AnomalousDesigns

If you'd ask an artist, and anyone who deeply appreciates the work artist put into their creations like I do, the answers seems to be a resounding "fuck no, bro!" And I gotta say, I'd have to agree.

"But wait," you might say, "aren't you an AI 'artist'?"

Well, no; I'm an AI operator. The art engine is generative, which means it spins up whatever the hell it spins up, only using my words as a reference.

But herein lies the nuance--

Here's the thing: The way I see it, in the not-too distant future, AI art won't be consider art at all; it'll just be considered "work," -- a job that was done. Art will still be human expression -- uniquely human expression -- derived by the individual's mind, pulled from their personal experiences. This I'll hold true to. The nuance, of course, is at what point do you consider a tool so advanced that the art is no longer being created by the individual? Because in a future where smart technology is everywhere (which will be our future very soon) using AI to create art won't be any different than using Zbrush, or Unreal Engine, or any other digital tool that is commonly used now to create and enhance human art.

Right now, this technology is in its infancy. Right now, Midjourney creates art through generative algorithms that are really hit-or-miss. The better you get at "speaking its language" the closer you can get to having it create what you specifically ask for. But this won't be the case for very long. Soon, technology like ChatGPT will be integrated into art engines and we'll be able to talk directly to the program, discussing with it exactly what we want to have created and/or changed. And in this instance...is it now art? It's coming from our uniquely human imagination... So what's the difference between what you create by using your keyboard or voice as a tool, and using a piece of canvas, wood and some paint as tools?

Rest assured, I'm not saying there isn't a difference; I'm simply saying that it is nuanced. And perceptions may change along with the evolution of our society. So what does this mean for physical artists?

Are old school artist S.O.L.? Are they doomed to go extinct right along side the Dodo bird? Well, ironically enough, in the near future, we'll probably be bringing the Dodo bird and other recently extinct creatures back to life. And as far as physical artists go: No, they will be more prized than ever. Because, as I had mentioned, AI art is likely just going to be "work" that gets done. And, at least for the near future, human art will be the truly scarce assets, digitized or otherwise. And with the use of NFT technology, these scarce digital assets will be what holds value, not Ai art (other than its value in the job it gets done). With NFTs, artists now have the ability to collect royalties in perpetuity on every piece of art they digitize, every time that art gets resold, for the rest of their life and beyond, without needing to work with an agent or gallery who would take a much larger cut. This technology is a good thing.

And then you have the use of AI as a tool for physical artist in that you can simply create a piece of traditional art, scan it, then have AI bring it to life in an animated series of events...

"Whhaaaa?"

That's right. You will literally be able to create movies and shows all by yourself without any funding or go-ahead from a producer/studio with your uniquely human-made physical art (which will be more prized creations than animations created wholly by AI). And through the use of blockchain ledgers, you will be able to prove your sole ownership of that creation without a doubt and, again, collect royalties on its use for as long as the technology is still around.

You see, technology works for you; that's why we build it. And there is no fighting it while we live in a monetary system. Because within a monetary system, whatever is the most cost-effective wins. Technology. Will. Win. So utilize it to your advantage. Accept it into your life an get ahead of the curve by learning how to master it. Fighting innovation/progress is a losing battle. Understand that this technology will only make human art more valuable to collectors, not less or obsolete. And this technology will only open more doors for you as artists to have access to better tools to use to prosper.

Now, I'm not blind to the fact that this technology means less commission work for artists. But, again, that's work not art. Yes, it's art now...but that's just because there has never been any other category to put it in before. Because commissions are what your patrons imagine, not you, the artist. Of course the artists imagines what their patrons are imagining/describing, and adds plenty of their own elements. But, again: that's because there has never been any other way of doing it. Now there is. So commissions are work, where as what you create solely for your own expression is the real art. And that it what will always continue to be true, and continue to have the most value. AI art will not be collected as assets, human art will. Will we use AI art to, say, decorate a home? Sure. That's work. Work that gets done by communicating with the program, telling it what we like and don't like as far as matching the furniture with the drapes, the style of light fixtures, the ornate wood designs, and so on. But for those who want to put their money into a safe asset like original art, it won't be an AI generated piece of work; it'll be a human's.

"But AI is taking over our jobs! You just admitted it! What are the interior decorators gonna do?!"

Yes. AI is taking over our jobs. That is called progress and innovation. The same thing happened with the advent of machinery, and then computers. And did that destroy society? Well, we have our problems, and we may be teetering towards destruction, I admit. But that's not the fault of technology; it's the fault of people misusing technology. As far as society goes, labor is much better off these days than it ever was. (Not referring to wages, just the labor itself.) With advanced tools like AI at an artist's fingertips, they're going to be able to greatly increase their productivity and therefore income, provided they utilize the tools rather than protesting them. And as far as interior decorators? Well, there won't be any. Those people will be creating their own clothing lines, or doing work such as science and philosophy that more greatly benefits society as opposed to being at the whims of some young successful couple who wants them to work their ass of painting the interior of their home and rearranging furniture. The jobs won't be gone, they'll just be different. (There's much more to discuss/clarify here to strengthen my position, but it's beyond the scopes of this article. Just know that I've thought much, much-much-much deeper into this and still have temporarily concluded it to be true. "Temporarily" because all decisions we make should always be temporary, pending further information.)

So who the hell am I to speak my mind? Am I an artist?

Actually, I am. I'm just not a visual artist. I'm a writer. I create characters, creatures, cities, worlds and beyond, just like a visual artist does, I just use a different medium.

"Well, you wouldn't be so calm about all this if it were your art being revolutionized by technology!"

Well, yeah, I would. Because I am. Because it is.

That's exactly what ChatGPT is: a language model that writes text, including articles like this one. And I'm all over that shit; I'm diving right in, head first. I'm not worried about it. Because I'm an artist, not a laborer. I don't do work; I create art. And when I turn that art into work, I damn well know to use every tool available to me to get it done as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, and that obviously includes the use of Ai.

Ok, then...is the AI art I upload here "my art"? Legally, yes. But, as I have said, I don't consider it my art. My art is the concepts I derive from the work, the characters I give life to and the stories I tell.

So, in summation: Is AI art going to destroy artists?

Only if you, the artist, let it.

Instead, I suggest you become acquainted with it. because some of the best work I've seen come out of Midjourney is work created by physical artist who know what the hell they're talking about. And the more acquainted you are with the newest tools available for artists, the better off you're going to be in the near future as these tools disrupt the industry. You can sit back and complain about people like me, using this technology to enhance my art, fighting against an indefatigable foe, or you can see the opportunity in this and seize it while it's still early in the revolution. Your choice.

Best of luck to you guys, either way. I'm out here rooting for all artists to prevail. And I believe we will.

-cm

SO...I'm a self-published author under the name #CorwynMatthew (all three novels are #horror-themed with a comedic twist, and I have some #scifi/#fantasy novels in the works), I'm a dark-art junkie, a comic book geek, an anti-fan boy supervillain, ferocious slayer of all things conventional, champion for societal change, collector of anything that makes me smile, and quite possibly the illegitimate son of Gotham's very own Bruce Wayne. (Tell dad he owes his boy some settlement money.) I've recently made myself a Midjourney #AI art engine operator and have started spinning up cool pieces of work that are legally mine to do with with as I please. And what pleases me is to use these modern marvels of art #technology to feed my imagination and create #shortstories and #worldbuilding concepts that are inspired by them. They say a picture is worth a thousands words... But do they realize that ten words can bring a thousand characters to life? Ten sentences can tell a tale that a picture can only hint at, and ten pages can create a universe as vast as our own. With this newly rejuvenated Deviant account, I intend to remind folks how powerful #creativewriting can be when combined with visual art. My current subscription, Feed the Construct, is simply a $1-a-month tip-jar (with subscriber-only submissions) to support my efforts in this journey; one that will hopefully lead to higher quality images for prints, merch, novellas, #ebooks and tradeable #NFTs. (Did you know that you can now trade ebooks as NFTs on several blockchains like #Cardano, #Pollygon, and #Ethereum thanks to Book.io? Cool shit. The future is upon us, my friends. Embrace it or get the fugouttheway.) If all goes according to plan, by this time a decade from now I will have built an online empire based on the expansion of the imagination, anticensorship ideologies, philosophical/artistic expression, and intellectual enlightenment. Also, there's very likely to be some foul-mouthed quips and vulgar witticisms along the way. Prepare yourself for...well...shit, I don't know... Something quite possibly worth your time? No promises, though. I'm pretty fucking out-there and it may turn out that it was in everyone's best interests if I had just never written down a damn thing. (lol) Either way, enjoy the ride, guys! And I'll see you on the other side. -cm