"The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place." - James Baldwin
I don't want to think about robots taking over the world. But google wants me to. I realized this thing I'm typing on is always "listening," always "watching." (Oh hey, we were just taking about you.) I am always seeing these articles about art and AI, robots who look like humans, a robot who is a citizen of Saudia Arabia, etc etc. Why are so many bros so horney to merge with the fucking tech?! (And don't get me started on the creepy misogyny where men's sexual fantasies are projected onto a robot meant to look like a hot woman. She has no opinions, she's there to serve you! She has no soul! https://youtu.be/6gLe3k5X9u ) I think about the implications of AI on human emotion and relationships. I worry about the intersection of AI and misogyny. But that's not what I am going to type about today, let's talk about AI and art.
I've been unsettled (to say the least) by advanced technology, artificial intelligence, and robots for a while now. When I first saw the movie irobot (circa 2008, the middle school years) I realized I had a biggest fear. It wasn't spiders, or dying, or public humiliation- although, yeah I'd rather not- it was robots. Then, over a bowl of melon at a friend's house one morning, I read a Nat Geo article about our future with robots and my fear solitified. Robot baby sitters?! What the fuck?!?!
You see, I was a bit of a Luddite as a teen. I didn't have any social media and I ditched my cell phone after middle school. I wasn't anti-social, the opposite really, and I had a great group of friends. I just didn't like the idea of social media or a cell phone always distracting me (and this was before I had internet access on my phone!) By the time I was graduating from high school everyone had a smartphone, Instagram was getting big, everyone was zoned out and distracted all the time, and I was happy with my choices.
Of course, I got a cell phone eventually. And I held off on getting a smartphone until around 2016. I didn't have email until 2018. I still don't own a laptop or computer. Sometimes I wish I never got a smartphone. But here we are! I love the access to information the internet brings! I made my website and blog so I could apply to art opportunities. But I want my pre-internet brain back. Anyway, the point is I have a love hate relationship with tech. Slight emphasis on the hate. (That puts it lightly. I once took a high school graphic design class as a filler because all the other classes that even mildly interested me were full. The class was boring and I felt my soul leaving my body on a regular basis. But, even while trying HARD I was failing miserably. My teacher said, and I quote, "Maybe you aren't creative enough." 🤔😆 Everyone got kick outta that one. I was notoriously horrible at basic computer skills, everyone knew I was the only kid in school, who by choice, who didn't have a cell phone and wasn't on social media. I was also an art kid, "I heard you're really good at drawing!" was often one of the first things said to me by student acquaintances. When she said this I was probably wearing my diy-patchworked-beaded-hand sewn-embellished jeans.)
Oh yeah, the point of this blog post. AI and art. I keep reading about the robots making art. Ooooh! Art exhibitions for the robots! And now, cool AI art for your fill in the blank social media* profile! Cool, AI art so I don't have to pay an artist! (cough, cough. I wasn't actually going to pay them, I was going to offer exposure but now I don't even have to do the bare minimum!)
Some artists and writers do not worry about it as much as I do. They say we can use it like a tool, like a pen or paintbrush. I'd like to think it would be that simple. The creative process is a muscle. If not used, stretched, and challenged it weakens. If we use AI as a crutch what happens to our art? What happens to our art as an individual in the present, yes, but what happens to our art as a species over time?
Art is human. Art is from the soul. Art is something that exists within, growing and taking up space in your mind and heart until you need to get it out of you and onto the canvas. This feeling is called the flow state, El duende, or spirit. It is about expression and emotion. When I look at art I often consider the emotional state of the person who made it. I am in search of the humaness. It is a human endeavor, an ancient practice of expression. Art dates back to the neanderthals, creating meaning in caves with mineral pigments and imaginative exploration, moved by something unexplainable. Art is, at it's core, a celebration if what it is to be human.
How does something make art if it cannot feel? In my opinion, all AI/robot art is lacking in some way. It's called artificial for a reason. The robot was made by a human, sure. But it isn't creative. It can only mine from what was created by humans in order to "create" something "new". And usually, it is a gross appropriation of someone else's work. Someone who quite literally, and I know from experience, poured their blood, sweat, tears, and soul into their work. Only for someone's fucking AI to steal from it. The AI/robot can't create something new. It can only repackage. It's work is without inspiration, without soul. AI might be able to replicate the art but it cannot make something new, it cannot ride the waves of el duende or flow state. To me a robot making art is about as silly as a robot in ritual or ceremony. The reason for art, ceremony, and ritual is all very similar. It is about something deeper than ourselves. It is about consciousness, our connection to life in all forms on earth, and the exploration of what it means to be human.
To sum up my feelings on it, AI "art" doesn't have soul essence - it lacks humanity. It can not do what the artist does. Which is to transform something within them, to communicate with wherever ideas come from, and turn those vapors into something beautiful, grotesque, and physical to make you feel! Now go out and support real living and working human beings and artists!!
Adding this here, months later, because it's a must watch!!
Links you should read:
The positive resistance side of this discussion:
Quotes from the above articles that stuck with me:
"Many artists and advocates also question if AI art will devalue work created by human artists.
Lam worries that companies will cancel artist contracts in favor of faster, cheaper AI-generated images."
"Urbanowicz pointed out that AI models can be trained to replicate an artist’s previous work, but will never be able to create the art that an artist hasn’t made yet. Without decades of examples to learn from, he said, the AI images that looked just like his illustrations would never exist. Even if the future of visual art is uncertain as apps like Lensa AI become more common, he’s hopeful that aspiring artists will continue to pursue careers in creative fields."
“Only that person can make their unique art,” Urbanowicz said. “AI cannot make the art that they will make in 20 years.”
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