It seems that AI-generated art is the latest tech boogeyman spooking people these days, and for good reason. When an artificial intelligence program can create, within minutes, an aesthetically pleasing digital painting based on a few simple text prompts, it will certainly lead to questions about the “genuineness” or “legitimacy” of a work of art, and about the fate of living, breathing human beings whose livelihoods depend on artistic skills.
THE REPLACEMENTS. The results of Emil Mercado’s prompt “Out of work artist replaced by AI” on Midjourney. Illustrator Guia Abogado also has a bone to pick with AI art being framed as the “democratization” of art: “What if this becomes a way for those who are more creatively challenged to start turning their visions into reality?” he added. “Sure, it becomes a shortcut, but I don’t think that affects other artists directly, just the one who relied on AI himself.”“As long as it serves the purpose of setting an idea, or as a guide, and is not used to replace a ‘real, created photograph,'” he qualified.
Visual artist Juan Alcazaren even compared AI art to TVP – textured vegetable protein, which vegans use as a meat substitute: “You’re full but not satisfied, and there’s a strange aftertaste.”