the list goes on) are being actively promoted and widely used because their objectives and functions are perfectly aligned with a hypercapitalist society—to help people be Faster, Better, MORE. Behind the choice to steal IP to train LLMs lies a belief that profit and “progress” are more important than the ethical, social or environmental impacts of the technology, that a wait of four weeks for licensing of content is too long. Maybe even one day might have been one day too long. The rampant, unthinking use of OpenAI’s Ghibli art generator in an innocuous “fun” trend is another example of how capitalist beliefs have infiltrated our lives and minds so thoroughly. People do not care for the process of creating Ghibli art, or any art for that matter—they only care for the product that has been made. They are willing to compromise on quality for something quicker, easier and cheaper (best if it’s free), sometimes subconsciously. Who cares if AI-generated Ghibli is less intricate or has “no soul”? All that is secondary. They’re only looking for two seconds of entertainment that they’ll forget in less than a day, because that’s how social media has trained us. To keep swiping, keep moving on to the next fun thing. This isn’t something unique to the use of AI or to the social media space, it’s prevalent in many, many areas of our lives, from the rise of fast fashion to the dominance of streaming services to your favourite K-pop idols needing to churn bops at increasingly short intervals in order to stay relevant.
Patience is no longer a virtue. Nothing sticks. Nothing lasts. Nothing has deep, meaningful value in this hamster wheel of extreme consumerism.
How do we find genuine, lasting joy in a world that doesn’t want us to?
We are victims of a system that wants us to believe that we are never enough. That we must always strive for More in order to be deemed worthy. This mindset is beneficial for the hypercapitalist society, because it turns each of us into a useful cog that keeps the machine chugging along. The less contented we are with our lives, the hungrier we will be and the harder we will strive. Contentment is an idea that is frowned upon, because how could you be happy with your current state? Even if you are, you Must still set that next goal, earn that next pot of gold, because that will make you happier. It’s basically the Lunar New Year family gathering problem—when you’re studying, the relatives will ask when you’re getting a job; when you have a job, they’ll ask when you’re getting a partner; when you have a partner, they’ll ask when you’re getting married; when you’re married, they’ll ask when the children are coming—it’s a never-ending climb to reach that next level. Stasis is not allowed.
The problem with this is that people come to associate happiness with the achievement of some sort of outcome (buying a new dress, scoring an A grade, striking a rare Labubu, earning a million dollars, having ten children) and then will likely find themselves in one of two possible scenarios: 1) achieve the outcome, then find a new target to strive towards or risk facing emptiness and condemnation; or 2) don’t achieve the outcome, and let self-doubt and resentment set in, plus more condemnation. Either way, this mental model doesn’t set someone up for lasting joy. Capitalism dictates that there must be an expiry date to happiness, else the machine breaks down—but is this true and can we break out of the cycle?
Find a process that sparks joy, not a product or an outcome or a goal.
This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t set goals, or yearn for things. That’s perfectly okay! I just think that it’s important to recognise that this shouldn’t become the entirety of our lives, and that these goals and outcomes should not define us. I also believe that the one thing everyone should work towards is to find that process that sparks joy—something that makes you happy just by doing it, regardless of the outcomes it might bring.
I was truly aggrieved by the whole Meta AI theft situation for a while, but after spending some time thinking about it, I’ve come to a realisation that maybe at the end of it all, I’m still the luckier one. And that’s because in this lifetime I have found a process that sparks joy for me—and that’s writing books and telling stories. I haven’t mastered this to perfection. I still get sad when I don’t achieve the goals I set for myself, still compare my own success to that of others, still get upset with the unfairness that exists in the world. But I try to remind myself that despite it all, there is something I can go back to that I know will make me happy. The anger toward my book being stolen will eventually come to pass, because life is too short to waste on being angry at people and things that are not worth the energy or the spare thought. (Carry on fighting, but don’t be angry, because anger only hurts you and not them.) Regardless what comes out of this AI debacle, I’ll still go back to writing and be very happy putting words down on a page (without AI thanks very much). This is my happy place, and no one can steal that away from me. In a world where everyone might tell you that happiness is conditional, I hope you break down those walls and find your happy place too.
Giveaway Time!
If you’ve seen my IG post, you’ll already know that I’m giving away one copy of the German special edition for Of Jade and Dragons! This very, very stunning book from my German publishers Cross Cult comes with gold foil on the dust jacket and on the hardcover, sprayed edges, a beautiful dragon page overlay and a ribbon bookmark. If you’re a German reader or if you’re a collector of special editions, you definitely won’t want to miss this copy! This giveaway is open internationally. Subscribe to my newsletter and fill in the form in the link below to enter! Closes 6 April 2025, 12 noon EST.
Thanks for reading! Till next time.
xx
Amber