AI, a year in

Watermarking AI images is coming whether we like it or not. The rules are landing and the labels are becoming machine-readable. For honest creators it's a non-event. For the people gaming the system, it's the wall they were warned about.

I'm not claiming this is true for everyone. It's true for me, and the version I'd tell a friend is shorter than the marketing version.

The pushback I get is always the same, and it's usually right at the edges, not the center. The center holds: the boring practice beats the clever one most days.

If you take one thing from this, let it be the unglamorous part. The flashy bit is what gets demos; the plain bit is what gets used.