One of the most notable features of generative AI tools is their accessibility. Without any preparation and in very little time, you can create an image of anything you can imagine, in any style you want. This is a big reason why AI art has drawn so much criticism: it's now easy to clutter sites like Instagram and TikTok with trivial nonsense, and companies can create images and videos themselves instead of hiring trained artists.
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Henry Dobrez, artist and designer who created artificial intelligence-generated visual effects for bitcoin NFT who sold for $24,000 at Sotheby's and is now Google's first full-time director, considers this accessibility one of the most positive qualities of generative AI. People who have long given up on creative expression or who simply never had time to master any material are now creating and sharing art, he said.
But this does not mean that the first masterpiece created by AI can be created by anyone. “I don't think [generative AI] is going to create a whole generation of geniuses,” says Dobrez, who calls himself “an artist assisted by artificial intelligence.” Prompt tools like DALL-E and Midjourney may not require technical prowess, but getting those tools to create something interesting and then assessing whether the results are good requires both imagination and artistic flair, he says: “I think we're entering a new generation that will be driven by taste.”
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Even for artists who have experience working in other media, AI can be more than just a label. Beth Frey, an accomplished artist who shares her AI work on Instagram account with over 100,000 followers, she was drawn to early generative AI tools because of the unusual nature of their creations—she liked deformed hands and exciting food images. Over time, the model's errors were corrected, which is one of the reasons why she hasn't posted AI-generated content on Instagram for over a year. “The better, the less interesting it is for me,” she says. “You'll have to work harder to get rid of the glitch now.”
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Creating art with AI may require relinquishing control—both to the companies that update the tools and over the tools themselves. Kira Xonorika, a self-proclaimed “AI artist” whose short film Trickster It's the first generative AI piece in the Denver Art Museum's permanent collection, and its lack of control is part of its appeal. “[What] I really like the element of unpredictability in AI,” says Xonorica, whose work explores topics such as indigeneity and non-human intelligence. “If you're open to it, it really strengthens and expands your ideas.”
But the idea of AI as a co-creator—or even just as an artistic medium—is still far from being widely accepted. For many people, “AI art” and “AI sucks” remain synonymous. And so, as grateful as Dobre is for the recognition he has received thus far, he has found that creating a new art form in the face of such strong opposition is an emotional mixed bag. “As long as it's not really accepted that AI is just a tool like any other tool and people will do whatever they want with it – and some of it may be great, some of it may not – it will still be nice. [and] sour,” he says.
