“All that we’ve been working on for so many years has been taken from us so easily with AI… It’s really hard to tell whether this will change the whole [art] industry to the point where human artists will be obsolete. I think my work and future are under a huge question mark” (qtd. in Corrall). While the threat of artificial intelligence–AI for short–in visual art fields may be partially true, this will only become a problem if people start relying on AI to do everything art related for them. AI art is ubiquitous because it is easy to access and there are close to no limitations for it. People may notice it in advertisements, on social media platforms, in concept art, and digital illustrations. Visual artists may feel like AI is going to replace art and steal their ability to make money from creating art, robbing them of their jobs and originality. However, the truth is that AI can offer valuable tools to fuel artistic creativity by broadening people’s perspectives, but the art that AI generates alone could be considered bland, lifeless, and lacking emotion. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of AI art generators can help artists make informed decisions of whether to incorporate them into their artwork or not.
AI art can become harmful to artists or humanity, if art is made and published automatically. AI could undermine the value of art by making it something cold, emotionless, cultureless, pointless, biased, or even prejudiced. This is made worse by the fact, “that ‘data’ [given to the AI] has so far mostly been scraped from the internet” then, ”taken in secret from people who didn’t know and didn’t consent to handing it over” (Corrall). AI takes art styles and art works that these individuals have worked hard to produce. AI Then, tries to assimilate their art into looking like something that is visually appealing to the human eye. This poses a threat to artists who give life to the art that they produce. Artists make their art into something that has meaning, is full of emotion, and has originality. Art can communicate “abstract and symbolic ideas” or express “nuanced emotions” and, ”an intelligence that cannot abstract ideas or feel emotions would seem ill-equipped to appreciate or produce art” (Chatterjee). Conversely, AI lacks “the human emotional and conceptual depth that is often found in traditional art forms” (“NAEA”). Through creative pieces, people can express their emotions, feelings, and complex ideas. This is especially harmful because society could mistake art made by a lifeless machine for something that was made with intention.
Furthermore, AI is unfit to be given the task of creating art because of bias or prejudice that the art may contain from the data that it is fed. For example, “the quality of the data used and functioning of [AI] algorithms have been shown to perpetuate racism, sexism, and ableism,” this could exploit “vulnerable and marginalized communities” (“NAEA”). The AI might have inherited some of the discriminatory sources from the data and algorithms that was given to it, consequently displaying those tendencies in the art that it may produce. This could send an unnecessary message about the targeted group, which can cause more aggression to be directed towards them. On top of this, it would influence some people to think this message is true because it could be hard to tell the difference between a controversial artwork created by an AI from one created from a human. It could also build a lack of humanity and dependence on the AI algorithms to “create art.” Clearly, AI tries to make their artwork look like something someone would want to see, but it actually makes it bland and lifeless.
Despite its downsides, If AI is used properly then it could have more benefits. AI can help artists make their art full of life by broadening their perspectives. AI offers tools such as ideas, visual references, preliminary sketches, and it could even inspire someone who does not make art to try it. In addition, AI generators could be an excellent tool if implemented into the school’s art curriculum thoughtfully; helping to inspire students, organize their ideas, or foster their creativity. These tools have made a lot of artists more creative – a claim supported by research analyzing “a dataset of over 4 million artworks from more than 50,000 unique users,” and their research “shows that over time, text-to-image AI significantly enhances human creative productivity by 25%” (Zhou and Lee). Considering the fact that some think AI is going to replace artist’s creativity, this suggests otherwise. AI is instead acting as a catalyst; helping them get past creative barriers that might be stopping them from creating art in the first place. In fact, AI can be extremely good “for jumpstarting ideas,” and “with just a few prompts, you can generate endless compositions, color schemes, or concepts that might help get your creative wheels turning” (Rainey).
AI art could be amazing for students in school if thoughtfully embedded into art classes; this is because it could help students in “generating initial concepts, ideation, enhancing digital design skills, and experimenting with different artistic elements” (“NAEA”). This information reveals that AI could guide students through these steps and help them explore new territories in art that they may have not previously known about. Similarly, educators could use AI to “expand students’ artistic horizons, foster creativity, and encourage exploration” (“NAEA”). If AI art is implemented into the school system, it could not only help student artists engage with art, but also fuel their creativity in the long run. This could potentially be a problem if it is not carefully embedded into the curriculum–students could decide to exploit this usage. Evidently, AI provides lots of benefits for visual artists if it is used to help them create art instead of doing it for them.
AI art could be really harmful to artists because it can replace art–a way of self expression–with something that is watered down, uninteresting, and devoid of emotion. However, AI art could be used to fuel an artist’s inspiration because of the many tools it has to offer. Artists can now make an informed decision about whether to include AI art into their practice after learning the strengths and weaknesses of AI art. AI art is beneficial if it is utilized to help artists and people learning how to create art, but if it generates art without human interaction it can turn out to be morally debatable. Ultimately, visual artists risk losing their artistic creativity and allowing it to be replaced by a machine.
Works Cited
Chatterjee, Anjan. “Art in an Age of Artificial Intelligence.” Frontiers in Psychology 30 Nov. 2022: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Corrall, Matt. “Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024.” Matt Corrall (blog) 2024: https://www.corralldesign.com
“NAEA Position Statement on Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-generated Imagery in Visual Arts Education.” National Art Education Association 12 Apr. 2024: https://www.arteducators.org
Rainey, Jenna. “The Pros and Cons of AI Art.” Jenna Rainey (blog) 21 Feb. 2025: https://jennarainey.com
Zhou, Eric, and Lee Dokyun. “Generative Artificial Intelligence, Human Creativity and Art.” PNAS Nexus Mar. 2024: https://academic.oup.com