Society is swept up by the rapid increase in technology, making it increasingly difficult to avoid its influence in daily life. Concerns rise over the ethics of the excessive Artificial Intelligence use, and how it’s not only negatively impacting lives of the current generation but also the environment. A major source of discourse amongst a community mostly of artists centers around whether AI art can be considered real art or not.
AI generative art is not real art and it should not replace human made artworks.
Every manmade artwork has been built with intricate thought and intention, each piece reflective of its own unique message that the artist wishes to portray. According to the University of Plymouth, his intention is not something that AI can replicate. AI art cannot be real art as it lacks the one fundamental that is needed for an artist to be profound, which is creativity. Artificial Intelligence is a software developed to carry out the instructions and programs it’s given, thus its generative art is not created from emotions, experiences or imaginations in the way human artists make art. What’s generated on AI is a culmination of all the different art styles that artists have put on the internet, after years of honing their craft to only be generated by AI in a couple of short minutes. Although it lacks these crucial elements, due to its convenience in this generation, it’s being adopted by many users across the world.
According to QuadC, another serious issue covers the unethical use of other artworks made by artists over the years. More often than not, they’re uncredited. Sometimes when these AI pieces are used for profit, the original artist of which the AI uses as reference is not compensated. Lack of consent and recognition harms the art community and causes many controversies.
Art has always been a means for people of different cultures to leave their stories and legacies behind, a medium from which we learnt about major incidents in history and saw how different people interpreted it. Through AI, our generation won’t have anything left to offer to the future. According to Copyright Alliance, this generative software threatens cultural diversity and richness, as they’re trained on large general data sets, they lean towards more trendy art styles which overshadow the unique, local and traditional art forms. According to Interaction Design Foundation, human artists have spent years creating these art forms, that is not something that can hold the same value after being generated and gentrified within minutes.
Although AI can help those who aren’t talented in art to be able to create artworks in an affordable way, According to Harvard Gazette, it defeats the entire purpose of the art if you aren’t the one creating it. No artist is inherently born knowing how to perfectly sketch or paint, rather it’s a skill that takes years to develop.
AI art shouldn’t be considered art at all and generative AI should be used as little as possible. When it is used, it should give rightful credit to the artworks it takes reference from. AI users should support their local artists and preserve real art made by human beings to protect a skill in society that has been consistent for many centuries.
