But people said the same thing about photography and painting 150 years ago!
This is entirely different from that. Landscaping had aesthetic value after photography because people were able to embellish and stylize landscapes in ways they didn't actually exist in real life. There is no way to "escape" from AI into more stylization. All it takes is enough of those new stylized images and it'll be able to replicate it. This is different from photography because photography can't learn.
But people want human expression!
Yes, they do, but they'll probably only realize this after a couple decades of art [almost] completely uninspired by the human condition and depression and anxiety skyrockets. In the short term, people will only care that they can type into a field and get what they want without any significant investment. Good luck finding an art job that isn't just making prompts in that economy (And if you say that making prompts is the same as being a painter or illustrator, yes it is art but no it isn't the same and fuck you).
I rest my case, art automation is cool but under capitalism it'll only be used to devalue artists further, and drive them deeper into poverty. It would be a great tool in a society capable of regulating itself but WE DON'T LIVE IN THAT SOCIETY AND I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO POINT THAT OUT.
STOP LISTENING TO :melon-musk: :debatebro-l: AND SUPPORT YOUR ARTIST COMRADES NOW
Now that I got your attention with my inflammatory statements, please commission your artist comrades and support them in their struggle to exist in what is already a very punishing world to live in. I promise to give any of you that do big hugs, I love you all, and bye.
Yeah, as someone who this directly affects I think the entire endeavour is fucking horseshit pushed by soulless pricks who have no idea why it is so cancerous.
The examples I have seen, while technically impressive, have no life, style, expression, or character. Everything is pushed through the artstation filter and comes out as soft-focus, banal, garbage. And the clowns who advocate this pat themselves on the back, heralding every blurry mess as a triumph and act as if each image was handcrafted when all they did was write a Google Image search string. It doesn't help that it piggybacks on NFT's and crypto fuckery.
There is a place for it because it is a technology with huge potential - disabled people, for instance, unable to hold or use materials can find ways to express themselves and for quick spec work as a primer for further work - but pushing it as a wholesale replacement for an entire industry and disciplines is dangerous and infuriating.