I've been thinking about My Take on Why I'm Sad About The Way People Are Using Generative AI (from a visual creative perspective) and I decided to finally just write something down so I can solidify my Take and be a bit more prepared for Discussion - because we keep almost getting to the point of me having to explain why I have a distaste for it at work, and at some point I am going to need to explain it bc I'm worried that it's going to keep causing weird tension between me and my coworkers who use it And Also I think my Take might get them to think about it a little more in a way that might be helpful and positive So I wrote it down... idk how much I actually want to talk about this so I might delete later but I'm curious what people think I guess
hotted take (sorta long)
When I think about art, the intentionality of the artist and how it's reflected in the final work matters as much if not more to me than the actual form or quality of the art. So - I want everyone to make the most genuine art they can, regardless of if they think it's good enough or not.Regardless of what tools we're using, I'd rather see art that reflects the true creativity and imagination that I think every person has in them somewhere - even if it doesn't meet some standard for "quality"... even if the artist doesn't think it's perfect - than the type of stuff we get when people think that the only acceptable way to produce art is for it to appear finished and beautiful to a standardized degree.
Thus, the two uses of generative AI that I'm seeing right now which make me really sad are:
-
People who think they can't produce what they're imagining to a level that's "good enough," so they hit the art button instead of trying
-
People who feel a need to put art into the world, but are focused more on the aesthetic of "finished, beautiful art (trending on artstation)" than on a vision for what they want to create and why - so they hit the art button.
And so - I want to see your bad art... and to reiterate - This take is true, regardless of what tools we're talking about. I don't even care if generative AI tools are part of how you get there - as long as you're thinking about what you want to create and why, and putting in the effort to produce something truly genuine to your creative vision - that's what matters to me.
This is to say - hitting the art button, picking an image, then calling it done will almost never count for me. I don't believe that's your vision. You probably need to do something more specific.
Additionally - by enabling people to go through the struggle of creating something in ways they might not be comfortable with immediately - and by accepting art that doesn't conform to a stereotypical vision of "beautiful and finished" - we all benefit from an increased diversity of both styles and concepts.
