AI "art" is not innocuous. It is having real negative impact on the arts. From magazines and book publishers deciding to use AI "art" instead of hiring illustrators, to literary magazines having to close down submissions because they've been swamped by AI "stories," to art contests being won by AI "art," opportunities for artists to make a living are already being cut, especially for newer, less established artists. Even for me, with a 20 year career and an agent, I'm seeing fewer avenues to paying work. I can't imagine being 18, wondering if there will be any way to get a job in the arts when every entry level art job will be taken up by AI by the time they're halfway through art school.
So many AI "artists" have this idea that real artists have had it too good for too long, holding creativity hostage somehow, living easy lives, when most of us have to constantly hustle just to stay regular poor instead of homeless poor, our mental and physical health in rough shape all the time. To work so hard not only to hone our skills but to take on the equally hard second job of chasing down opportunities for work, only to see those opportunities go to someone who told a computer to do all their work for them, who then turns around and says we artists don't deserve money or even attention... it's such a slap in the face. It's such a breathtaking insult added to grievous injury.
It's not that these people are using AI to *assist* the creation of their work. This isn't like Photoshop, which is a tool. PS might make some aspects of the work easier or faster, but it's still a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of skill. AI does it all for you. AI "artists" are no different from clients who commission me. If a client describes to me in great detail what they want me to draw, and then I draw it, are they somehow the artist? No! Telling it to a computer instead of a person doesn't change that.
I know AI "art" can be interesting. It's nifty to see what we've taught computers to do. It's funny to laugh about how many fingers they have. But it's really having such a huge negative impact on the creative world right now that the drawbacks far outweigh the curiosity of it. I wish I saw more people outside of artist communities thinking about this, caring about this, talking about this.
