Will generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI) painting really replace human artists? This question seems to be taking root in people’s minds with the development of AI.
Consequently, as the discussion of whether generative AI painting can replace real-life painting rages on the Internet, a challenge called “Finish this painting and use your imagination to prove that you won’t be replaced by AI” was recently launched. A very large number of enthusiasts participated in the challenge and left some impressive work. As you can see, people use extraordinary imagination to show what some angles call “the unusual”. While this is just an entertaining challenge in people’s spare time, it also reflects concerns about the development of generative AI painting.
Once I was walking through the corridors of a metro station in Shanghai, and there were some amazingly surreal paintings hanging on the walls on both sides. As I reveled in these wonderful paintings, I noticed a small line in the bottom right hand corner stating that all paintings are generated by generative AI.
Nowadays the technology of generative AI painting has been developed to the point where you can’t tell if it’s the artist’s work or the AI’s. Therefore, will artists still be necessary for the painting? From my point of view, the answer is still yes.
Although generative AI can take a dozen seconds to generate a piece of work that a human artist might take months to complete, it still lacks some details most of the time (Crain, 2023). Generative AI can save time and effort in producing paintings but still requires the artist to decide whether adjustments need to be made when determining the final artwork. The creative decision-making processes can never be replaced by machines (Iyengar, 2023).
Generative AI is a powerful tool that can expand the possibilities of art making and will still require the guiding hand of a human artist (Eigenfeldt & Fraser, 2023). Hence, I will say generative AI will not replace the artists. Instead, it needs to rely on human artists to thrive.
But let’s go back to where we started, where people proved they wouldn’t be replaced by AI by finding some angles that AI couldn’t predict. If one day generative AI painting develops to the point where it can figure out human reverse thinking, what will the world be like?
Reference:
Crain, Z. (2023, April 24). Can AI art replace human artists? Professionals say no. UNC Media Hub. Retrieved October 11, 2023, from https://mediahub.unc.edu/can-ai-art-replace-human-artists-professionals-say-no/
Eigenfeldt, A., & Fraser, S. (2023, August 8). Why the growth of AI in making art won’t eliminate artists. The Conversation. Retrieved October 11, 2023, from https://theconversation.com/why-the-growth-of-ai-in-making-art-wont-eliminate-artists-210187
Iyengar, S. (2023, April 10). Can Artificial Intelligence Replace Artists? LinkedIn. Retrieved October 11, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/can-artificial-intelligence-replace-artists-samiksha-iyengar
It is really interesting to see how humans try to prove their great imagination to fight against AI algorithms. Indeed, it has been a popular topic whether simple business advertising paintings, like the one shown in the article, could be completely replaced by AI. The revolution in art may not be here yet, but there is a real threat to many painters if untrained people can create paintings using plain text.