Saturday, October 5, 2024

Thoughts on A.I.

Thoughts on A.I. No, those are not the initials of some artist (like Aliwishes Ishkabibbles). A.I. stands for Artificial Intelligence which, in this case, refers to artwork that is an assemblage of images (usually other artists'/photographers') to create an entirely new picture.

The downside is the fact that a person essentially steals images to create their own. The good side, however, can be some stunningly beautiful, imaginative landscapes or figurative pix that seem nicer than reality.

Of course. it takes no skill to make these images other than the knowledge of using the software...knowing what words to input that will produce a satisfying picture.

But I do have to wonder how this technology will affect the entire art world. Art can be made more quickly and cheaply this way. Perhaps the buying public will be able to acquire prints much more inexpensively and even have changes made in the scenes to personalize them to the buyers' preferences.

This would also bypass the notion in the art biz that art should be somewhat expensive so collectors will think the works are somehow more important and therefore -- more collectible. Problem is, this approach excludes entire classes of people who might like to have original art but can't afford them. My paintings aren't really all that pricy; yet, many peeps can't afford me. (I couldn't afford me, either).

I can see where A.I. could make wall hangings more available to the masses -- maybe the art world needs that. I don't expect to get in on this trend -- I can't afford the hardware OR software, and I don't think I could get good enough at creating A.I. works in whatever time I have left in this life. And -- there are already enough A.I. artists out there where the competition would be overwhelming.

So I'll keep painting, mostly for myself, and I may well be inspired by some A.I. images to make paintings. (My previous painting, A Rainbow in Stone (Bunny Tales: A Rainbow in Stone (markjunge.blogspot.com)) was inspired by an A.I. pic!! (But I didn't copy it -- I promise!!)

Mark Junge

www.MarkJunge.com or www.SouthwestSpaces.com