In today’s age, we are seeing an uprise in technological advancements like never before. Comparing its efficiency from only a few years back to now is truly something new. However, these advancements could be taking a detrimental toll on some people. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) is slowly but surely making its way into the artistic field.
Many artists, especially at LVA, are definitely having serious opinions about this topic. “I honestly find it really offensive. I think art is one of the most human things that exists, even when we were first born, you know, they hand us crayons and we make art and draw on the walls,” said Angela Estala-Barraza, a junior Visual Design major. Estala-Barraza even claims, “to input a prompt and say that you drew something or created something that’s completely soulless is offensive to every artist.”
The “easiness” of artificial intelligence allows for more people to use it which degrades the worth of real human-made art. Additionally, the immense amount of work that artists put into their craft in order to appeal to not only themselves but also others is entirely erased by AI.
Young people today who are looking for a source of income as they grow up to be a part of the real world, are turning to their abilities, like art, to survive. “Over just months, it’s getting better and better being passed as actual art and that’s terrible because this is going to put people out of jobs like me. I’m not going to be able to have a source of income,” said Lanai Monclova, a sophomore Film and Video Production major. Monclova also says that they’ll enjoy creating art less due to how, “there’s little robots that are better than me after I spent years getting good at art,” and how, “right now, people preferring that over paying someone.”
Due to the exponential growth of AI, it is also beginning to be seen on social media more often in the form of “trends,” like the Studio Ghibli trend, AI Doll trend, Dark Fantasy trend, etc. Even in everyday life, AI generated art is being disguised as “real” art which has left artists feeling discouraged, angry, etc.
Estala-Barraza recounts a time when she encountered an AI generated poster in her Visual Arts building and how her and her classmates “were so angry at it that you would hang that up in our space. So we ripped it down and wrote on it, put it back up and like made it basically it’s mini own art piece.”
The invasive nature of AI in art is definitely leaving an impact on rising artists in this society. It should be known how something that may seem harmless on the exterior is actually incredibly serious. Going into the future, it is unpredictable how AI and technology will continue to grow, but hopefully, as a society, we can make a turn for the better.
