Every day, no matter where you go, walking down the street or scrolling through TikTok, you come across something produced by AI, especially in spaces where it shouldn’t be, like the art community. AI “art” is not real art.
The definition of art is “the conscious use of human skill, imagination, and creativity to produce works that evoke emotion, convey ideas, or showcase beauty.” Using AI to create “art” contradicts this definition completely. AI art is not human. AI art should never be considered art, as it has no human creativity or anything remotely human about it. It doesn’t matter if someone’s art is “bad.” Even “bad” art has value because someone wanted to create something of their own. AI takes all the beauty out of art.
Another reason AI art is so harmful is that it trains on the art styles of actual artists and then takes their jobs. Every time someone requests AI to generate something in a specific style, it copies actual artists’ styles and what makes them unique. AI companies take artists’ work without the artist’s consent and use it to promote and train the AI apps. Not only does AI do this, but it also takes artists’ works they’ve put through their AI and sells them without the artist’s knowledge. By doing this, the AI platform takes away all revenue that actual artists could have made from their work and takes it for itself. One example of this is a Guardian article “Is AI the greatest art heist in history?” A 22-year-old artist’s work was put through AI, which made an inferior copy of it, which was then sold without his knowledge. He says how his entire body of work was fed into the bots and used to steal his livelihood.
Being bad at drawing is not an excuse to use AI. Using AI to generate pictures and videos, instead of trying to create or make something, is the reason they are not getting better. Even if a person “cannot” draw, they should still try. Art takes time and practice. Someone who relies on AI to do everything for them when facing a challenge or problem won’t learn anything. The time spent typing a prompt for AI generation is time that could be used watching a tutorial on coloring techniques. These mistakes are learning opportunities. If they constantly run to AI, they aren’t going to be able to learn from mistakes because they aren’t letting them happen. The only way to improve is to keep at it. They will never become better at art if they rely on AI to draw these things for them.
For those who cannot draw, there are solutions. You can commission artists to create something for you. Millions of artists have commissions where you can pay them to create something for you. By commissioning an artist, you are helping the art community and helping artists take their jobs back. You can also use Photoshop and Photobash to create collages and pieces. There are tons of apps where you can create graphics and pieces, such as Canva or Photoshop. You can use stock images taken by photographers. There are a million different ways to create or find art instead of using AI. Using AI to make “art” will never be a good excuse.
