by Riley Johnson
Imagine you’re scrolling on Instagram and stumble upon a breathtaking painting. The colors, the composition, it’s all speaking to you. You connect with it in a way that you’re unsure of, but all you know is that you like it. You share it, save it, maybe even look it up on Etsy to buy it as a print. Then you realize: it wasn’t made by a person. It was generated by AI. Does that change how you feel about it?
This is the question we’re all wrestling with as AI continues to infiltrate and mimic creative spaces. Can something that lacks consciousness, emotion, and lived experience, still be considered art? If a song, poem, or even a painting can move us, does it really matter if the creator is human or a machine?
The Human Element: What Makes Art Art?
Historically speaking, art has always been deeply personal. Whether it’s Van Gough pouring his pain onto a canvas, or a poet perfectly capturing heartbreak in a few perfectly chosen words, art has always been about human expression. The process, struggle, emotion, and inspiration has been just as important as the final product itself.
That’s why the idea of AI-Generated art feels unsettling to me. AI doesn’t experience pain, love, or joy. It doesn’t create out of personal passions or self-expression. As Daphne Kalotay, a novelist and instructor at Harvard Extension School, points out, while AI can mimic styles, it may lack “true insight and experience.” She notes that AI might easily write strong works in recognizable modes but will miss “genuine vision from living in a specific physical world” (Harvard Gazette).
But if it moves us, does it really matter?
This is where things get tricky. Let’s say you just read a poem and it brings you to tears. It articulates something you’ve felt before, but have never been able to put into words. Then you find out it was generated by AI. Do you suddenly feel different about it? Should you?
Ted Chiang, in The New Yorker, suggests that “art is something that results from making a lot of choices” (The New Yorker). While AI can replicate styles and themes, it doesn’t create from a place of genuine experience. But does that mean it can’t be meaningful? I’ve personally been deeply moved by songs before knowing who wrote them. Sometimes– I’m not even bothered to find out– I just enjoy the music. If the art makes me feel something, should it matter whether a human made it?
The Real Concern: The Impact on Human Creativity
Beyond the philosophical debate, there’s a real concern that AI-generated content could threaten human artists. If AI can produce a beautiful painting in a matter of seconds or write a song in a fraction of the time it takes a person, where does that leave human creators? The fear isn’t just rooted in whether AI can create art, it’s about whether it will replace artists altogether.
According to Plymouth University, AI is already shaking up creative industries, forcing us to reconsider our originality and authenticity. Some argue that rather than replacing artists, AI will serve as a tool, enhancing our creativity rather than eliminating it. But for artists who depend on their own individual craft, AI-generated content sweeping the market can feel like a threat compared to that of an opportunity.
So… What’s The Answer?
Honestly? I don’t know. AI-generated art challenges our long-held beliefs about what art is and who can create it. Maybe it forces us to redefine art itself, shifting the focus from the creator to the impact on the audience. Maybe, instead of resisting it, we should embrace the conversation and opportunities it sparks.
At the end of the day, art is about connection. If an AI-generated painting makes you stop and feel something–joy, nostalgia, sadness– does it really matter if it came from an algorithm rather than a human hand? That’s for you to decide.
Works Cited:
Chiang, Ted. “Why AI Isn’t Going to Make Art.” The New Yorker, 1 Sep. 2023, www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/why-ai-isnt-going-to-make-art.
Mineo, Liz. “If it wasn’t created by a human artist, is it still art?” The Harvard Gazette, 10 Aug. 2023, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/.
Plymouth University. “Is AI-Generated Art Actually Art?” Plymouth University, 2023, www.plymouth.ac.uk/discover/is-ai-generated-art-actually-art.
This post gave me a more clear definition of art, and how AI impacts the field. I think the articles chosen to support your argument are very strong, being from both highly credible sources and just supporting your point of view very well.
From this post, I learned or rather had a deeper realization of how personal and genuine art has to be in order for it to feel meaningful. I agree that art may need to redefine itself because of AI. Personally, I think the history and originality of art are what make it so beautiful and special, and AI takes that away from it.