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A Conversation About AI

Before I became a writer, I was an artist.

When I was about ten, my parents enrolled me in a local, but rather prestigious art school. They did this because they noticed my love for drawing and wanted to nurture that passion. They even set up an art desk in our living room, and I would spend hours creating, often in my cotton pajamas. There was something deeply fulfilling about bringing ideas to life with my hands. For a few months, art school taught me the value of craftsmanship and the human touch. At the end of each class, students’ work was auctioned off, and the proceeds went directly to us. I remember the thrill of seeing someone bid on one of my pieces and walk away with $100. It was a profound moment—not just because of the money, but because it validated my work and made me feel seen.

However, life became increasingly challenging both at school and at home, and I gradually drifted away from drawing. It wasn’t until high school, when I discovered graphic design, that I rekindled my creative spark. I excelled in the graphic design course, and my teacher encouraged me to explore digital illustration further. With his guidance, I invested in a Wacom pen tablet and began creating a variety of designs. But as my clientele grew, I realized that clients often needed deliverables quickly. I couldn’t always take my time to craft something leisurely, and the pressure to meet deadlines took some of the joy out of the process. Eventually, I shifted my focus to graphic design and let a friend borrow my pen tablet, only for it to be damaged.

When I first encountered artificial intelligence-generated art, I was both fascinated and conflicted. In 2022, I read an article in the New York Times about an AI-generated piece that won a contest at the Colorado State Fair. While I admired the technology’s capabilities, I also felt a pang of unfairness toward the human artists who had entered the competition. It made me question the role of AI in the art world and whether it was truly contributing to the creative process or simply replacing it.

Like many others, I followed the development of AI tools closely. I even created an account on MidJourney and experimented with generating renders. At first, it was exciting to see what the AI could produce, and I shared some of my creations on social media. I felt a renewed sense of pride in my actual, non-AI work, believing that people were once again valuing art. However, as I shared more of my own designs, I began to receive accusations that my work was AI-generated. This stung, not because I was offended, but because it highlighted a growing problem: the proliferation of AI-generated art being passed off as original work had made it difficult for people to distinguish between human and machine creations.

This confusion made me self-conscious about my own abilities. I started to doubt whether my work was truly worthy of being called art, especially when compared to the polished, seemingly effortless outputs of AI. Eventually, I decided to take a step back from publishing my art — at least for a while. By that point, more people had come to know me for my writing, so I chose to focus on that instead.

In the past, I had used AI tools for mockups and references, as a way to communicate my ideas to artists before commissioning them. But the more I relied on AI, the more I felt a sense of unease. I realized that while AI could generate impressive visuals, it couldn’t replicate the depth, emotion, and originality that a human artist could bring to a piece. I began to feel awkward about using AI, as though I were shortchanging the very artists I admired and wanted to support.

Ultimately, my journey with art and AI has been a learning experience. It’s made me appreciate the value of human creativity even more, and it’s reminded me of the importance of supporting artists who pour their hearts into their work. While technology can be a powerful tool, it can never fully replace the unique perspective and passion that comes from a human hand.

I am committed to being far more mindful when it comes to using AI and to exercising greater care when sourcing royalty-free imagery online. My goal is to do everything in my power to support hardworking artists who pour their hearts and souls into their creations. I believe that AI presents a significant and unsettling challenge to the art world, one that requires a collective effort to address. To combat this issue, we must hold ourselves and each other accountable when there are lapses in moral judgment. This means reinforcing the importance of human ingenuity and the value of authentic, handcrafted art. By doing so, we can ensure that the creative contributions of artists are not overshadowed or undermined by technology.

Ultimately, it’s about fostering a culture that celebrates and uplifts human creativity. We can achieve this by actively supporting artists, advocating for ethical practices, and recognizing the unique qualities that only human hands can bring to a piece. Together, we can create a space where both technology and tradition coexist, but where the human element remains at the heart of what we value and cherish.

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