Debate: is AI art actually killing real artists or just changing the game?

Last week at a coffee shop in Denver I overheard a graphic designer and a software dev going at it. The designer said AI tools like DALL-E are stealing jobs and making art feel hollow. The dev argued it's just another tool, like Photoshop was back in the day. I'm curious what the rest of this community thinks, because I see both sides but the speed of these new models is wild. Has anyone here had a real talk with a working artist about this lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinm891mo ago

Killing it, not changing it.

rowan_butler931mo ago

Honestly, I gotta push back a little on the Photoshop comparison. It's not quite the same thing. Photoshop replaced tools like X-Acto knives and paste-up boards, which were already part of a paid workflow. AI is replacing the whole act of making a visual decision from scratch. Your mileage may vary, but I've talked to three illustrators this month who lost regular gigs to prompt-generated images. That's not just a new tool, it's a new kind of competition that doesn't play by the same rules.

amy_foster564d ago

The Photoshop comparison misses how Photoshop still needed human skill for every step, while AI skips straight to a finished piece without any of the craft or decision making. It's less like a new tool and more like hiring a robot that does all the work for you.