The rise of AI has already contributed to an explosion of new artistic creations; think AI-generated images, videos, and even music. There’s already so much out there, and yet it still feels like we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of what AI can do for us. Yes despite at all of the ‘new’ coming at us right now, I think that human-created art is about to experience its own renaissance alongside its AI-created counterparts. Here’s my take.
Information Overload
Courtesy of tools like ChatGPT and MidJourney AI, we can now create blog posts and images beyond anything the human imagination can conceive… and we can do it in a matter of seconds, with a single well-written prompt. And what happens when tools get both more simple and more powerful at the same time?
Their usage explodes, of course.
That’s what we see happening now with AI-generated art. Around half of what the Instagram algorithm serves me in my suggested feed is now AI-generated… and that’s just a small sliver of all the AI art that’s floating around out there.
It’s enough to feel overwhelming… and that’s where human-created content comes back into play.
Human-created art is about to become rarified.
AI-generated art is about to become table stakes. Anybody with an account will be able to create amazing-looking AI-created art. You know what they won’t be able to create?
Human-made artwork.
Unless some has the talent, the experience, or both, human-made art (at least, good art) isn’t just immediately accessible to anyone with a pulse, which makes it special. As we become overloaded with AI-generated art, I have a feeling that people are going to gravitate more to the thing that will become increasingly uncommon: that song, written by a human without the help of AI, and with a guitar track played by a real human being. Or that painting that’s beautifully imperfect because it was made by a human hand.
Wrapping it Up
Art is a distinctly human thing. No other species on the planet creates it purely for the sake of creation. Because of this, I believe that, as the floor for creating artwork is lowered to anyone with access to an AI tool, we’re going to place a premium on those artists who are still doing things the old-fashioned way. Let’s just hope it’s enough of a premium that our artists can afford to keep intact that which makes art human in the first place.
