Lab-Grown Media
I have been thinking a lot about this rise of AI art. The opening statement is an obvious one: This tech was supposed to take over the undesireable work, but art pays more, so here we are. I have been wondering, though, if even in a worst case scenario there is a silver lining to look at here. I was listening to a youtuber I like talk about the subject, and he mentioned that the ease of use might discourage young artists from getting over the initial struggle of creating shoddy work and then making the effort to get better. Like we would end up without artists we would otherwise have because AI is easier. I don’t know that I agree.
What I think we might lose at the end of the day, is those who make art as a means to get to something else. Fame, money, some kind of social advantage, if making the art is an obstacle blocking a goal, rather than the goal itself, then the person in question may just go with the AI option. If you love to create, though, and you do it purely because it speaks to your soul, then it doesn’t matter if a machine can do it too.
For the sake of simplicity, I am going to avoid speaking on the legitimacy of the art itself, and whether or not it is comprised of stolen work. (For the moment it seems to be, but alas.) It’s arguable that we may reach a point where these things are genuinely creating new and interesting artwork, so let’s look at the issue from that perspective.
What we lose here is art as a career, and I don’t know if that is necessarily a bad thing for art. Keep in mind I am looking at this in a vacuum, ignoring the wider socio-economic implications, but what’s so bad about machines taking over for the churned out, corporate-controlled media? Don’t they kind of deserve each other? I have been working on my comic book, taking my time, making the changes I want to make, and it makes the finished product better and more uniquely mine. All of that happens because I genuinely care. In the case of a lot of modern media, there is this tragic situation where, even if the artists care deeply about the project they are assigned to, it is still an assignment. They trade artistic labor for money, and it would be foolish to go above and beyond without compensation. Not to mention, many of the major decisions -including timeline- are made by committee so the artist’s unique voices can be and often are lost in the process.
So maybe being an artist isn’t a route to financial stability anymore, and maybe it is but just for a much more select few. Either way, the big companies that deal in art came into being because they were necessary for distribution. You had to be “discovered” by them because otherwise no one could find you. It just isn’t the case anymore. These media conglomerates are nearly obsolete now, and they know it. This AI movement is just another swing for the fences in an effort to win the day with sheer quantity. And financially it may work. But who cares? You don’t make art for money, you make art for the love of the game, and so others can see it. So make the art and put it out there. That’s sure as hell what I’m gonna do.
