Within the past three years, there has been an explosion in the prevalence and popularity of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated art. One only needs to simply type a descriptive sentence into an AI art generator, where a computer then rapidly formulates and generates multiple works of art (usually four variations of the same idea).
It was back in the year 2020 when I first encountered the concept and some early examples of this brand of art. These images, purported to be of portraits and landscapes, were simply blurs of color with few recognizable shapes and features. The lack of realistic details was due to the primitive nature of the AI programs as well as the limited size and quality of available datasets (AI algorithms study and compile datasets/images from the web to create original works of art).
Fast-forward to today, AI art tools are now freely available to the public, where even a layman can generate beautiful yet comprehensible works of art. Many of those blurring issues found in earlier image creations have been resolved, to where now any idea the artist can conceive, the AI algorithm can accurately generate.
Artificial intelligence isn’t just isolated to the field of art. There are advanced chat AIs that can carry out full conversations with human users, generate coherent literature (poems, essays, short stories), and correct users’ spelling and grammar in prewritten papers. Advancements in AI voice generation can produce voiceovers from basic sentence prompts while also giving users the option to choose the gender, ethnicity, and attitude of the AI voice (some can even replicate famous voices).
For many artists, including myself, there are serious concerns that this new technology will inevitably cause a decreased demand for art generated by humans and will eventually result in the elimination of creative jobs (such as human voiceover artists, graphic designers, etc.). In some creative industries, like Hollywood, unions are attempting to halt AI advancement by implementing restrictions on AI usage in film. Writers and actors see this as their only option to prevent the future abuse of their likenesses and protect themselves from the complete takeover of AI. However, these efforts will do little to stop the progress of artificial intelligence (mainly because it is backed by corporate interests).
As an artist and future teacher, it is my responsibility to evolve and adapt to the times in which I live. Technology and media will always change; if I want to be a knowledgeable and forward-thinking teacher, then I must be able to present new and evolving tools to my students. As a matter of fact, there are some aspects of AI art generation that excite me. Earlier, I mentioned that with AI anyone could generate works of art; I can imagine this being a boon to students with physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities who might struggle with putting their creative ideas on paper. Personally, I could use AI art as a brainstorming tool, generating multiple different thumbnails of an idea so that I am not wasting valuable time or expensive materials. Additionally, with AI generative tools, I might finally be able to accomplish dream projects that I would never be able to on my own.
AI art, even with all of its advancements, is still in its infancy. The art world and the general public are still grappling with the ethics and legality of AI generative tools. There are equal amounts of fear and optimism regarding how this will affect human creativity (and jobs) in the future. With all of this said, it is my gut feeling that artificially generated art is here to stay and will become even more popular. As humans, we need to learn how to use this new and exciting tool to our advantage (just as we did with inventions like the printing press, cameras, computers and Photoshop).
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