So.... I'm seeing some center points here and people trying to "value both sides." Because pros and cons are on both sides, right? No. They aren't. I apologize if this comes off as terse, but I and many others are exhausted in just the past 3 years of trying to explain the highly toxic and exploitative intentions behind the reign of AI and its use by the public. (And here, I'm specifically talking about generative AI used for images and writing--not AI that is used to filter out sound in your headphones or for recording your own voice for a video.)
To get this across directly--I very much dislike the whole "artists/art are unaffordable." This is just sad in so many ways. Art is effectively the MOST exploited and underpaid profession for hundreds of years now. And it is NOT getting better in our modern times. Laymen do not want to pay for art--period. People who work with artists do not want to pay us--period. Having been a professional artist for seven years now, it has been this way, and it is entirely degrading to put up with this disrespect to my skillset that I've worked long hours to hone, went to school for to learn from professionals, to be critiqued and give critique... Art is like ANYTHING else--a skill to be learned. And what AI does is not only back up this whole idea that "artists are expendable" and "artists are stupid people born with a magic skill," but it directly steals from artists. Many have been saying that in these comments (with also the addition of how highly unfriendly it is to the environment. Yes, a total waste of resources just to replace artists... When we could be, oh I don't know, funding the education system or something more useful that ACTUALLY helps the progress of society and the lives of future generations.)
"I can't pay for a cover to be made." Okay. There are many ways to get around this and to not resort to advocating exploitation. You can either a) learn how to make your own cover, b) make some friends in the art community who are either willing to make it for you for a discount or for free, or c) go the minimalist route and have a stark graphic oriented cover of just color and bold text. Use your own creativity to push your ideas forward--please, I highly encourage anyone to do this. Break your own limitations you put on yourself. That's what art is all about.
I know I'm going on a tangent now, but the use of generative AI is such a slippery slope that being okay with it falls into some very toxic territory and negative mentalities. It's not only straight up unethical and unfriendly to the environment, it is the stagnation of progress in many ways.
There is this idea that artists are "born" and this pushes a concept that artists "gatekeep" art. It cannot be further from the truth. But this has always been a concept pushed onto people who aren't immediately "good" at something... And for some reason, art is usually targeted here. I believe it is out of envy of craftsmanship and/or passion. Everyone wants to be an artist, a musician, an actor... but no one wants to put in that effort or apply a passion for it. So they resent the reliance on art/artists when it comes time to have anything visually creative done within a project or such.
Art is about constant development, personal input/output, and individuality. Even with the inspiration and imitation of styles and techniques over time, we are still the ones moving our bodies and training our eyes to build upon a greater compendium of knowledge that has been growing for over tens of thousands of years. Observation, dedication, and progress are what make an artist. But what also makes us is our love and support for each other. The teachings of masters, the critiques from peers, the curiosity and burning desire in our hearts to strive for refinement and deconstruction. AI is the erasure of community and sociality within artistic projects, and by extension, is the erasure of civility and education. This is why there has been immediate backlash from the art community since day 1 of generative AI imaging being released into the general public's hands. It's saddening. And I feel defeated when I see people still teetering in the center, mainly because the idea of just clicking a button and getting it done is very tempting--especially when you can erase the entire step of interacting with an artist or building a rapport with an artist or having an understanding or appreciation of art and someone's work. Again, it rids you of educating yourself. This "civility" spoken of in this comment section is kind of bizarre to hear. It's been YEARS with generative AI being a mainstream thing. Please understand people's frustrations with this conversation/argument being had over and over again with NOTHING being done about it. The AI companies are still making millions, even with the court cases against them... My work has been scraped without my consent. My work has not been safe on the internet. And yet, how am I, as an artist, supposed to exist online in our modern time? It is more than frustrating at this point... so please understand the harsh criticisms and reactionary responses to your use of AI.
