Artificial intelligence has interjected itself into everyday life. There’s likely not a day that goes by where the average social media user won’t stumble upon an AI generated image or article.

You can use an AI tool to create the exact image you want produced in your head without the need to learn any art skills at all. So why would you bother spending time doing it?

I grew up on the cusp of digital art becoming accessible. The first digital art tool I ever learned was Macromedia Flash. I learned the basics of animation, specifically motion tweens. A way for an animation to move across the frame without having to move it by hand. My home life wasn’t one where I always had access to my computer, and it was tumultuous at best. But I still remember staying up and trying to animate simple things when I had the chance.

When I didn’t have access to a computer, I would go to the library, print off as many guides as they would let me, and what I couldn’t print off, I would write down as best as I could.

That was twenty years ago, but I still remember a lot of what I learned about basic animation. I remember my trips to the library, and my attempts to learn as much as I could.

I ultimately failed that endeavor, I am not an animator.

It might be for the best, as only the best of the best animators are working, and it’s not an industry that has a high rate of success. I eventually shifted away from animation as I had less access to computers, and eventually just stuck with traditional pen and paper art.

The lack of access to the tool for creating animations was removed from me, but I still looked for ways to create new art. If it wasn’t digital, I still wanted to create.

Sometime after college, I entered the workforce full-time and struggled to find the time to create anything. Taking a break from art is common for a lot of creatives, but my hiatus was still extended.

I lost a lot of the passion that I had, and the drive to create anything. I was trying to keep myself afloat and earn money to secure a future. I didn’t have time to pursue a dream.

My art suffered massively when I did eventually come back to it. I wasn’t proficient at the level someone in their mid-twenties should have been. Putting the pen to paper was frustrating, and I couldn’t get the paper to reflect what was in my head.

It felt effortless before, but now it was a struggle. My hand was tired after only a few minutes of trying to draw anything.

Maintaining even the bare standard of where I left off felt monumental. There seemed to be no chance that I would get better.

That is where I think most artists struggle the most. It’s also where I think a lot of them give up.

I was fortunate to have a supportive partner and a solid friend group that enjoyed what I managed to create. It gave me an opportunity to continue to enhance my skill without worrying that I was behind on where I should be.

I was able to draw with confidence, knowing that it didn’t matter and no one cared.

This story about my experience with art isn’t unique. You could probably find anyone in their 30s who has a similar experience with art. It’s still my experience though. The experience that shapes every single stroke that I make, every single frame that I shoot, and every single artistic decision. It all comes from the experience I have.

My story is one that comes from art, and whether or not it’s well written, it becomes art itself.

There is a strong disconnect between art and generative AI.

Art is something that is inherently human generated. It takes a skilled person with paint and a canvas to make a painting, translating their imagination into a tangible form.

It’s a way for us to express ourselves, share with each other, and pass down information.

Instinct is what you’re born with, and knowledge is how you grow. Even those who don’t appreciate art, still benefit from the world around them that did.

There are a rising number of people that can’t understand the purpose of learning the foundations behind art, when you can just type a few prompts and get the same thing.

Generative AI is a fascinating tool, and it can be used to enhance productivity when used correctly. It’s something that is used extensively by marketing and ad agencies, replacing what used to be copywriters and designers.

The general population doesn’t care about the fundamentals of art. For a lot of them, an AI generated logo is indistinguishable from a designed one.

It is good at replicating what is fed into it.

You could spend hours sketching something out, or minutes typing in prompts.

The appeal is very much obvious, and I understand why a lot of non-designers would flock to it.

Why do you need to be creative, when AI can be creative for you?

You don’t have to spend years studying and mastering a skill, you can just generate an image that looks like it came from someone who did. You don’t need to understand composition, or lighting, you can just type an idea and your job is done.

But the AI doesn’t understand composition either. It lacks the fundamental understanding of what makes something good.

It just generates an image that looks like what you described, based on images that have been fed to it.

If you use a large language model like ChatGPT to write for you, can you claim any of what it writes as your own? You typed a sentence and it gave you a paragraph. It doesn’t understand why the words go where they do, it just knows the patterns that are likely to follow.

Would you let something like generative AI think for you?

Never having an original thought, just mashing up ideas and sounding vaguely coherent with no idea if what you are saying is correct.

Eventually, if every artist stopped creating, generative AI would feed upon itself. Like a hungry snake eating its own tail.

But that drive for humans to create will never cease. There will always be people who create original works, capturing specific moments, working through hardship. Those things can never be replaced with AI.

Human creativity will always exist, and will always come out ahead.