Headline: Evolution of AI has creates alternatives for artistic creation
Deck: The future of art is in danger as AI takes from human creativity
Byline: Ella Broms, Staff Artist
Recent advances in AI have made creating art an efficient and mindless process. It is easier than ever for artistic plagiarism to occur through the claiming of art that has really been made by computers. AI can produce artwork that would normally take hours in a brief couple of seconds. It can help with brainstorming ideas, but is AI really worth risking the loss of individual thought and creativity within the artistic realm?
“While AI can replicate artistic styles with astonishing accuracy, it lacks the unique human experiences, emotions and perspectives that shape a truly original piece of art,” social media director Peter Lamb said.
Despite producing beautiful works of art, AI lacks a sense of human creativity as art pieces are created using short emotionless descriptions. The ease of producing these images is where the real danger lies, allowing for a potential “devaluation of human creativity,” Lamb continues.
The lack of creativity forms further problems regarding the ownership of art.
“Who owns the rights to AI-generated artwork? Is it the AI system’s creator, the artist who trained the AI or the AI itself?” Lamb questions.
If it is decided that the art is property of the artist, another problem arises concerning taking responsibility for the content of these creations. These art creating websites collect information across the entirety of the internet.
“AI systems learn from vast datasets, which can inadvertently perpetuate biases and cultural appropriation in art,” Lamb adds.
AI allows for the unintentional creation of biases and cultural insensitivity. The artist, without realizing it, may produce and spread harmful content offending various communities. In a Buzzfeed article, AI created depictions of barbies from various countries around the world. The barbie supposedly from Germany was featured wearing a Nazi General uniform. Without realizing, Buzzfeed posted these AI created images resulting in a wave of intense backlash from readers.
“The rapid advancement of AI in the arts raises concerns about the future for human artists. As AI systems become more capable of producing high-quality artworks, there is a potential threat to human artists’ livelihoods and creative opportunities,” Lamb finishes.
The threat to human artists is one of the biggest concerns regarding AI art. A total of 1.4 million Americans make their income through artistic outlets. In the past, artists were often commissioned for their art, but recent AI advances have made it possible to have a painting created for free, taking revenue from artists across the United States.
AI holds potential benefits for the art community but poses far more drawbacks. The robbery of creativity and extinction of original art is not worth the ease that comes with AI creation websites. Moving forward, AI will only continue to evolve, and the fine craft of artists will be looked upon with less respect as computers are to create so-called equivalent pieces. Human artists are able to capture the emotions that AI is not capable of, while AI falls short on effort, henceforth devaluing the hard work of artists twisting human expression into lazy “creativity.”
Headline: AI is Not the Enemy to Artistic Expression
Deck: Modern technology can aid human creativity
Byline: Anika Ravilla, Art Director
In a world with technology at our fingertips, artificial intelligence presents a shift in our perception of the arts and culture. Many could consider AI as a threat to human creativity, but it also opens up new possibilities on how we create and experience art.
AI can augment the creative flow involved within the arts, allowing individuals to draw ideas.
According to Harvard Business Review, “Generative AI can support divergent thinking by making associations among remote concepts and producing ideas drawn from them.” In other words, AI can’t replicate human consciousness but it can be used as a tool for individuals to utilize their creativity.
As Mark Twain wrote to Helen Keller: “substantially all ideas are second hand, consciously or unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources.” The process of innovation includes strategic copying of success and stringing ideas to generate something new. AI could potentially play the role of the muse, formulating a creation that strikes the audience
Just like any pen or paintbrush, AI could be used as a tool to reimagine already existing art. The definition of what is considered art is limitless. The usage of tools like image style algorithms, computer-aided drawing tools, and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), have expanded the definition of what art can be. These can act as a link between human creativity and technological innovation.
The art field is limited to able-bodied artists, but with the aid of AI, it opens the craft and creates opportunities for artists with disabilities. Artist Aidan Moseby explains how there are few opportunities for disabled artists. For them to create their own “ecology,” AI “can facilitate some of this subversion,” and even “change perceived deficits into positives”.
AI has already revolutionized the music industry. According to Billboard, AI-driven software has made music production much more efficient and accessible. It has the ability to help aspiring artists break into the field. In fact, many popular artists today have gotten their big break using technologically driven production apps like SoundCloud.
The arts have always been a reflection of human creativity and expression, and AI is now enhancing and expanding those boundaries. The collaboration between humans and machines in the arts is leading to novel forms of expression and transforming the creative landscape. AI is not replacing artists; it is empowering them to push the boundaries of what is possible in art and creative expression.
