I Come To Bury Ceaser, Not To Praise Him
Having been educated in traditional ways of making art, ways such as drawing, painting, print-making, sculpture, etc., and making my living using such skills, I have given some thought as to whether or not new technologies, especially AI (Artificial Intelligence) are beneficial or the death nell to the visual arts and creativity in general. And what I’ve come to conclude is…I don’t know. How can anyone for-see the distant, or even the near future. Will the future bury individual human creativity and usurp the crown of human imagination?
At present, I’m not too worried about it. In fact, I believe that there are ways that AI can benefit the artist especially in terms of generating reference material or comp (comprehensive) art for paintings, movies and photos. In the case of myself, generating reference for a painting without hiring models, renting period costumes or getting on an airplane and traveling to a distant location for a setting.Already, it could be said that artists are just using AI and computers as traditional artists have used brushes and paints. I’m sure that if Leonardo or Bernini were here today they would be using whatever technology available to communicate the visions in their minds.
So Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
There is a thrill when I type in a line of text into Midjourney, click return and momentarily see the results in stunning accuracy. But what does the computer feel during the process? And when it hands me the virtual results shining from the monitor, is it smiling at me like a proud five year old who has just learned to draw a fish?
I studied figure drawing as an art major in college art class. Awkwardly I looked back and fourth from the nude model, then to my large newsprint pad on the easel. it was no easy achievement to output a decent drawing. And I was getting my fingers filthy with charcoal just to draw some awkward and unsure lines. Often while drawing I would find myself furtively looking at the model, usually a very cute girl about my age or maybe a little older, and hoping that she would fall in love with me, or some such thing.
Later, after MUCH practice, the perfect lines would begin to flow from my hand. Usually a quick mark that caught the essence of the movement or pose. With repeated practice I finally managed to draw and shade the human figure with both accuracy and flair. It’s the most wonderful feeling.
Does a computer or system of electronic nodes experience such an elation? How could I possibly know. I hope it does. Or perhaps it will ultimately become sentient and give birth to a new life form. I don’t know. But for myself, the journey of being inspired as a young person to make art, the joy of looking at a painting (mine or someone else’s) that resonates with me, the process, the schooling, and using those skills professionally have all made for a rich and interesting life.
The Fear Of AI Taking Away Our Livelihood
This is a big one. What if AI takes our job away?
The first thing I would ask myself when this fear arises would be, “Is this is a fear response?” Well of course it is
AI is here to stay and like everything in the human dimension, has an illusion of opposites. Good or bad. But we must be resourceful rather than afraid and look for ways to make AI our “servant” rather than believing that it will be the other way round.
I’m still giving this a bit of thought so I’ll continue this discussion soon...