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Comment on The AI art apocalypse in ~arts
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Comment on The AI art apocalypse in ~arts
ARTSArt Link ParentNo, we will not. Artistic wages have declined since the 80's. We will see all the young artists in training being put out of business as the commissions they would cut their artistic teeth on will...and we will see artists pay and livelihood increase from here on
No, we will not. Artistic wages have declined since the 80's. We will see all the young artists in training being put out of business as the commissions they would cut their artistic teeth on will no longer exist (I've already seen this.) No pay=no art, no art=no progress as an artist. It's a race to the bottom. The bottom being everyone using AI that is trained (unethically) on the styles of anyone successful. That artist will then have to compete with a machine cranking out the exact same style of their work, and they will be put out of business.
AI as a whole isn't bad. What is bad is the inability to opt of being included in data sets and controlling who can reproduce your work and in turn steal the style you've worked on developing.
The entire argument is about moral judgements around the use of the tool, not the viability of the tool itself. So far every company behind these tools has been morally bankrupt and refused to work with artistic communities to develop their tools in a way that is synergistic. Hence class action lawsuits are under way. Until there are common sense laws in place to protect human output, AI will always be detrimental and morally suspect.
OK, I'll bite.
I am one of those "10,000" you claim are "living the dream." I have scrimped, scrapped and scrounged every art job in existence to get here. It was a proving ground, getting paid 20-50 bucks a commission until my art was good enough to take a step up to the next level. (and it isn't some amazing lifestyle, it's not even breaking middle class) Yeah, we don't have unions protecting us, helping us get better pay. Something I think you can identify with given your comment history.
As a professional surrounded by working professionals, I have intimate, first hand accounts refuting everything you've talked about. From the highest level Marvel comics artist, Sketch artists in the entertainment industry, right on down to the people in my community of young artists struggling to make even 100 bucks on something. I know, not think, that we have been getting screwed for years. As a small example, I began working in comics in 1994. I was paid MORE per page than a beginning artist today. It's the same in entertainment illustration, everyone from the top illustrators to the lowly sketch artists had a higher ceiling back in the 80s and 90s. So, apologies, but it isn't some vacuous "they say" piece of data.
all of the smaller artists I know (not a small number, upwards of 300) lost money to Ai the second it became big enough for people to plug in a selfie and do a shitty rip off of digital art. Again, first hand data of the impact it has had across the board because NO ONE asked if they could use their work.
The problems I listed CAN be solved by inclusion of artists in the data set and paying a royalty structure, just like royalties for musical artists that write, produce or participate in the making of a song. But visual artists don't have AASCAP...noticing a trend? Unions to protect us...yeah, they don't exist. So we're getting nickel and dimed out of existence. Include an opt in for a payment for hard won creativity and expertise. Weird how easy it could be.
I think there is a nuanced approach where the tech will be helpful to humanity without destroying the positives that we have built over time and supporting the creativity of future generations. If that makes me a luddite, cool, I'll live with that.