How often do we hear the phrase: “AI frightens artists”? It is, (of course), meant as a derogatory statement and I don’t mind admitting that I do take offence.
I take offence, partly because it’s meant to shut us up (those of us who oppose AI) by describing us as frightened has-beens who aren’t able and willing to move with the times. If we dare criticise AI, it’s because we are frightened of it, not because we have valid concerns.

Furthermore, “frightened” is not the right word. I’m very good at typing and good at describing my own art in words, so I’m confident I’d get good results if I chose to type prompts into apps. But will I ever be doing so? The answer is a resounding no.
So what am I?
If I’m not scared, what am I? Maybe “dismayed” would be a better word.
· I’m dismayed that people who use AI think of themselves as artists when they are bypassing the very essence of what it means to create art.
· What also worries me is the deception intertwined in AI art.
· Lastly, and most importantly, I am dismayed that AI will change the art scene beyond recognition.
Not artists?
Many claim that AI is a new way of being artistic, that “language itself has become the creative medium”.
It's true that language is a creative medium and, interestingly, we already have words to describe such creative pursuits: It’s called being an author or a poet. Writing is writing and that will never be an artist’s modus operandi.
However, it would seem the AI proponents want us to ignore that not only is the art created with writing, the end-result that miraculously pops out is machine-made and a mesh of other people’s handmade artistic visions.
Of course, you could (correctly) argue that every artwork ever created is a mesh of other people’s artistic visions. So what’s the difference between AI creators and the rest of us, if we all take inspiration from other art?
The difference is what happens after inspiration has seeped into our minds. Do we type it up? Or do we grab our paintbrush, (digital or the traditional kind)?
Some claim that they have added so much of their own input, (via Photoshop or similar), that they have made the work their own. I do come across such artwork, but they are rare. Mostly, the AI component completely overshadows the final piece, to the extent that if you were to remove the AI element you would at best have a decent looking background but mostly, you’d have nothing at all.
The deception?
The advent of AI is often compared to that of photography in the 19th century, however, I think the comparison is flawed.

With photography there was never any doubt about what the picture was and how it was created. You would know someone was behind a camera pressing a shutter, (possibly manipulating the scene), but the output being the result of a photographic session would never have been in doubt.
Today you can have AI creations winning photo competitions because no one on the judging panel suspected that the works weren’t photographs at all.
I’m pretty adept at spotting AI, as I think many of us are, but I’m sure even we are often fooled. As for galleries, I’ve seen so many examples of galleries exhibiting AI art despite having come out vociferously against it and what makes it even more difficult to assess is that many AI creators, (who once used to state openly on their websites that they use AI), have removed that information.
It begs the question that if experienced people in the art world are fooled, how can buyers of art spot it? I see many renowned digital-photography artists who now do AI and sell those pieces at the same hefty price as their other works. If you are simply buying an inexpensive print that you love, then it’s not an issue, but if you think it’s a copyrighted work of art, then you have been misled.
The shift in expectations
What dismays me the most is that there will be, (or already has been) a shift in expectations of what art should look like in this new AI world.

I know artists who have stopped creating because they feel they can’t compete with the perfection of AI. Galleries and viewers alike have come to expect this surreal perfection and think that the rest of us are failures as artists. It’s both laughable, (as we are the actual artists) and sad because the vast audience/consumer out there is clueless how this art was created and - I fear - will continue to be so.
Another thing that non-AI artists will never be able to compete with is the speed of production. You want to commission a 17th century “painting” with a look-alike vibe to that of artist X? Well, you can have it in a couple of minutes. Several a day if you want!
The number of artists out of work, out of commissions, from the onslaught of AI art is incalculable and the art scene will be a poorer place forever more.
We, the artists of today, all have to admit that this shift happened under our watch. But what can mere mortals do to stop the Ai conveyor belt?
What comes next?
For digital artists, I think the way forward is a tricky one. Who will be interested in our flawed art when AI creators can produce impeccable magnificence with a few simple clicks on the keyboard?
Or do we accept what people are telling us; that AI is just another tool in the artist’s arsenal? But how can writing ever be considered art? (Except in its own artform of authorship). And how could anyone with an artistic yearning get any satisfaction out of typing prompts?
It’s up to every artist to navigate their own preferred route between Scylla and Charybdis. I have chosen the hill I am going to die on, and it entails not giving in to the superficial splendour of AI.
I won’t be typing my creativity into Midjourney or any app of that ilk. I will keep putting my flawed art out there in the world. It may be ridiculed by all the typists out there, but I will get better in time, and I will always have the deep satisfaction of knowing that my vision was created by my hands and utterly un-copyable.
“By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one”.
~Julia Cameron
If you agree or disagree; I’d love to hear from you. Please drop a line!