People hate AI compositions, especially from a publication. There are many valid uses for AI image generators. My nieces and I have a blast coming up with stories and illustrating them with generated images. It is even better when they hallucinate an extra finger or ear, we can work it into the story.
I also like to use AI as a sort of filter on pictures that I took. Make a photo look like a drawing, for example. It is also incredible for UI mockups and saves me a lot of work.
That's a little curmudgeonly. 99% of our story time doesn't involve computers at all, it is just something we do sometimes too. Lots of doodling and imagination to go around.
Honestly the blowback against AI in "art" feels overblown to me, but I'm not someone that's actually appreciative of art in general (I don't visit art exhibits etc)
However, to understand their viewpoint you only need to think about what art originally meant: it is something with which the artist tries to convey something. It is - in is purest form - an expression of another person.
This is somewhat offset by "art" as a salaried job. But it's worth noting that this profession has generally been seen as a necessary evil to make ends meet.
Now AI art comes along and generally removes the humans expression from the equation. To the artist, this is like a complete perversion of what they consider core to their identity.
And artists have always been am incredibly loud minority - hence you hear their complaints a lot. Complaints which are understandable, but honestly are exaggerated. Esp. If you consider where AI will go from here over the next 10 years.
Well stated summary of the problem, but I don't understand why it is overblown. The human expression in art and the skill that it took are where it draws its value and beauty. If you change art so fundamentally that it reflects neither of those things, it is the end of art as we know it. It is not just the artists who are speaking out against it but people who love art. That's not everyone, which is understandable.
Edit: I think I misunderstood your intent, my original comment did raise this question. It happens that I'm sympathetic, but I thought the original post was overgeneralizing. I think people actually like generated images and they have their practical uses, they just can't take the place of art.
The blowback against AI in "art" feels overblown to me because the usage of AI art perfectly correlate with the same usage pattern as salaried art did.
It's used when the generated art is not seen as "art" but more of a tool.
This obviously is an issue for artists which lose potential customers, but that's overstated because - as you pointed out earlier too - a lot of people never would've paid for the art creation anyway...
Finally we can realize Harrison Bergeron levels in society and fill everything in our lives with content generated by the most average among us using an averaging machine.
I hate that creators are over represented in society because they, you know, create popular culture. Also, why does video entertainment need to be so over-represented by theater/public performer types who have a flare for drama? Doesn't seem right. Like just stop with the drama people (or is that drama, people?).
True liberation is upon us! All are now equal to our over-represented thinker/creator/commentator types. AI brings 'the golden age of equality' Harrison Bergeron has prophesized.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEgOuZzjI8o We have learned we don't need to hold people back like that story. Just destroy any trace of the extraordinary by flooding everything with the mediocre and filling everyone/everything with AI induced loss of meaning and malaise. Finally, no more creator types interjecting meaning/intention into our culture. Just auto-generated culture for us please! Get drama people out of our drama productions! Musicians out of our music! Artists out of our art! And most of all extraordinary out of all of it! Only average by the average! Finally we are reaching the ideal world of Harrison Bergeron!
Thank you techbros for realizing yet another once thought only a parable science fiction story into our reality. It's really great getting to live through all this. Super glad.
Right. AI is probably the biggest "umbrella term" we've yet had to wrestle with as a society. AI art as a concept is mostly hideously soulless and anti-human, a disgusting abomination that is rightly reviled, and that's all totally orthogonal to the fact that it's mostly very ugly.
But it's absolutely lovely and heartwarming when my brother uses it to make environment art to go with a D&D campaign for his children.
I also like to use AI as a sort of filter on pictures that I took. Make a photo look like a drawing, for example. It is also incredible for UI mockups and saves me a lot of work.