Why I’m not freaked out by AI art (and you shouldn't be, either)
I’m seeing artists online are concerned about the AI tools that have cropped up over the past couple of years. They see artificial intelligence tools as a threat to their jobs and to the integrity of artwork.
I’m not one of them. In fact, I’m excited by the new tech and how these tools can help artists achieve new levels of creativity. I’ll explain why, but first, a bit of background on why you should hear me out on this topic.
In addition to being an artist, I’m a full-time tech journalist. I’m part of a news team that closely covers AI every day. I’ve tested AI tools and understand how it works - for better or worse.
Let’s tackle the top questions artists are asking themselves and hopefully, you’ll see that AI’s entry into the art world is not something to fear.
Will AI replace artists?
Short answer: Hell no. I’ll use a few examples from history to back myself up here.
Before cameras, the only way someone could get a portrait was by hiring a painter. Photography came onto the scene and changed that. Yes, it disrupted artists’ businesses at first, but it certainly did not kill portrait painting.
Portrait painters adapted to the change. Instead of replicating a likeness, which cameras could do, savvy painters started providing artistic interpretations in different styles and mediums that a camera couldn’t provide. The disruption to their industry spurred creativity and led to new techniques. And of course, artists now use photographs to capture images they want to paint in the comfort of their studios.
When Adobe Illustrator launched in 1987, illustrators who made their livings hand-drawing illustrations worried that digital tools would de-value their artwork. There were concerns about the loss of jobs and the negative impact their industry. We now know Illustrator did not replace traditional drawing. It changed the way artists worked and provided new ways to create and manipulate illustrations.
When Photoshop software came out in 1990, some photographers saw it as a threat to the authenticity of their art form. They argued that editing images could distort reality and mislead viewers (which it does), and they worried about the impact on their industry. Fast-forward and now Photoshop is an indispensable tool that photographers rely on to expand their creativity.
Notice a trend here? New tech comes along and shakes things up in an industry. Artists clutch their paintbrushes and worry about the changes it will bring, but they keep moving forward. Being creative humans who thrive on new ideas, artists figure out ways to make the new tech work for them.
The same thing is going to happen with AI. It already is.
AI art generators
AI image generation tools like Dall-E allow anyone with a keyboard and an internet connection to type in a few words and ta-da!, AI generated art.
I’m not going to argue whether the products of AI tools are or are not “Art.” Whatever you call the output, it’s something artists can take advantage of.
For example, an incredible wildlife painter I admire, Carla Grace, recently shared her experience using an AI image generation tool. She typed the idea she had for a painting - a white horse wrapped in beautiful drapery - into the AI engine and it created a reference visual she could work from to create her painting. She said online that the visual output was far from perfect - the horse’s proportion were way off. But it’s still early days for these AI tools, and I’m sure they’ll improve.
Play with these tools. Use them to generate ideas for new paintings or drawings. Make them work for you.
The problem with AI art tools
While I sound like a total AI optimist here, I want to call out the serious problem of copyright infringement.
The tech companies that created AI image generation tools trained their AI models on copyrighted artistic works without compensating the artists. Not cool.
It remains to be seen how copyright infringement cases will play out. There are a number of them in progress.
Getty Images sued Stability AI for using its copyrighted images to train Stability AI's Stable Diffusion tool. Now, Getty has its own Generative AI by Getty Images tool that uses images from Getty's library. The company said it will pay creators when their AI-generated imagery is used to train its system.
Best case scenario - artists will be compensated when their copyrighted work is used to train AI models and they will have the right to opt-out of training. Meta and OpenAI have opt-out tools, but it looks like the opt-out process is a complete joke.
One win for artists: AI generated art can’t be copyrighted.
The value of human generated art
I firmly believe that the art we create will never go out of style. The ease in which any yahoo can create “art” using an AI image generator will make the skills and talents of professional artists even more valuable. Artworks created by incredible artists maintain value over time.
Think about it: AI generated avatars were all over social media - for a hot minute. Now I see one of those and roll my eyes. We’ve moved on. But I will never tire of seeing a beautiful painting or drawing from artists I admire. Never.
We’ve seen so many tech advancements over the past 20+ years and each time, people worry how it might negatively affect them. I get it. Change can be scary. It can also be amazing.
If you are out there creating beautiful paintings or drawings that evoke emotion and inspire people, keep doing it with the conviction that no automation tool will replace what comes from your heart and soul.
Eventually, we will look back at this time in history as another shakeup that led to artistic innovation.
I can’t wait to see what we accomplish.
Cheers,
Bridget