As smart as AI is, genuine artists will never be replaced.
Art in its many forms is an expression of the soul.
I don’t care how smart or self-aware AI (artificial intelligence) gets – it will never have a soul.
Sure, it might be able to emulate people and thought processes in many ways. Eventually, they might even be able to synthetically feel. But they will never create with soul because they haven’t got one.
This is not a religious notion of soul, nor a hooky-spooky new-agey soul. This is the reality that art is a creation from an individual, an expression of powerful emotions, and a wholly human process that can be partially imitated, but not replaced by a machine.
What’s more, in its current format, even the best AI still needs human input and is just a tool for your use. Unfortunately, that makes it subject to bad actors and people who will plagiarize the works of others for their profit.
When you look at AI and how it will impact writing, painting, and other arts – consider some lessons from history.
The printing press changed the world
Before the printing press, books were handwritten. It was a process that undoubtedly took a huge amount of time, effort, and creativity.
When you look at some of these pre-printing-press works, the writing is exquisite. Books are not just a dime a dozen, but true works of art that collectors today still value rather highly.
Did the calligraphers of the day see their world come to an end because of the printing press? I rather doubt that they did.
Maybe this isn’t a fair comparison – but maybe it is. With this new technology, you could produce and sell books, pamphlets, and other written materials in far greater numbers to a much wider audience. What’s more, readers had more materials available for them – and I imagine the prices were far lower, too.
Without the printing press, knowledge would have been far less for everyone, everywhere. So, while it might have freaked out makers of handmade books, I’m fairly sure that it was an invention that bettered the arts in more ways than not.
While I’ve not done much research into this topic, I think the invention of the printing press probably caused some genuine artists way to lament what changes it would herald – many for ill.
New technology is the unknown. The unknown is uncertain. And with uncertainty comes fear.
Let’s look at another example.
Did digital graphic design replace genuine artists?
Short answer – no. There are still tons of painters in various formats, mosaic makers, and other artists who do the same bespoke work you can do digitally.
Digital graphic design opened up the arts to a whole new group of people. It allowed for easier access to create art via computer.
This happened in the 1980s and 1990s. And I recall – not well, but there’s still memory – people freaking out over what it meant.
Genuine artists would be replaced by computers. Digital graphic arts didn’t require the same knowledge to create reproductions of paintings – or even original artwork. It was a whole new medium that expanded the creation of visual arts.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) revolutionized architecture and engineering. Photoshop and similar software made it possible to change and otherwise alter images of any kind.
This didn’t eliminate genuine artists. Truth is, it gave way to new artists and new skills. Digital graphic designers can create logos and combine images and text in impressive ways. They have become artists – genuine artists – of a new technology.
Genuine artists haven’t been replaced by digital graphic design tech. I’d even go so far as to argue it expanded the number of genuine artists.
Spin is everything
Because the unknown is so scary – it’s easy to spin it as negative.
There are numerous examples of dystopian AI in books, films, and other media. The HAL 9000 from Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey comes to mind. The “Agents” in The Matrix are another example.
Generative AI – like ChatGPT and Midjourney – have been leading to some pretty amazing art. This is AI that requires input from its users to create stories, do research, and design graphics. These are just two examples of many – and more are coming out all the time.
While both have some disadvantages – and are susceptible to abuse by abusers stealing the work of others – when all is said and done, they’re just new tools.
I’ve seen an email or two written by AI. If a human doesn’t bother to check the work of the AI software writing that email – errors are common. Poor grammar choices, misunderstanding of specific points, and strange sentence structure are prime examples of these.
AI isn’t about to replace genuine artists. Because AI in its many forms still depends on human input.
Genuine artists and AI
As a writer, I’ve been reading things about employing generative AI like ChatGPT in my work. For most of my writing, I use MS Word, and I’ve read that Microsoft is employing some new generative AI to work with their word processing software.
Beyond using spellcheck, I’ve become fond of Grammarly. This is an AI that runs a check on my writing and finds mistakes in tense, grammar, word choice, spelling errors, and typos.
But it’s by no means infallible. Often, Grammarly misses context. It’s no good for some colloquialisms, some aspects of informal speech, and related writing.
Rather than fear how AI can or will replace genuine artists, genuine artists should learn how to make use of these new tools available. They can be incredibly helpful in creating new books, paintings, sculptures (thanks to another new and increasingly affordable tech – 3D printing), and other artists.
Yes, there are going to be changes to some things because of the less salient qualities of AI. But I’m fairly certain that genuine artists can’t and won’t be replaced by AI.
The harbinger of our doom – or just a new tool for creativity? That’s wholly on you and me and what we do with this technology.
How are you inspired to be your own creator – whatever form that takes?
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