{"id":69294,"date":"2023-08-10T02:01:07","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T06:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=69294"},"modified":"2023-08-10T02:01:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T06:01:07","slug":"why-the-growth-of-ai-in-making-art-wont-eliminate-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/why-the-growth-of-ai-in-making-art-wont-eliminate-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the growth of AI in making art won\u2019t eliminate artists"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in the news, most recently concerning the Hollywood actors\u2019 strike about the potential impact of\u00a0AI in filmmaking<\/a>. Another story involved AI being used to\u00a0replicate the voice of the Canadian rapper Drake<\/a>\u00a0in a\u00a0track that went viral<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These stories raise questions about performers\u2019 rights, and also lead people to wonder: will AI replace artists?<\/p>\n

These questions are also germane given\u00a0recent advances<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0generative artificial intelligence<\/a>\u00a0trained\u00a0on a vast amount of existing images<\/a>\u00a0that have been used to create new images based only on user-provided prompts.<\/p>\n

I am a composer who has\u00a0used creative AI in my music and sound practice<\/a>\u00a0for almost two decades. My creative practice and research has focused upon the potential for a\u00a0collaborative relationship<\/a>\u00a0between artists and AI. From my perspective, while we are in a time of disruption where many artists will need to renegotiate terms of their labour in a new technological context, there are also opportunities for different forms of collaboration.<\/p>\n

AI-generated images<\/strong><\/h4>\n

AI-generated\u00a0high-quality images<\/a>\u00a0range from\u00a0concept art for video games<\/a>\u00a0to photorealistic works.<\/p>\n

Examples of generative AI visual art include fantastical images:<\/p>\n

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Image created by the author using dreamstudio.ai using the prompt: \u2018Astronaut playing a violin while riding a blue horse in a field of sunflowers fantasy art.\u2019 Notice the floating violin bow and incorrect right hand position.<\/p><\/div>\n

Works can also mimic the style of existing artists.<\/p>\n

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Image created by the author in dreamstudio.ai using the prompt: \u2018Young person holding a bullhorn and a red flower in the style of Banksy.\u2019<\/p><\/div>\n

The freely available online systems used to create the above images are examples of the progress made in artificial intelligence being used to generate novel material. Perhaps the biggest advance is these systems\u2019 ease of use: they are readily usable and accessible to the general public.<\/p>\n

Will AI replace artists?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

On one hand, the answer to whether AI will replace artists is no.<\/p>\n

Generative AI is a powerful tool that can expand the possibilities of art making and will still require the guiding hand of a human artist. As with any new technology, some creative processes will become both easier and less time-consuming with AI.<\/p>\n

For example, an artist interested in generating visual imagery can suggest a prompt and the AI produces it immediately. Instead of taking hours or days to experiment with an idea, it may take minutes or even seconds.<\/p>\n

The current image-producing systems still require human interaction through both a text prompt and the curation of its output,\u00a0itself an artistic act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, these limitations will soon be overcome: human-provided prompts can easily be replaced by generated prompts (which\u00a0some systems<\/a>\u00a0already allow for).<\/p>\n

Research into creative AI has already produced systems that can\u00a0evaluate their own output<\/a>\u00a0through aesthetic judgements (rather than only\u00a0mimicing its data set<\/a>).<\/p>\n

As such, there is the very real potential that an endless supply of fully AI-produced artwork will constitute much of the imagery we see online and flood the market.<\/p>\n

Reasons to hope<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For many practising artists there are reasons to hope.<\/p>\n

Creative AI can allow some artists greater time and energy to explore artistic avenues, thereby producing not just more art, but potentially more paradigm-shifting art.<\/p>\n

Artist and scholar\u00a0Philip Galanter<\/a>, who\u00a0explores art theory bridging the gap between the cultures of science and the humanities<\/a>,\u00a0has defined \u201cgenerative art\u201d as<\/a>\u00a0\u201cany art practice where the artist uses a system, such as a set of natural language rules, a computer program, a machine, or other procedural invention, which is set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generative art-making practices have been\u00a0around for decades<\/a>\u00a0(arguably much longer<\/a>). Human interaction with these systems\u00a0can produce truly stunning work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Sold! Mario Klingemann’s pioneering Artificial Intelligence artwork sells to an online bidder for \u00a340,000 in the artist’s auction debut 🤖 #SothebysContemporary<\/a> @quasimondo<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/kU49aqaKS8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) March 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n