Anya Mahtani

Child labour is an issue we are used to seeing in literature, plays, movies, and history books, but not one we might be acquainted with in the real world. We often learn of the somewhat normalised use of child labour during the Industrial Revolution, where children as young as 8 were favoured in the labour force so they could be worked for longer hours and lower wages. While action was taken against child labour during The Great Depression, and society has progressed greatly in the last century, child labour has persisted into the 21st century, jeopardising the future of millions of children.World Day Against Child Labour was founded on June 12th, 2002, by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), with the goal of safeguarding children from the physical and emotional exploitation that comes with child labour. This year, they mark the 25th anniversary of the global adoption of ILO Convention 182, working in tandem with SDG 8.7 which aims to end all forms of child labour by 2025. While these conventions were effective in reducing the number of children being exploited by 94 million, the ILO has seen a reversal in statistics leading up to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Today, an estimated 160 million children worldwide, or one in 10 children, are still subjected to sometimes horrific labour conditions.Why has the problem worsened over the years?The 21st century has seen a rise in political and armed conflicts globally as the years have gone on, with 2023 having the highest number of violent conflicts since World War 2. Along with threats to overall global peace, the declining economy and rising prices mean lower affordability and economic security for many families, leading to increased poverty levels in low, middle and high-income countries. While the majority of child labour occurs in rural areas, 37.3 million children living in urban areas are also subjected to child labour as their families struggle to keep up with the changing world. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated levels of unemployment, and could have resulted in the death of parents and other caretakers in many families. Hence, more and more families might resort to having their children work to make ends meet. Child labour doesn’t just mean working in manual labour or sweatshops. It can mean doing more than 21 hours of household chores in a week, being sexually exploited, or recruited by armed organisations. Children who are forced into labour roles are prevented from obtaining an education, and hence prevented from breaking the cycle of poverty that might have forced them to work in the first place. More concerningly, children are left with lasting physical and psychological trauma that will follow them throughout their life, depriving them of a childhood that other children are granted. So, what can we do to help? While governments need to put more effort and funds into alleviating poverty and invest on opportunities for children, we can play a part at an individual level. We can start by monitoring our consumption habits. The fast fashion and coffee industry are known to use child labour to harvest raw ingredients, as well as in sweatshop to keep prices low. Unfortunately, most cheap products that we purchase come at the cost of a child’s freedom. By switching to slow fashion or sustainably made and sourced products when we can, we can prevent contributing to the exploitation of children around the world. By donating to local organisations or larger foundations like UNICEF or Save The Children, or helping a family or neighbour in need who might be financially struggling, you can ensure that they receive the resources they need to improve their quality of life, and prevent families from resorting to child labour to make ends meet. Most importantly, if you see or know of a child you believe might be sexually abused or taken advantage of, take action by asking questions of alerting authorities to prevent them from remaining in that situation. Every child has a right to their childhood, dreams, and a future. We need to ensure that their well-being is safeguarded not just on June 12th, but every day.

AI has advanced tremendously in the past decade. From the activation of Sophia the robot to Generative AI going mainstream, much like the Internet in 1990s, more and more people are turning to AI for personal and work usage. From writing emails, to assisting scientific research, to creating schedules, AI has proved to be an extremely useful streamlining processes that once took larger amounts of man and brain power. However, generative AI could pose as a serious threat to those working in the creative industry as quick, machine-generated content overshadows human ingenuity. How AI is trained to generate ‘art’AI content isn’t just generated out of nowhere- it relies on mass amounts of content being fed to it to perform specific tasks. Content is collected online or from different databases, and then parsed for imperfections. The model identifies patterns found in each data set and replicates in when prompted. The more content the model is fed, the more patterns it can identify, hence the more accurate the results produced. How AI undercuts the value of ‘real’ artIt is a common misconception that art is an invaluable skill. Like a scientist or a businessman, any artist spends years, if not decades, learning and refining their craft. Every painting, sculpture, or story, that is created by a human is unique and a direct reflection of their passion and dedication. Famous pieces by artists like Van Gogh and Antoni Gaudi that have taken years to create solidifies the notion that creativity is a slow, meticulous process that yields extraordinary work. The production of AI art works in the exact same way- datasets of existing art are selected and fed to the model, which the model is then able to replicate when prompted. While some social media companies like Meta have started providing users with the option to opt out of data collection, artwork that is already online has most likely been used as part of a dataset. This means that the ‘art’ produced by generative models is the result of non-consensual usage of millions of human-made pieces that already exist on the Internet. Each image produced is the bastardisation of the craft and mastery of countless artists, from the composition to the colours chosen. Not only is their intellectual property stolen, but it can also be reproduced repeatedly for little to no cost. A wall mosaic from Gaudi's Park Guell. Photo Credits- Raimond Klavins on UnsplashHowever, as our society becomes more engrained in hustle culture and capitalism, the time and effort required to produce art became a hindrance when high productivity was favoured. Additionally, due to inflation, the average person might have less disposable income to spend on artwork. As the arts scene declined and diminished in perceived value over the years, fine arts majors faced a 7.4% unemployment rate and financial insecurity even in art-centric regions like New York City. Generative AI only exacerbates the problem, making it possible to generate a ‘painting’ you could hang in your living room for free. Magazines and publishers no longer need artists to create illustration and graphics for them- generative AI could do it much faster for much cheaper. AI could even be used to write whole books with concrete storylines and relatable characters, or make short reels complete with voiceovers that could be used for marketing purposes with a few simple prompts. An example of a ‘painting’ of a park in autumn that I generated using prompts with FotorAIBy being able to closely replicate what might take someone years within seconds, AI undermines the amount of passion, skill and talent it takes to create art. When art is readily available for little to no cost at the click of a mouse, it’s no wonder that artists can’t make a living. So, where do we draw the line? If even the generation of AI art required the input of human art, wouldn’t it be ironic to say that art as a skill has no place in modern society? You wouldn’t undermine a mathematician because AI could solve a complex problem for them, or a lawyer because AI can draft a defence for their client. So why is it that we’re doing just that to our artists? If artistic talent is not something that everything possesses, who are we to judge the value of it because it can be replicated? As we continue opting for machine-generated and automated content over human-made content, we slowly erase human creativity. Every joke written in a sitcom, cover art on a best-selling book, lovable character, breathtaking painting, and sold-out musical was a direct result of someone’s dedication to their craft. These works of art resonate with us because of their imperfections and relatability, because they are human. Sure, AI can generate a flawlessly adorable photo of my cat, but it can’t capture his personality and imperfections. It is simply a soulless imitation of the real thing. While AI could be used as a tool to streamline artistic processes, we should not be so eager to use to it replace human-made art. By tamping down creativity, self-expression and imperfections, we stand to become a society that is mundane and uniformed. It’s time we take a good look at how we classify certain skills as useful or useless and think carefully about how to responsibly use AI. For all the non-artistic folks out there, try taking a painting or pottery class one day. I guarantee you’ll never think of art in the same way again.

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Anya Mahtani

World Day Against Child Labour: Safeguarding Childhoods, Dreams and Futures

AI in The Creative Industry- How Much is Too Much?