Artificial intelligence (AI) programs and tools to generate images and other artwork is revolutionizing the art industry, enabling both professional and amateur artists to take their creativity to the next level. However, it has received mixed reactions, with some arguing that AI art generators should replace creativity. Can AI replace artists like the DALL-E AI image generator?
Artificial Intelligence in art
The application of artificial intelligence in many fields has replaced many jobs and created a more competitive job market. AI is now being used increasingly in generational art and animation, where the result is just as good and available in much less time. It has led to speculation that AI art may soon replace human creativity.
What is AI art?
The final product of AI-generated images is not considered true art. True art must convey messages and emotions and express concepts through self-imagining and creativity.
On the other hand, AI art is a product that feeds images of thousands of objects into a program that can generate ideas by commanding simple text descriptions. One example is the DALL-E art generator, which uses an algorithm to spit out the desired image. However, this innovative AI-generated imagery is not considered true art despite its visual appeal.
Can AI Art Replace Artists?
AI art will likely replace human artists, but a thorough analysis is needed. A similar scenario played out among 19th-century oil/watercolour artists with the advent of the camera and printmaking. They, too, were unsure of their profession, and as a result, to this day, hand-made paintings are more appreciated. A piece created by human artists always brings more interest and monetary value than a computer-generated image that can be completed in minutes!
While AI may replace some aspects of the creative process, a significant portion of creative decision-making cannot be taken over by AI technology. For example, an AI machine cannot be trained to create art in various mundane situations. This is because only humans can recognize and respond to it.
AI art is not autonomous.
Artistic creativity also involves developing concepts of what to create, what materials are needed, and the relevant message to convey to the audience. As expected, AI models cannot extrapolate this decision-making process independently and cannot function autonomously.
Conclusion
AI machines can analyze data unexpectedly and bring attention to various factors that can escape human eyes, but they are not autonomous. Therefore, artists can find new ways to create art using AI machines rather than new creative movements and styles.
AI art cannot replace human artists as it always needs to choose the subject and its environment to get the desired result.
Finally, despite the proliferation of AI art models, the relationship between artists and their work remains the same. It is because artists work to answer human questions rather than technical ones.