The AI debate will be a hot button issue for a long time. Everyone, including myself has an opinion, but not everyone can be like me where my opinions are always correct. There are many facets to this debate because there’s a handful of camps people are coming from. Some are looking at it as the next logical step in the liberalization of the arts and democratizing art. Others see it as a threat to their profession and livelihoods. I’m not here to argue the merits of those debates. I’m here to make a statement for anyone who uses AI and thinks themselves an artist because of what a robot can make for you: You are not an artist.
Asshats like the one in the picture above will try to say they made art not generated by their own hand. If they understood what it means to make art, they wouldn’t make such an asinine comment. Art is exclusively man made. Telling a robot what to make isn’t art. A robot is not human, therefore nothing that is produced in this process can be considered art. I'll briefly note that not all things need to be thrown into the capitalism blender and be talked about in the terms of dollars, cents, investment, and ROI. I could go on about the morality of work and corporate greed, but that's best left for my ranting tweets.
The title “artist” you are taking for yourself is a false crown which you wear. You are lower than an amateur passing themselves off as a master, a fraud. At best, you are just a guy who is hiring out a white label service or playing the role of creative director. Neither of those positions produce anything, thus the title of artist should be stripped away leaving you without reputation, credibility, or dignity. You aren’t an AI artist, you’re an AI prompt director.
The ones who scream the loudest in favor of AI revolutionizing art are the “Why can’t you just enjoy everything, man?” or ROI NPCs. The newest thing is therefore valid enough to replace the old thing so don’t question it. . . consume new product, get excited about new product, or if the ROI says it's right, then it's right, no questions. People like that are going to find out real fast that real and practicing artists won’t go down quietly. However, the blame isn’t all on these nimrods. The art community is primarily at fault for the situation we are in, laying the groundwork for the fight we must now face. For years they screamed the mantra “Anything can be art!” and shouted down anyone who tried to say otherwise, well guess what, now a robot can imitate what an artist can do and it demands equal validity, after all, anything can be art.
The mainstreaming of AI isn’t without its silver lining. It’s waking many artists up to re-examine that blanket mantra of anything being art. They now have the opportunity to conclude that art isn’t simply anything that is made by humans and there might actually be some tie to objectivity. It will be a hurtle because the connection to beauty and the divine has almost entirely been severed from the realm of art. The all inclusive attitude and the divorce from objective beauty has paved a rough road ahead for artists and they have themselves to blame.
Where do I as an artist fit into all of this? First, I’m nowhere near large enough or in the position within the industry to be or feel threatened by AI making stuff. I’m too small to be significant and if I was a master of my craft, I wouldn’t care because my skill would trump any AI. The mid-skilled artists are the ones panicking and my heart goes out to them because they are able to get paid professionally for their work whether I like what they make or not (I say that with genuine charity). Personally, I think it’d be cool to train an AI on my art style and use it as a reference generator, but its use would stop at that. I would never have the indecency to pass off a prompt generated work as my own. I have too much pride. AI is a useful tool, but this belief that AI is the be all, end all for art, is bullshit and it will lose that fight in the court of public opinion. The marketplace might be a losing battle because greedy corporations will always be greedy and if it means cutting 1000 employees to save $100 on their bottom line, they’ll do it. It’s reasonable to say having AI generate something good enough for nothing will hurt professional artists. Overall, I don’t fear AI prompt directors (that’s what they are, nothing more) because I’m building my audience to one day become valued fans/customers/supporters, so I can get paid to make my art, but most of all, AI can’t stop me from making the art I want. Making art is foremost a greater reward than doing it to get paid, but getting paid is a solid second.
So, what can artists do who feel threatened by AI or think they might get blocked from entry into the creative industry by AI? Form your networks now. There’s enough talent out there to create a separate space from the corporatized creative industry. AI can’t thrive without a human making art to feed the prompt. Artists hold the power, not some robot. Corporations can’t dictate if you get paid for your artistic skill, your supporters will and they will gladly give you their money.
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