“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” This is what Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, warned about artificial intelligence.

So what is artificial intelligence, a.k.a. AI? AI is a machine’s ability to perform the cognitive functions we usually associate with human minds. This technology has made a huge boom recently and impacted almost every aspect of our industries, including education, healthcare, finance, customer service, manufacturing, and even art. “Wait, isn’t art something only humans can do because you need creativity to make art?” you may ask. Well, that isn’t necessarily true anymore.

On August 26, 2022, Jason M. Allen won the first place blue ribbon at the Colorado State Fair in the division for “digital art/digitally manipulated photography” by using an AI art generator called Midjourney. Allen later posted about the prize he received to the Midjourney Discord chat, sparking hot debate around AI-generated art and how it works. 

Essentially, AI art generators base their creations on online databases and training, eliminating the need for further human input. Based on this, some people argue that the use of such generators allows for better accessibility, ease of publishing and selling, efficiency, and inclusivity in the art industry, while critics claim it raises problems of authenticity, authorship, copyright, and ethics. Both sides have reasonable evidence to support their claims; therefore, it is extremely difficult to choose who to side with.

Supporters say that AI generation is the next big step for art, just as the invention of the camera revolutionized art in the 19th century. After photography became accessible to ordinary people, including the working and middle classes, the Realism and Impressionism art movements expanded significantly. Thus, many people now predict that the development of AI will impact the art industry similarly to that of the camera. They claim that the next course of action is to find a way to enhance our creativity with AI art generators, just like artists in the past figured out how to work with cameras to produce better pieces. Also, proponents explain that AI helps people work more easily and efficiently. Since anyone can create art if they have an online generator, art will become much more accessible to a lot of people. Even though some AI art platforms put a small price on the ability to customize the generation process, that money is not as big of a deal when compared to the money artists usually spend to create their masterpieces. Artists, past and present, have long emphasized that art is for everyone. Following this line of thinking, many people argue that AI art is an innovative medium that allows people to experience art quickly and easily, whether rich or poor.

However, critics argue that the use of AI art generators violates copyright laws and is unethical. AI-generated art runs on an algorithm that utilizes existing art to find patterns and create new art. And that is where the problem lies. AI algorithms are essentially taking bits and pieces of artwork that already exist on the internet – even those not intended for public unlicensed use. Although humans also learn from and sometimes copy others’ work, this becomes a more serious problem in AI since it can instantly copy human patterns that people had to learn through practicing and challenging themselves. This makes people question whether they have true authorship and copyright over their work. In addition, AI-generated art brings up ethical concerns. Since we can now generate art in a few seconds or at most a few minutes, AI art might devalue the work of human artists. If more people look for AI artwork because of how cheap and quick it is, it could flood the market and make it more difficult for human artists to sell their work. This would seriously impact the livelihoods of artists and raise questions about the role of human creativity in a world increasingly dominated by machines. Additionally, the widespread use of AI in art could lead to cultural homogenization, as algorithms tend to produce similar results based on the data they are trained on.

Art is the expression of creative skill and imagination, something people until now have believed can only belong to humans. However, AI, which produces artwork that is similar to and even surpasses the work of humans, has shattered this belief. Is AI good or bad? No one can answer yet for sure. All we know is that we make it good or bad with our own choices. You can creatively use an AI art generator to create a masterpiece like Jason Allen did. Or you can continue to support human artists and their livelihoods. Or you can collaborate with AI to build on your own work. This is your choice, and the world changes with the choices of many people like you. So, what's your choice?

This article was edited by Grace Hur.