Artificially generated art, more commonly known as “AI art”, poses a serious threat to artists and their livelihoods. For thousands of years, humans have been constantly creating art inspired by the world around them. Our love of beauty and deep connections portrayed in art is what makes us human. Yet now, unfeeling machines are attempting to replicate art by stealing from real artists and remixing it into a sad imitation of art. For the first time ever, we are truly having to work to define “art”. The death of human imagination and creativity is beginning with AI “art” and “artists.”

The beginnings of modern art emerged in the mid 19th century as Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, and Wassily Kandinsky began defying the traditional expectations of art. Their art was widely criticised, as their style revolutionized the art world. Even still, some don’t consider modern art to be real art. But as artificially generated art emerges, our definition begins to change. Was modern art really so bad and different as people made it out to be? Despite concerns about how various shapes and lines jumbled together can be counted as real art, there is still something deeply beautiful about human expression. Computers will never create art, as art is something only living beings can create. Art is fueled by joy, grief, sorrow, love, infatuation, hatred, and all other deeply human emotions. Sometimes, we create art just for the sake of beauty. If a computer has no individual experiences and feelings, how can it portray a deeply human connection without ever knowing what true inspiration is? Although modern art is simplistic and often lacking a clear theme, it was created by humans and that is what makes it real art. 

Early AI art was laughable, with disorienting and often mediocre image generation. Computers couldn’t seem to grasp how human hands and realistic positioning worked, for example. Images were disconnected and obviously fake. However, AI engines rapidly improved at a frighteningly fast pace. Just a year ago, you could easily tell an AI artwork apart from a real artwork due to glaring mistakes, but now, it takes an eagle eye to decipher AI from human works. If AI art looks like human art and is much less labor intensive, what’s to stop it from taking over artist’s livelihoods? The answer: nothing. Countless artists face unemployment and diminishing chances of success as new AI models are being introduced. Companies, big and small, now use AI art for advertisements and logos. Now, real graphic designers and animators aren’t being hired or commissioned because some machine can supposedly do a better job. However, the point of art isn’t to be better or cheaper. Although art may be superfluous in a literate world, the urge to create and capture beauty is something intrinsically human. Artists who rely on commissions for their livelihood face an existential threat as their patrons look to computers to replace them.

Recently, an Innovating With AI poll found that almost all artists and creators view AI generated art in a negative light, with over 90% expressing disappointment and distaste over finding out that a piece was AI generated. Worldwide communities of artists continue to push against AI stealing their artwork without consent and the prevalent use of AI instead of human creation. The “starving artist” stereotype may be even more true to life than ever before as artists face competition like no other. Despite the very real threat of AI stealing jobs, however, humans continue to create art and admire the beauty of the world. Artificial Intelligence will never truly replace works by human hands, because a machine simply cannot express true emotion and inspiration through art. From cave paintings, to Michelangelo, and now advanced 3D animation, art has always been something deeply unique to humanity.