AI and artists: bummer or bliss?

To answer that question I’m going to explore some different and maybe controversial viewpoints around AI and artists.

► Copyright issues
► Actual results
► AI bubble?
► Generation Z is doing WHAT?
► Environment
► Future

AI uses the art from talented artists who have spent years to develop their skills and expertise. 
This is how Gemini describes this:
“Much like a human artist studies classical paintings, anatomy books, and modern designs to learn the craft, I was trained on a massive dataset that includes a vast array of publicly available images, artwork, and text.”

It says it creates new artwork, so there is no copyright issue. For most artists this falls into the category bummer. But bear with me, there’s more to this (see future developments).

What does it actually create?

I’ve been playing with some abstract art and asked Gemini and CoPilot to create an abstract painting inspired by Kandinsky’s work.
Here’s what happened:

These are just examples, but in general it can be said that AI can generate pretty amazing work that leaves many artists feeling defeated.

What's going on with the AI bubble?

Is there a chance that the whole cardhouse will come crashing down?

I’m citing Tech Times here:
“The Federal Reserve has named AI one of the top systemic risks to financial stability, and banks including J.P. Morgan have warned that the economics of AI infrastructure are increasingly strained because revenue has not kept pace with spending”
You’ll find this same message everywhere

Generation Z is doing WHAT?!??

Is it true that generation Z is moving back to real connections, farmer’s markets and creating real-life community? Some sites report they are ditching their smartphones in favor of “dumb” phones. Read more on India Times.

Art sites are reporting a clear distinction between AI generated and “real” art as customers prefer the real thing. Really? I tend to doubt that.

Speaking about the environment ...

Famous environmental activist and consumer advocate
Erin Brockovich
is now tracking AI data centers and calls for community support.
Water and energy usage, as well as sound pollution, are the culprit.

Meantime, alarming news for residents of Lake Tahoe:
NV Energy, the Nevada utility that has supplied the bulk of Lake Tahoe’s electricity, announced that it will stop providing power after May 2027

AI: the future?

“AI = Absence of Intelligence”
This is an interesting and bold statement, coming from theoretical physicist and string theory expert from Cambridge and Oxford Universities, 
Dr. David Clements
I highly value Dr. Clements’ insights, but I think on this one, most people would disagree. The statement links to the idea that AI might be “sentient”. If you believe that everything has a soul, even seemingly inanimate objects, it’s not possible to think that AI would be the one exception. The question then becomes: does having a soul mean that something/someone is sentient? And capable of coming up with it’s own ideas?

As you can see, there are probably more questions than answers. For now AI offers tools, that part is clear. 
And the tools are not just being developed by using the work of artists, artists can also use AI, so as not to have to invent the wheel again. (I think this is the “bliss” part). And this is a widely used practice. AI is currently using what artists add online. It depends on new developments within art (created by humans) to evolve (?). There is no intentional innovation, at best a re-combination of existing styles (it says). I think this is what Dr. Clements refers to. If you want to create something truly new, you, as a human being, need to generate that yourself. Enjoy!