Hello everyone, I keep seeing works generated by AI such as MidJourney or DiscoDiffusion and I am amazed by the quality and the details, sometimes very realistic of these works.
I was wondering if the evolution of these AIs could make it possible to create animated videos instead of still images. It scares me and I think it scares a lot of artists in general.
Why would we spend months or years on learning and mastering a skill if an AI can create it with few sentences to guide it ?
What are your thoughts about it ? Am I too slanderous ?
I would like to learn more about the future of these AIs and what they could do in order to adjust what iām learning and not spend months on things that will become obsolete.
Because art is a way to express yourself, and artists enjoy the process of creating art. I donāt work in Blender because I care about the end result- I work in Blender because the process brings me a feeling of satisfaction. If you see art as a commodity- only valuable by how much itās worth- then thereās no point in learning art yourself because AI can make more faster, meaning more money (in theory.) if you view art as a hobby, a passion, or a joy, then youāve already answered your own question
There is this saying like: āAll the stories are told.ā
So do you think there should be any more books, comics, TV-shows, movies, gamesā¦
And if those AI use already made images as base/dataā¦ waht will they produce in some yearsā¦ then mixed with images whihc where already done by some AIā¦ and in the end they produce nothing like:
an unicolored mixture of everythingā¦
The magic is not the AI but what your brain makes you see in itā¦ if your brain is only feed by AI art thenā¦
Is it worth to learn something while millions of people are already doing it ? Like making laundry, cleaning windows or toiletts, delivering newspapers or mail/packages, building houses, doing the wiring for electricity, communication technology, laying pipes for gas, water, waste water, doing the paper work for every bureaucracy, medical careā¦
Or stop it when āsomeā tech-giant do something in any areaā¦ where are all thos robots doing the work which ever author of SF was speaking of ?
There will always be another meatbag better than you - does that stop you from practicing your own art? =P
Besides, the AI canāt read minds. It can only make what you manage to put into words. Which sounds a lot like hiring another artist to realize your idea - and stuff WILL be lost in translation as usually happens in this situations.
Is it worth learning anything when you see AI progress?
Everything that demands skill is in danger of being automated someday. It only looks like art is first because itās visual and popular on social media.
Fortunately, I think art is one of the few things that will survive AI in the end, as it requires more than just a computer to work.
Do you think Van Gogh, who only sold one painting during his life, made art because he saw it as a product to mass produce? What about Stradivarius? his violins took decades to make, from a logical standpoint this is completely pointless when we can mass produce violins in minutes today. What about the medieval stonemasons who made intricate carved gargoyles hidden on cathedral roofs where no one would ever see them? I could go on, but my ultimate point is you need to shift your perspective around why people make art. If the goal is mass production, for commercialization, thatās where AI comes in
Yes you all are right in the end, itās more about passion but passion is better if you feel useful. I want to learn skills not only to feel passion and feel good but also to serve other people or a project. Itās part of my passion, maybe some of you only want to create for your own or share it with your friends or family but this way is not complete to me.
Actually iām more in a dystopic vision like Zorro described,
So I am wondering if I should just do something else with my life and keep art as a frustrating passion since it will not be fulfilled in my eyes.
And @josephhanse I donāt know for Stradivarius but iām pretty sure Van Gogh was really sad during his life, I donāt see art as a product to mass produce but art wonāt feed me if AI continues to evolve
and I donāt want to have the same life as Van Gogh
So basically AI is not a real problem for you all ?
One more thought, from someone far more eloquent than me this is one of my favorite excerpts from Martin Buberās I and Thou (translation by Walter Kaufman). Buber is one of the greatest philosophers of near-modern times, and this is what he has to say about the creation of art:
Van Gogh used art to cope with depression and bring meaning to a life he felt was otherwise empty. You canāt automate that feeling of purpose As for Stradivarius- is his work devalued or threatened by mass production? Not in the slightest. You can buy a cheap factory made violin for 200 bucks. Stradivarius violins sell for tens or hundreds of millions. So, no, Iām not threatened by AI, because I view art the way described by Buber above
Ultimately, art wonāt feed you anyway. Itās never been a profitable thing, no matter what tools you use. Ever heard of a āstarving artist?ā
Iām surprised itās so optimistic =D Artist are an expendable profession. Another good pandemic or war and out we all go to work on farms and construction (those of us whoās not there already). Or an energy crisis? Or hardware becoming expensive or even completely unavailable in certain countries?
Life can be uncertain for digital artists
Ok I promise Iām done after this, I just keep thinking of more and more examples. Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumannās breath-takingly beautiful piano works endure to this day, because the tragedy of suicide and early death is poignant and tangible in every emotive note they wrote. Beethoven is properly the most recognizable name among Classical composers- his work stands out because we as humans resonate with the story of a deaf man writing music he could not hear. Art is a way for humans to connect with other humans (and, depending on your beliefs, connect with the divine, or with something larger than yourself)
I guess you are right, maybe I should just donāt care and follow the flow of life and do what I like without being attached to making it a profitable job.
I think I have a lot of work to do with my mindset, even if I understand and accept what you are all saying, I still feel frustration. I donāt see myself doing something else than art in 10 years, and the further I go in my life, the more I understand I wonāt be able to achieve it.
I do perceive AI and automation in general as an up-and-coming problem; it will replace many types of jobs, and not just in art, but across a wide swath of professions. Commercial art is already a commodity, and artists (humans in general) are not particularly beloved by capitalists ā we demand a certain amount of pay, we get sick, we want time off, we complain about bad working conditions, we go on strike, we leave when we get a better offerā¦ As soon as they can replace us, they will. And it will cause a societal upheaval because weāre so bad at preparing for such things. I worry about that.
As Zorro said, many jobs will be automated (and art isnāt first; automation in manufacturing has already cost a lot of jobs). So you might as well stick with what you love ā things are moving fast now, and humans are not good at predicting things with any certainty, so how do you know that your second and third choice of jobs wonāt also be gone to bots in 10, 20 years? If it fulfills you while youāre doing it, itās not a waste of time. Just get ready to retool, keep an open mind and your ear to the ground.
Embarking on a career in art is already a really iffy proposition; if youāre not ready to switch it up, you wonāt make it. Remember when digital was new and only a few artists even touched a computer? Weāre long past that, and people who couldnāt adjust went the way of the dodo. One way to keep yourself in the running is to get very familiar with AI right from the start (which is now), and learn everything you can about how you might incorporate it into your art. At this point AI isnāt replacing any artist yet, and there are loads of opportunities to use it as a helper. Beyond that, traditional art will never entirely disappear; when much art is made by AI, the best, most interesting, weirdest human art will gain in status for those who have a thing about status, and for those who value it more highly than art made by a machine.
You can be useful in a thousand different ways; you just gotta find the ones that work for you. Maybe you could combine art and a service job (which we will still need for quite a while), like art therapy. Things like that. Try to think outside of what you already know and fear.
I get excited whenever I see your profile picture because I know Iām about to read a fascinating, well-supported idea that usually broadens my own perspective and challenges me to think in new ways this time is no exception, this is an outstanding contribution and it is definitely challenging me to take your points and reconcile them with my own beliefs.
@Digi , if youāre looking for advice, read @piranha4D ās reply carefully, I doubt youāll get much better than this
You are never going to know what the future holds so why think about it, itās a form of procrastination.
If you love something do it thatās all. If one day the thing you loved stopped being profitable would you stop, answer is probably no, it would suck but you would just find a new job and keep doing art.
There is also a very human aspect to art where we experience the art and some times form a bond with an artist grow with them and understand them a bit, AI will never be able to reciprocate that emotion, It can not appreciate the viewer so a hard boundary with AI art will always present, until some Irobot shit happens then we can talk about it, though i feel like we would be dealing with other issues
Indeed I should do as you say, because itās the best way to solve my problem, I just need to swallow all these facts and work on my mindset and my way of seeing things
Yeah im sitting here getting annoyed because we can do all this cool image generation but i still need to do retopo and UV unwrap, where the fuck my AI tools please
ā¦ ja, and video rotoskoping! Interessting to see AI slowly being integrated into programms like photoshop & After effects (DaVinci also i am sure) as another part of the toolset.
Follow your dream in that case.
Just be sensible about it. Things wonāt turn out exactly like you imagine them now. Future hasnāt happened yet, so no one has experienced it - itās an uncharted territory by definition. But with all the bad things weāre inclined to suspect, there are bound to be good things as wellā¦
The point is - we donāt really KNOW how itās going to go. Maybe living and working towards the good outcome is enoughā¦ Journey before destination, that sort of thing.
this is one of my favorite excerpts from Martin Buberās I and Thou (translation by Walter Kaufman). Buber is one of the greatest philosophers of near-modern times, and this is what he has to say about the creation of art:
