Hi there, I’m Eric, your learning futurist. In this blog post, we’ll be exploring the world of AI-generated artistry and the upcoming AI arms race among creators. Artificially intelligent-created art is nothing new, but it’s recently hit a peak in popularity. Almost everyone, especially artists, has seen some of the incredible images being created by AI systems like Mid-Journey, OpenAI Dolly 2, and others.
As a learning futurist, I’m always curious about how signals are moving towards the future, and how they’re affecting the way people do business, run their lives, and conduct themselves. So, I’ve been exploring AI-generated art myself, going down the rabbit hole and trying out different systems to see what they can do. In this blog post, we’ll be diving deep into the world of intelligent artistry and what it means for the future of artwork and related jobs.

Creating AI-Generated Art
One of the most fascinating things about AI-generated art is how it’s created. You can put in a prompt, just like doing a text search on Google, and the AI system will recognize the text and understand what you’re asking for. It will then go through a language image pre-processing system, where it arranges the images you’re asking for in a way that makes sense for your prompt. Finally, it goes through a diffusion model, which takes a static white noise image and slowly rearranges the pixels over many iterations until it comes up with an image that matches what you wanted.
It’s incredible to watch this process in action, as the AI system takes a grey or black image and slowly starts to pull out the images you wanted. You can even watch it in real-time with some of these software systems, which is incredibly fascinating to see.
AI-Generated Art and the Art Industry
AI-generated art is starting to make waves in the art industry, with some artists feeling threatened by the rise of automated systems. There have been cases where AI-generated art has won prizes at art fairs, angering traditional artists who feel like their jobs may be automated away. Some artist communities online have even started to ban the use and sharing of AI-generated artwork on their platforms, citing concerns that their jobs may be at risk.

While it’s true that some low-level artists may be replaced by AI systems, there’s still a long way to go before traditional artists are completely automated out of existence. However, it’s clear that the rise of AI-generated art is putting some strain on the traditional art industry. Many companies are looking to offset the cost of generating lots of art through these systems, creating games using these automated systems or artwork around books and things like that.
Legal and Ethical Implications of AI-Generated Art
One of the biggest concerns surrounding AI-generated art is the legal and ethical implications. The US has come out and said that you cannot copyright something that you use artificial intelligence to create. This goes for not only art but also music and other kinds of written material that are already being generated by AI systems today.
While you can’t copyright AI-generated art, it can still replace a lot of paid copyrighted images very quickly. Many people are using these systems to pump out popular imagery to house in online image databases, offering up collections of images and photos for stock art for graphic designers or things like Canva. However, these systems need to be trained, and for that, they need lots of samples. This means that AI-generated systems rely heavily on the collected human creativity of artists that came before them.
The fact that AI is being used to create art has also led to an increase in concerns about job displacement. Some artists feel that their jobs may be automated in the future and are worried about their income. In some cases, this concern may be valid, especially for low-level artists, whose work can be replicated by AI systems. However, in many cases, AI-generated art is still a long way from replacing traditional artists.
One issue that arises with AI-generated art is its legal and ethical implications. For example, the US has stated that copyright cannot be granted for something that was created using AI. This not only applies to art but also to music and other written materials. This means that many images that are created using AI may not be copyrighted, which can lead to issues related to ownership and compensation.
Furthermore, many AI-generated art systems rely on a vast amount of existing human creativity. These AI models must be trained using numerous samples, which means that the very artists who stand to lose their jobs in the future may be the ones whose work is used to train AI systems. This presents an ethical dilemma, as artists may not be compensated for their contribution to AI-generated art.
Another concern with AI-generated art is that it can be used to launder intellectual property. Instead of money laundering, AI systems can be used to take copyrighted or non-copyrighted images from the internet and use them to create new images without paying attention to ownership. As a result, AI-generated art may replace paid copyrighted images, which can lead to significant losses for photographers, graphic designers, and other professionals who rely on their work to make a living.
Despite these concerns, AI-generated art is still in its early stages, and there are numerous opportunities for artists and companies to use these systems to create new and innovative artwork. AI-generated art can be used to create art for video games, book covers, and other creative projects. Moreover, AI-generated art can be used to create entirely new styles of art that have never been seen before.
However, it is essential to ensure that AI-generated art is used responsibly and ethically. Artists should be compensated for their work and should not be replaced by AI systems entirely. Moreover, it is essential to consider the legal and ethical implications of using AI-generated art and to ensure that these systems do not violate existing copyright laws or infringe on the rights of other artists.
Final Thoughts
AI-generated art is a fascinating new development that has significant implications for the art world. While AI-generated art is still in its early stages, it has the potential to revolutionize the way that we create and consume art. However, it is essential to ensure that AI-generated art is used responsibly and ethically, and that artists are compensated for their work. By doing so, we can ensure that AI-generated art benefits artists, companies, and consumers alike while avoiding the potential negative consequences of this new technology.
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