The AI-Artist Hype

Look, I get it. Seeing a robot staring through your studio window holding a palette might feel like something straight out of a sci-fi thriller where the humans lose in the end. Before you pack up your brushes and call it a day, let's take a breath and talk about what’s actually happening.

AI isn't a "digital ghost" coming for your soul; it’s more like a really, really fast intern who has looked at every picture ever made but has not yet grasped the emotion and the passion of the artist.

Why You Can Stop Holding Your Breath:

• It’s a Mirror, Not a Maker: AI doesn't "create" from scratch. It needs your thoughts. It’s essentially a massive pattern-recognition machine. It knows that a sunset usually has orange and purple, but it doesn't know the feeling of the sun hitting your face or the nostalgia of a summer evening. You bring the heart; the AI just brings the pixels.

• The "Soul" Factor: Think about your favorite piece of art. You love it because of the artist’s struggle, their specific perspective, or the way they broke the rules. AI only knows the rules. It can mimic a style, but it can’t invent a new movement or tell a story that's uniquely yours.

• From "Competitor" to "Colleague": Back in the 1800s, people thought photography would kill painting. Instead, it freed painters from having to just "record reality" and gave us Impressionism and Abstract art. AI is that same kind of shift. and as we all know,
  Shift Happens.  It can handle the boring stuff—like perspective grids or lighting references—so you can spend more time on the big ideas.

• The Human "Glitch": AI is perfect, and perfection is actually kind of boring. The "human" part of art—the slightly crooked line, the weird color choice made on a whim, the raw emotion—is what people actually connect with.

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Think of AI as your "Power Tool"

If you were building a house, you wouldn’t be scared of a power saw; you’d be glad you didn’t have to use a hand saw for every single board. AI is the power saw. It helps you get to the finished product faster, but you are still the architect.

THE BIG QUESTION - Should artists create digital art using AI?

Oh Boy!. What a polarizing question!  It's Ethical and Existential so I want to cover this respectfully.

One the PRO side:

It speeds up so many tasks that keep you from creating your art

It helps with artist block, helping to focus thinking.

It teaches, encouraging new artists develop skills and techniques

It challenges artists to consider complete, hybrid or embellished outputs

On the CON side:

Ethics and Intellectual Property 

• AI trains itself on established styles and models, how would an artist understand that "Create a scene where a soldier arrives home to the loving arms of his mother." may pull imagery from Norman Rockwell's painting on the same topic. 

Devaluation of skill, talent, technique

• Using AI can get addicting. Overuse can cause the artist to lose skills over time.

"It all ends up looking the same."

• AI builds on all the movements. AI art may end up all looking the same. It is the artist who must develop the skills to command AI to create something new. 

What is the answer to the question? I don't think you have a choice.

• Ignoring AI may make you irrelevant.
• Learning AI may make you valuable.