The usage of artificial intelligence has grown exponentially in the 2020s, with its rapid improvement being apparent every few months as it becomes more widely implemented in nearly all aspects of life. One of the largest and most controversial uses of AI has been image generation. AI can generate these images off of simple prompts because it takes tons of artists’ images off the internet and uses them in order to replicate what it has seen.
The majority of AI image generators blatantly take artists’ work with no regard of copyright policy or respect to the original artists. With art being so historically tied into self-expression and individuality, it is clear to see why many find it frustrating to have their work and effort being taken and given to image generators for it to be replicated.
Chris Mata Vazquez, a South senior and artist of 11 years, had shared his experience with art and personal feelings about the process of creation. Vazquez said, “I think that the process is one of the most important parts about art, and just the way people express their emotions in that there is not one piece of art that’ll look the same from other people.” Vazquez further highlighted what he considers the most important part of art making, being the process, with Vazquez sayin,g “I think the most important part about that process is being able to show how you personally envision things..”
The topic of AI image generation is something that Vazquez is very passionate about, being one of the many artists who criticized many aspects of new technology. Vazquez had a more specific criticism of how AI image generators work, saying “Knowing that there is an artist who worked hard to make the references for the AI art is sad because they’re not getting the credit while all these people are making brain rot AI art and are getting so many views.”
Vazquez criticizes the ways in which a lot of image and even video generation has been implemented into social media culture. There have been instances in recent times where AI is used as a joke online, and has gotten massive amounts of views because of it. Many of these forms of content oftentimes have very little criticism surrounding them despite the means in which the content is created has no human creativity surrounding it, which Vazquez called “uncanny.”
However, there are potential benefits of AI usage to artists. Vazquez did mention that there was potentially some merit to using AI as a tool to better your understanding of art, comparing it to the idea of tracing. “Learning over time with tracing, you learn how to draw things by yourself, moving away from it little by little, and I think learning how to use AI in the same way you would use tracing is a good way to draw a line.”
Despite the potential benefit that could improve the work of artists, Vazquez made it clear that the technology is still overall harmful, with the impact being a harm to both creativity and the planet. Vazquez mentions the harm that AI causes towards the planet as well, and criticizes the idea that there are people who are fully aware of the harm that AI could cause, and use it anyway. With all of the different ways in which AI image generation is harmful, it is clear to see that the use and even existence of this technology should be actively suppressed, in order to prevent any further harm to both the artists and the public.
