POST EIGHT: A PERSPECTIVE ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
We’ve been working with digital tools for quite a while now, for me it starting back when Wang Labs came up with one of the early word processors. In hindsight the incremental explosions of technology should bring no surprise that AI would one day rear its head and touch us all.
There are real world worries about AI and how it will affect visual artists and the concern that it will quickly replace a ton of what we do. It's hard to predict where it will lead and what the future holds. But like many people, I'm taking the ride to see where it goes.
I know for a fact that AI is already capable of making images that are mind blowing. Prompt to image technology is the real deal as far as that goes. I am writing this on April 8, 2023, and less than a year ago the best I could get out of that technology was a bunch of blurry zombies with five misplaced ears and no legs to speak of. Now it’s almost unbelievable what progress has been made. Think what it will be like in another year. Check out my Prompt to Image galleries if you don’t believe me.
The true value of visual art lies in the images we make and in the creative spirit that moves us and that connects us to something greater than ourselves. I am imploring you not to dismiss this revolution. Look at the best AI images and review them honestly. Dismiss all the noise out there and you might just be amazed.
The way I look at it is pretty simple. I don’t care what tools I use to create work that moves me. Sometimes I use a hammer or a saw. Other times it’s Photoshop or a digital camera. You know where I’m going with this. Why would I draw the line with AI or more specifically MIDJOURNEY? In the end it’s another tool to use with an outcome that is based upon my visual discernment.
AI is not going away any time soon and it's up to us to figure out how to embrace it so we can minimize the damage it will most certainly do to some of our visual arts businesses. It would not be a bad idea for that matter to keep pace and to explore ways on how we can adapt it to our benefit..
I'm reminded of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator movies, where robots come down from the future killing everyone in sight. While I don't think we're headed quite that far any time soon but It may be a distinct possibility (HA).