One of the most obvious characteristics of generative AI tools is their accessibility. With no training and in a very short amount of time, you can create a picture of any style you can imagine. There’s one main reason AI art has attracted so much criticism: It’s relatively easy to fill sites like Instagram and TikTok with wacky nonsense, and companies can create photos and videos themselves instead of hiring trained artists.
Courtesy the artist
Henry Daubrys, an artist and designer who created Ai-generated visuals for A Bitcoin NFT Joe, who sold at Sotheby’s for $24,000 and is now Google’s first filmmaker in residence, sees this accessibility as one of the most positive attributes of generative AI. People who had long given up on creative expression, or who never had the time to master the medium, are now creating and sharing art, he says.
But that doesn’t mean the first AI-filled masterpiece can come from just anyone. “I don’t think (generative AI) is going to create a whole generation of geniuses,” says Daubrys, who describes himself as an “AI-assisted artist.” Tools like Dell E and Midjourney may not require technical finesse, but getting those tools to make something interesting, and then evaluating whether the results are any good, takes both imagination and artistic sensibility, he says: “I think we’re entering a new generation that’s driven by taste.”
Courtesy the artist
Even for artists who have experience with other media, AI can be more than just a shortcut. Beth Free, a trained fine artist who shares her AI art on a Instagram account With over 100,000 followers, the startup was drawn to generative AI tools because of the extraordinary nature of their creations. Disturbing images of food. Over time, the models’ mistakes have been ironed out, which is why she hasn’t posted an AI-infused piece on Instagram in over a year. “The better it gets, the less interesting it is to me,” she says. “Now you have to work hard to get a breakdown.”
Courtesy the artist
The companies that update the tools to create art with AI, and want to take control of those tools themselves. For Kira Zunorica, a self-proclaimed “AI-collaborative artist” whose short film behavior The first generative AI piece in the Denver Art Museum’s permanent collection is part of its lack of control appeal. “(What) I really like about AI is the element of unpredictability,” says Zonorica, whose work explores topics such as artificial and superhuman intelligence. “If you’re open to it, it really expands and expands your ideas.”
But the idea of AI as a co-creator—or simply as an artistic medium—is still a long way from widespread acceptance. For many people, “AI art” and “AI slope” remain synonymous. And so, as thankful as Daubrys is for the recognition so far, he finds that launching a new art form in the face of such strong opposition is an emotional mixed bag. “Until it’s really accepted that AI is a tool like any other tool and people will do whatever they want with it — and some of it may be great, some of it may not be — it’s still going to be sweet (and) sour,” he says.