Navigating the AI Age of Art
There has been a shift in culture recently, and now AI is everywhere. We are talking about it constantly. It seems everywhere I turn, people are polarized and fired up about it. But truthfully, none of this matters. With new things, there is alaways turmoil. AI is no different - people are upset. People talk, torches and pitchforks are raised, fingers point, and accusations fly abound. I find all this really unfortunate and hope the turmoil dies down soon - but my heels are dug in, and I’m ready for the long haul either way. This seems to be exaggerated by a generational divide, and this ia also nothing new. This argument is old - painters and cameras, horses and cars, practical effects and computer graphics. And whether for or against - we all use AI every day, constantly. We are swimming in AI - and at the same time, AI isn’t really what the hype says it is.
The swimming in AI I refer to is our phones, map navigation, texting, media feeds, TV, ads, and more. There is no escape. We are drowning - and to survive in this sea of talking robots, you must understand how to use AI to be empowered and navigate the changing currents, and to understand this - you must understand that AI isn’t really AI. It’s just another tool.
Let’s Deal with the Preconceptions
Q. Is AI actually Artificial Intelligence?
No. AI cannot think. If AI could think, then it would be real “AI.” What people generally call “AI” is just a branding term for statistical models called “neural networks” (which is another branding term in itself). These models can get extremely complex - so much so that it’s difficult to differentiate between AI-generated content and human-created work. Despite this, any “AI” generated work you see on the internet has a human behind it - because AI is not autonomus - it cannot think - anything it does is guided by human hands.
Q. Is AI art theft?
No, not inherently. AI can’t steal any more than a paintbrush or a camera can. However, AI art, with its complex tools and abilities to mimic, can be used to steal and deceive. Just like any tool, it is possible be used for good and bad. The stories of theft make great headlines, so fear and anger have been misdirected at the machines rather than the people abusing them. The ones using AI to mimic and deceive are the problem - not the average user, and certainly not the technology itself.
Q. Will AI take my job? Yes! If it hasn’t already taken your job, it probably will - or at least impact it severely. To understand this, we only need to look at history - I use the Industrial Revolution for analogy. Many people worked in factories then - these people became unemployed when a machine took their jobs.
So, what can we do about the robots taking our jobs? Luddites tried to do something - famously, they destroyed the factory machines during the Industrial Revolution. They became symbolic of technological resistance and eventually got enshrined in language as someone incompetent with technology.
With machines being able to produce art cheaply - and in some cases better and faster than the working artist - what do we do? The answer to this question is nothing new: control the machines that produce better and faster. Be on top of the wave rather than crushed underneath it.
How Does AI Affect Creative Expression and the Value of Art?
How do we stand out in this vast ocean of content? How can we keep up with the speed of its prodcution? How do we reconcile the seemingly pointless nature of creative expression? What is our value in a world where machines can generate art at the push of a button? The answer is art never had any value. It’s all products, scarcity, and marketing.
If you’re asking these questions in the first place, you are probably thinking more about capitalism and less about art. When you create something truly meaningful, it shouldn’t be about the product or the scarcity of it - it should be about the expression and intent of what you are doing. You should be making something because you want to, because it is beautiful, because it deserves to exist. The medium it was made with should not matter. If you’re produce because you want to commodify something, you are a producer. If you’re worried or upset that you can’t sell something, or that someone might devalue something that has no intrinsic scarcity - a thing that can be produced infinitely without effort - you can’t really put a price tag on it. To desire to stop this flow, or to inflate its worth is a lie. People who produce only to sell let internalized capitalism govern their work, and they are slaves to a system that ironically treats them like a commodity themselves.
Think of the food replicator in Star Trek - did chefs cry and lament because they lost their jobs? In that utopian future, they didn’t. Cooking became a choice rather than a necessity. The real problem we face isn’t AI or automation - it’s capitalism. We’re thinking about art as a commodity, and we can’t commodify something that has no scarcity. The unfortunate side effect of this is that artists go hungry in a system that values only what is scarce, and digital media can be replicated infinitely.
With the advent of AI in art, scarcity can be less of a thing. You no longer have to be beautiful, you no longer have to cry and suffer for something - you can just, at the flick of a switch, make anything you want. We should really be making art not because we need more content in this world, but because we like art. Having no value attached to it is actually a boon. It allows someone to create without restriction. In the end, only individuals who rely on selling themselves or need other people for validation are the ones in danger of losing their power and prestige. If you determine that there’s something in this world that is missing for you - something that you want - whether it is a finished product or simply enjoying the act of creation - then make that thing. That is independence and power. The medium doesn’t matter. The medium is just a means, a tool. Tools will always change - but creation is timeless. True creators don’t get lost in the arms race - they simply make.
AI can’t replace real creators because they define what creation is. The only thing AI does is challenge the tradition of production. The gulf between creators and producers is changing. If an artist chooses to use AI as a tool, it doesn’t make them any less of an artist. It simply means they’re using a different brush on their canvas.
True art should be free.
Final Thoughts
AI is not a threat to the artist, but it is a threat to art as a product. Perhapse we should stop, and consider reframing the conversation - its not about art - its about how we attach value to things, and ultimately people. Our values shouldn’t be about our ability to produce. Somewhere in all this mess, our identies all became linked to our labor. Maybe without value attached - art can be free and accessible to people without means. If we restrict or cut out people who enjoy these things, you risk putting yourself on the wrong side of history. Look to the future - whether that future is liberating or dystopian depends entirely on who is moving forward. So, ride the wave, understand it. If you don’t like the medium - don’t judge someone who does. And if you want less AI - put down that phone, stop typing on a computer, don’t use a map. Instead, look around - get lost outside, talk to someone real, paint, dance, enjoy a sunset, and if you’re an artist, consider asking yourself questions - questions about why you do what you do, what your value really is, your personal expression, and what freedom to make whatever you want without restriction really means.