Ai Art

Ai Art and the Impact on the Artist Community

By Cang Tran

April 5, 2024

Credit: Forbes.com

Since the start of the 2020s, Artificial Intelligence programs have been developing at an alarming rate. With this development, AI can take over the work and roles that people can do. According to Bill Gates's website, Gatenotes, "The Age of AI is filled with opportunities and responsibilities." While it is clear that artificial intelligence can benefit physical labor and reduce the need for human labor in many fields, what about some fields that require the human touch? Can it also take over the creativity of artists? With the introduction of AI Art in 2022, these questions matter more than ever.

What is AI art?

DreamStudio is a website that allows you to create AI art from prompts.

AI "art" is any artwork made by artificial intelligence that finds content all over the web and uses that data to produce "new" artworks. This amalgamation can be made with an AI generator and a prompt.

Many people on the internet have used access to these programs to produce images that the general public believes look good. With a few descriptions, art that would have taken from hours to days can be completed within seconds to minutes. To many, this is a breakthrough that could produce quality pictures in seconds and be used in businesses in the future. However, with that comes expectations and new ideas. 

The Problem with AI Art

Can AI art really be called art? Is it soulless? AI Art has sparked controversy with its presence and its very title. Can something made just by entering a prompt indeed be considered an artwork without putting in any legitimate work? Besides the ethical implications, AI art uses information from a database to create artwork. That means the software uses art made by actual people, which they then use to fill in the prompt command. Not only that but there is also the notion of people using these AI to proclaim themselves as artists by using said software. There are also people using AI Art to bash artists who need help reaching the rendering stage that AI Art can reach despite its flaws. As the Academy of Art States, "Only 27% of Americans say that they've seen art created by AI. In a recent survey of 2,000 Americans, just over one in four said they'd seen AI-generated art. However, there's always the chance that many have seen it without realizing it. It can fool even photography and art experts." AI Art's rendering can reach extreme levels of photorealism and outmatch many artists. That being the case, there is a division between the artist community and those who dabble in AI Art.

Personal Effects

As an animation major who also draws art, I saw the tensions between AI "artists" and artists unfold. I am on the side of the artists, as drawing for hours just to get overshadowed by someone who entered a prompt is infuriating. Something as lifeless as AI could never understand just how much creativity and challenging work matters, and the reason it's affecting us more is that seeing how well some pictures are rendered discourages us, and to have people using these images to look down on us is what makes it even worse. To elaborate, an AI "Artist" puts microwavable food into the microwave, produces something edible, and calls themselves a chef without any other work put into it. However, AI art could still be a new factor that will continue to develop and be used more often. It is almost inevitable that AI will be a part of our lives.

Community Insights

I asked some fellow artists what their opinions on AI Art and how it affected them.

Jesus Garcia

AI Art is a new factor in the art field that has had different opinions by different people. It is a worrying problem for people whose job is based on art because AI can just create something on a whim. Granted that although it is advanced, much of the art done by AI is filled with artistic mistakes, but the threat looms in the future with more advancements. On the other hand, since it is already present in our world, I believe that it can be used as a tool that can inspire or assist in the thinking process of an art project. It is here already, so might as well use it for a creative benefit. One of the greatest questions today is whether AI art will completely replace jobs, or if people will continue to value man-made animation, preventing any possible AI art takeover.

Elijah Alvarez

As someone apart of the art community I see this new method of art called AI Art being a problem within the future. As many have progressively developed to worry I for one are one of those individuals having developed the same opinion against this type of method of art. I believe art should be coming from the heart not from just from the whim with no effort or love put into it. It also removes artist as a whole to the creative process and gives many fellow artist in the community in jeopardy of their jobs as many ai can replicate similar art styles they have or required within certain companies. But I do still believe some art styles cannot be replicated by ai art and rather I hope it stays that way and doesn’t advance in the future for the better of the upcoming artist that arrive each generation.

Sources:

https://www.gatesnotes.com/The-Age-of-AI-Has-Begun

https://appfigures.com/resources/insights/20221216?f=1

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2023/01/23/midjourney-ai-based-art-generator-creates-dazzling-images-from-words/?sh=1ad4a42b5f61

https://academyofanimatedart.com/ai-art-statistics/#:~:text=Only%2027%25%20of%20Americans%20say,seen%20art%20created%20by%20AI.&text=In%20a%20recent%20survey%20of,even%20photography%20and%20art%20experts.