AI Can Not Replace Art

A lot has happened with technology in a short amount of time. In 2022, AI art went mainstream. It infiltrated social media sites through third party apps, and there are now even filters on TikTok creating AI art in real time through the platform. It's been around for a while, but the sudden intrusion into our every day lives has left many people on edge, especially creatives. Is this technology going to take our life's work away from us? Will art still be profitable if it can be made by robots in milliseconds?

The thing about AI is that it can mimic humans quite well, but it will never be human. It can sort through millions of pieces of information in record time, but it doesn't have emotions. The thing that makes art special, no matter what medium it is, is the reason for it's creation.

AI can not love something so deeply that losing it feels like dying. AI can not understand what it's like to fall down after taking training wheels off it's bike. AI can not hear the silence of the snow on a full-moon night. AI can not feel refreshing grass, speckled with morning dew, beneath its feet. It will never know what it feels like to have the blades slide between its toes, or smell the sweet scent of dirt and decay.

AI can not know the pain of losing its childhood pet. AI can not know the joy of welcoming a new child into this world. AI can not know the fear of experiences its first panic attack or getting lost in an unfamiliar place while running low on gas.

AI can try its best, but it will never be human. I'm sure it could throw a story together with a beginning, middle, and end, but will that story hold the same weight as something painstakingly thought out and ruminated over by a real person? I don't think so.

For thousands of years, humans have been creating. Forging their way through life and finding meaning in the mundane. Art is a manifestation of humans rationalizing their own existence. Why are we here? Where are we going when we die? Why do I feel the way I do in this very moment? Who am I? Humans ability to question and make sense of the world around them is what makes good art.

AI can take the ideas already created, painted, written, or captured by humans, but it cannot create something truly original. True originality lies within the individual, as we each walk our own, unique, special paths through our trip on this Earth. AI may be able to outlive us physically on a hard drive on some computer. But AI can not take away the thoughts and feelings that we each experience on our personal journeys through life. What we create out of our own rationalizations inspired by the world around us is more special than any code can spit out. Our creations, make us immortal in our own ways. Our stories, our art, our lives, will be passed down by the people we love. We experience suffering, joy, despair, and nirvana. We are multifaceted, extraordinary, living anomalies. AI is merely a program.

I'm sure AI will bring much good to the future before us, but I have faith that it won't replace artists. Those who do not appreciate what it means to create will try to do the impossible. But those of us who know what true art is, won't need to fear about losing our creativity. Keep writing. Keep painting. Keep taking pictures. Keep doing the things you love without fear of being replaced by a robot. AI may be able to mimic the work of humans, but it can not capture what it's truly like to be alive and feeling.