AI, artificial intelligence, has been seen as an upcoming issue by many. However, for artists, AI has already become a major problem. AI-generated art has erupted throughout social media along with AI-generated speed paints. Artists all over social media are furious, especially with some posing to be artists with AI. 

Ansley Moore, a Wadsworth High School freshman, is a traditional young artist who occasionally draws digitally. She expressed her negative feelings towards AI and the lack of emotion behind it.

“AI art may be pretty cool, I’ll admit, but it’s not amazing,” Moore said. “AI is just doing what it’s told to. There is no true emotion, it is like if I were to make chocolate chip cookies, but without the chocolate chips.”

The Academy of Animated Art stated in a recent study that 74% of artists say that AI-generated art is unethical. When it comes to art, the AI lacks emotion when creating the art, therefore, it does not have an impact on society, which is what art was partially made to do. Plus, art is also a way for artists to express themselves, which AI-generated art can not do either.

While AI may have positive effects otherwise, it still destroys actual, human art. Actual art has many different styles and personalities, along with tons of different meanings and feelings in the art, not only displayed in the art itself but displayed in the artist.

Not only this, but human art has mistakes and imperfections, which is what makes it beautiful. It is people trying their hardest to create something that could impact at least one other person. With AI-generated art, there are errors, not human errors, but robotic errors, such as a misshapen feature. While actual art may have this, it is proof of the artist being human. It could even be a style choice or have some meaning behind it. With AI, it is just a computer programming error. 

When asked to recreate The Last Supper painting by Michelangelo, the AI seemed to “understand” the general concept and look of the painting, however, it failed to replicate the details of the painting. The faces and other human features were blurred together and heavily warped. 

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This is the original The Last Supper painting. The AI was asked to try and recreate this. Photo courtesy of Fair Use Laws.

Once AI becomes more advanced, eventually, it will become impossible to decide what is AI-generated art and natural art. Not to mention, speed paints are also becoming AI-generated. At the start of artificial intelligence, many have suspected that it may “take over the world”, and while that theory may have seemed foolish before, it has become a genuine problem that artists are fearful of.

For something to be considered art, it has to include human skill, imagination, and emotion. It can be seen with different perspectives and meanings, and the person viewing the art can perceive it differently than the artist.

This definition of art is nowhere close to AI-generated art images. AI is not human, it does not have skill, it has no imagination, and the AI has no emotion. Artificial intelligence is simply computer-programmed, and nowhere near intelligent when it comes to the creativity of the human mind. 

Several Wadsworth High School students and staff were included in a survey that consisted of an AI painting and an actual painting. They were first asked to pick which one they liked more, then once they gave their reasoning, they were told that one of the images was AI-generated, and then were asked to pick which one they thought was AI. 

Out of the people surveyed, 100% of them said that the real painting was their favorite, and roughly 80% guessed correctly which one was AI-generated. 

When asked which one she thought was the AI-generated painting, Paeton Crouthers, a WHS freshman, chose the correct answer.

“It doesn’t look as alive as the other one, this one looks dead,” Crouthers said when asked why she chose that painting,

The emotion in art made by people is significant. It is not just facial expressions, but much more. It shows how people perceive life. It displays how people see the world around them. Even modern art, which some argue is not real art, displays feelings. It shows how different colors and line thicknesses can display different things. 

However, AI takes art that people make, along with the prompt, and mixes various things with no comprehension or meaning. It strips away the feeling and significance and leaves nothing but a hollow husk of what art is. AI-generated art is not real art, it is an illusion of color made by computer programming.