Many artists use social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Tiktok to find inspiration for their next project. With the rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), they won’t have to because AI will do all the work for them.
Users only have to input a few words into a text box to describe the art they want and AI platforms such as Dall-E or Midjourney will produce an image to match the description.
“A lot of the hard work put into developing what would have been a three month piece could end up taking only three weeks,” said Veda Vyakaranam, a senior at Independence High School (IHS).
Art work is analyzed to understand its historical significance and choices the artist makes while painting or drawing it. With AI, none of that is in the artists’ control.
“It’s not going to put a paintbrush in AI’s hand, it’s not human,” said Leonard Buscemi, IHS art teacher. “There’s that element that I don’t think AI has.”
Using AI in schools also poses ethical issues.
“The only ethical problem that I see is somebody trying to push the idea that they came up with the concept [which is] plagiarism,” said Buscemi.
Art includes photography, filmmaking, illustration, and even comics. Aside from artists who are limited to painting or drawing, AI can be beneficial to other areas of art.
“It’s likely that AI will be able to create actual motion pictures in the near future, making it possible for anyone to become a filmmaker,” said BBC Science Focus.
Artists who design book covers, animations, and album cover art are concerned about losing their jobs to AI.
“The ease and speed of AI image generators have led many companies to use them instead of hiring human artists,” said KQED, a public media organization. “Young people who aspire to become artists are becoming worried about the future of their profession.”
Overall, with AI growing in popularity and use, it could change the definition of modern art.
“I think in the end, human impact on the object and that originality is more valuable than what everybody else can do [with AI],” said Buscemi.
Although AI can never replicate authentic art by humans, its popularity is increasing by the day, for better or for worse.
