and more accessible than ever before.
Artificial Intelligence rendered images have existed for quite some time, with Google and OpenAI being major investors within 'text to image' tools. However, only recently has AI Art found itself under a major spotlight after game designer Jason Allen created an artificial-intelligence-generated art piece that won the top spot at an art competition in the United States.
Created with the Midjourney AI tool, Allen was able to transform a string of words / prompts into incredibly realistic graphics.
Many have taken to social media to express their frustration, with many claiming that it significantly depreciates the hard work and hours of time invested by human artists to create art. Some even demanding a public apology
everybody defending AI art in these comments are actually stupid. this man put no effort into the work. typing keywords in a good enough sequence isn’t art. the fact that AI could take away jobs from real artists or people in the creative fields is so scary. this infuriates me. https://t.co/MNe4fJsxtx
— anakin 🥁 (@anikagobrrrr) August 31, 2022
It has been recommended going forward that AI generated art be submitted and showcased in its own seperate category to ensure that 'traditional' artists' time and effort are appropriately recognised and respected.
“We haven’t seen anything in our show requirements that prohibits this activity. But it opens up debate as to, do we need to evaluate this for next year as we create the parameters? Does this need to be excluded? And I think this is a conversation that we'll have with the art community after this year's fair,”
- Scott Stoller, the general manager of the state fair
An article from the Colorado Newspaper stated that the judges weren't even aware that Allen's art was AI generated. However they added that it wouldn't have changed their decision as the criterial for success was "how the art tells a story and evoked spirit" and not the material used to convey such.
After learning more about Midjourney and its ability to create such lifelike art, I attempted to create some of my own. Listed below are a few of my favourites along with the keywords which i provided to the AI.
I am beyond impressed with the results and can understand the appeal of AI generated artworks. Although it may take away from human created paintings, current AI still requires an input from the user and the words that are provided have complete control over the final render. The artist is still human, they're just using modern tools.
