AI art is definitely a controversial topic nowadays. Especially in this small thread, whether you voice your approval or not disapproval of the advancement in AI, it will be akin to a squeak in a market full of chaos.
There is only one thing I hope to convey: and that is for anyone who read this, please do feel and think, be honest with yourself, what does AI art actually means for us, and our future?
I have two main points to present:
1. Lost of current talent, and stiffening of future talent.
2. Promoting growth of generic products.
With the ease of creating AI art, at a pleasing level of quality, using just a few prompts, do anyone of you here still any burning desire to learn art from scratch? What about the kids growing up? If you are learning art now, do you have the motivation to continue your path?
The effect of AI art is clearly discouraging the budding young talents and the shakening the veteran artists.
If you are thinking at this point, this is not a problem, right? AI can replace these outdated skillset eventually. AI will be perfect for creating art that is indistinguishable from human-drawn art.
You are right, and I do agree that AI will eventually become so advanced that it will eventually be close to perfect. Almost indistinguishable.
However, you are forgetting that AI, as a machine, doesn't have imagination. Machines runs on maths, relying on raw datas. It will never produce anything innovative. It will give you the most optimal result. The most calculated, precise piece of product. But, in the domain of creative work, which are art and game, this is just an imitation of human's imagination.
Without a healthy amount of passionate new artist, we will see a decline in new artstyle, decline in the continuation of some artstyle, hindering the development of new artstyle and art theory. All of these decline will also affect the data for the AI art . AI art will become stagnant without the emerging artist. We art we see around us, such as Pixvix, will be stagnant.
These leads to my second point.
As the ease of making game becoming even more advance. Game can be almost entirely made using AI, such as generative text, to generate ideas, and scenarios. Generative art to make CG, standing character art, background...
Game that has this kind of skewered ration of human input to machine input, the end result will be a generic game.
Why innovate? why think of a new exciting story and scenario? A new fetish?
This is the problem with generating a creative product. The desire to grow, to create, to innovate, will be cheapened.
The convenience of Ai, will likely create an increasing amount of generic game. Game that has very similar artstyle, very similar mistake, very similar story and scenario.
The data after all, came from us, the human. If we as human don't continue to be creative and innovate, stagnation and decline will happen.
To wrap this up, do think about what does AI means to you. Personally, I think AI is wonderful in reducing laborious work, and that is to be supported. However, when it comes to the creative domain, it will bring more harm in the long run than the immediate benefits. AI art, is like a pandora box, it is already opened. It is a power that cannot be stop. But where and how we as public wants to use is entirely within out hands.
To finally end this discussion, I want to say that whether you enjoy or do not enjoy ai art, it is your own enjoyment, you own choice. There is no right or wrong to it.
I personally, do not enjoy a game that is largely produced with calculation, and not with passion or creativity. It is no fun to me.