In a previous post, I brought up the concern that AI generated art could start putting artists out of business.
And I don't deny that new tech can discombobulate us. Shortly after I wrote that post, I read about an artist whose distinctive abstract style of art was stolen by one of the art-generation programs that easily produced imitations (although not as good, I have to say) as hers.
Stealing her style was pretty crummy. If she had created the program herself, though... hmmm. She could have fed it the original art to train it and then sold other people the right to make art in her own style.
It's not the AI itself that's the problem, it's that our legal and commercial systems have to catch up in a way to reward the artist. That's tough, yes. Not insurmountable, but tough.
But meanwhile, there's another issue that artists almost always overlook on this topic.
Has anyone really considered just HOW MUCH DANG ART we are going to need for the future?
Let's just take one example.
Now, this hasn't been invented yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time: video wallpaper cheap and durable enough to put everywhere in your house.
Maybe it's because I've been decorating my house for Christmas this month, but I was thinking how fun it would be to have the house change every month to a new theme. New colors, new decor, new artwork....
But of course currently decorating one's house like a Hallmark Christmas house costs hundreds of dollars and hours and hours of work. That's why we do it once a year. Or in my case, once a decade.
Imagine it were cheaper and easier, and all you had to do was the fun part--picking the patterns and stuff.
Imagine having new, original murals for your walls to go along with the theme.
Now, AI can help with this, sure. Color swatch generators can tell you pleasing combinations. AI can make beautiful murals that are similar to famous paintings, but unique. 3D printers can help you print your own accent pieces.
But, my goodness, you won't know what's trendy without seeing what other people are doing. So there will need to be humans not only to paint pictures to feed the AI algorithm, but to design the accent pieces, and above all, to tell you what this is absolutely TOO CUTE and a MUST HAVE for the happy home's March 2030's walls, etc.
Now, I expect most on this list might find this particular example ridiculous, but my point is that humans can always generate more work for themselves, especially in fun things like the arts, so why anyone is worried about being put out of work (permanently, at least) by robots, is a mystery to me.
Now, AI used by evil humans to hurt other humans... oh, that's a different matter. I understand why that hurts. But art? Let us have more art.
And by the way, to whomever it may concern, I still need decent housecleaning robots too, and nobody has yet come out with one! (Not that I can afford.) A rumba isn't picking up toys and wiping up cat vomit for me. We need more domestic robots!
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