AI Art has become a prominent trend over the last few years. It can imitate and create something that solely belongs to the creative streak in humans. With AI prompts being brought to life via somewhat haunting yet beautiful visualisations, humans are in awe. The extent of technology and how it’s experimenting with art is an interesting thing. The amused public is jumping on trends to reveal AI personas and build art, etc. However, professional artists have mixed opinions on the subject. But how are they responding to it really?
Definition of AI Art
A form of digital art which uses elements of artificial intelligence to create expressive pieces. Digital art that is crafted by humans using AI tools and manual technology does not fall into that category. The development procedure can include human brains but the execution is carried out by the algorithm and AI itself. The abstract nature of art can be well-represented by the AI but that of a more realistic portrait is still an area of improvement for this technology. Tools like Google Deep Dream, DALL-E, DeepArt.io, and Midjourney are popular examples of all such technologies.
The foundation of all such procedures is machine learning which enables AI to learn from the experience of prompts, descriptions, and other available data of relevant nature. From simple algorithms to complex patterns, this technique allows AI to be more refined with use.
A Threat or an Accessory?
Now let us explore the impact of AI art on our society.
While some artists have supported this movement, a lot of them have openly boycotted such tools.
If we look at an accepting perspective, people have shown appreciation for its wit and that it should be wielded as a medium and not a competition for artists. With an artist’s idea and base, AI can be used to speed up the process and explore how it can adapt to the requirements. Some welcoming communities have decided to make artists and AI collaborate to reap the best material out of the process.
The internet is filled with announcements of such nature who are willing to give such opportunities a shot. Many prestigious organisations have also defended the purpose and core behind AI art. Some opinions express that artists don’t need to fear this as a replacement as the intricacies of human brains when creating art, cannot be replicated by AI.
Now let us move on to the opposing side of the argument. It is undeniable that common access to AI art generation tools can make people claim to be ‘artists.’ What usually takes a person a significant amount of time has been devalued by a form of technology that can provide something of similar nature with a less humane touch in lesser time. Art has become devalued with how it’s being commercially produced via such tools. With social and online movements like #NotoAIart, artists have openly condemned all such systems. Moreover, the inaccuracy and somewhat hilarious attempts of the tools to comprehend and provide requested prompts are very important. Using a designer’s expertise to guide, navigate, and achieve is far more reliable than of an AI tool. Artists are cancelling such tools and encouraging their followers to do so as well. The dehumanised activity cannot be used to dub a human behind the screen an ‘artist.’ The act of creating art is rooted in sentimentalism and AI cannot be expected to learn a sense that is only evoked in and by humans.
Societal and Ethical Impact
Now if we stray from the bias shades of feedback for AI Art, we can finally move to another issue; the clear trace of copyright and plagiarism in such practices. It is hard for the normal eye to spot a difference between AI art and the human embodiment of such activities. But if we inspect closely, we can clearly see loopholes which set the two apart. Moreover, the inspiration behind such tools is usually attained by fusing an artist’s work with another’s colour theory, or by simply taking the notable features of an art style which has been found or used by an already established artist.
So if we speak ethically, we could use synonyms of ‘steal’ and ‘strikes’ to explain why AI art is not particularly liked by professional artists. Additionally, with AI in control of such activities, art has become a mechanical practice and no longer a signature industry that has thrived on uniqueness and its ability to spark emotion. If this goes on, people with careers in art can face a negative impact.