I do not use AI, and I don't care much for it. I think the fear mongering, especially among artists is over stated. I don't even see the argument that AI is 'stealing' artwork and using it as valid either. I can understand that jobs will be lost, as with all technological advances and it is unfortunate, but it happens all the time. I don't see a problem with it at all. I think artists will just have to market themselves better, find a new niche with their art, or move onto selling physical prints or something. There are a ton of things AI can't do still, and the way to keep making money as a writer/artist is to do those things. It is analogous to the ending of Neuromancer where the main character find an AI trapped behind a physical lock so it can't escape. Maybe I am being too optimistic. Hearing how the camera and photoshop didn't ruin all art, makes me thing I am not.
I'll explain why no art is being 'stolen' because that is a well known argument against it. I'm sure some people will take a problem with this. It is simply because in order to steal art it has to be lifted up and kept as a 1:1 copy. AI simply doesn't do that. It does what every person does. It looks at a massive catalogue of art and reinterprets it, using the techniques, colors, styles, and what have you to make something completely different. If I used an image making model that was trained on a person's art (let us say her name is Sally) and many others, it would take specific keywords and intent to make art that looked like Sally's art, and even then it wouldn't be stolen art. That is because Sally never made it. It would be an imitation of her style, but imitation of style is not theft. People do this all the time, and in my opinion the only reason it is getting an awful rap now is because AI can do it faster. I will agree the person writing the prompt isn't an artist much like a commissioner isn't an artist.
As for why I don't think artists should fear for their jobs, it is because AI fills in a niche that humans can't do. It creates art instantly instead of having to wait weeks or days for a person to make it. It does come at some drawbacks, which are usually acceptable. The people making it are looking more for immediate results rather than good results. I haven't heard of artists losing a huge amount of commissions just yet. If someone wasn't interested in paying you commissions before AI came into being, they certainly won't care now. The way AI works has some problems too. I hate saying this cliche, even when it is true and applicable, that AI is lacking a 'human touch'. I'm not talking about it being soulless or whatever. I'm referring to it only doing what you ask of it. It will only focus on the prompt, and not care about the other things. Humans on the other hand won't do that. They will make the drawing cohesive and make logical sense.
