Should Artists Be Worried About AI?

Before reading, take a quick look at the art featured here: https://www.artaigallery.com/

AI art
Portrait of Edmond de Belamy
    A few months ago, in September of 2021, Forbes released an article titled “Is Artificial Intelligence Set To Take Over The Art Industry?” This article was sparked by the $432,500 sale of the AI-generated “painting,” Portrait of Edmond de Belamy. To figure out how artists feel about this, Forbes interviewed artist Arushi Kapoor, who admitted that, while she “will always be grateful for technology and technological advancements,” handmade art has a certain “artistic glory” to it. She goes on to explain that “human creativity is what art is all about. Technology is a help to it, not a full replacement for it.”

    This is a sentiment that I find myself agreeing with. Man-made art is an expression of emotion—something a computer does not have. A painting, in my mind, is a way to see the world through the eyes of another person. Art enables us to feel what others feel in a way that words and actions cannot express. When I look at AI-generated art, though, I don’t feel those same emotions. If anything, I feel uneasy. I’m viewing an interpretation of the world by something that is wholly unable to experience it. I recognize the forms that make up the image—trees, water, people—but I can’t connect them with any experience of my own. It’s missing the “artistic glory” that Kapoor referred to: the familiarity of another human’s thoughts, feelings, and memories.

    This lack of familiarity is what makes us (or, at least, me) feel uneasy when seeing AI art. It’s what makes us unsure if we should even be calling it art. When something like Portrait of Edmond de Belamy sells for more than what many artists will ever make, it gives me a great sense of discomfort. What makes it worth over $400,000? There’s no thought or intent behind the piece. It was simply a computer trying to replicate a world that it can’t experience. While I admit there’s something poetic about that, I can’t help but feel defeated. If AI-generated art continues to be valued and sold at such high prices, what will happen to the human artists? We can’t compete with the speed at which computers are able to output their work, nor can we compete with the randomness that makes each AI piece unique.

    It’s my belief that much of the value of AI art comes from the novelty of it. It’s bizarre to think a computer can generate visually pleasing pieces that, in some cases, rival human works. It makes us feel like we’re living in the future, and that feeling of novelty provides value. Just as different artistic styles gain or lose popularity with time, so too will AI art lose popularity. So, to answer the question posed by Forbes: no. I don’t think artificial intelligence will take over the art industry. It’s as Arushi Kapoor said, “technology is a help to [art], not a full replacement for it.” I share her sentiment, and I believe you’d be hard-pressed to find an artist who does not.

 

Take care,

Davis Allred

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