Thoughts on artificial intelligence
The first time I learned about using artificial intelligence to generate images was in March 2022. , and artificial intelligence creates an image that matches that description.
I looked into it and found out there were several open source models available to the public, and I started trying it out. I started by using an open source model called Disco Diffusion.
I was blown away. Lighting, composition, and color are almost always aesthetically appealing, or at least interesting. The images often tend towards abstraction rather than coherence, but despite the lack of identifiable objects, each captures the essence of the prompt. I absolutely love these images.
AI images created using Disco Diffusion
Fast forward to 2024. everywhere Now. I see them in ads, I see them on pinterest, I think of them as YouTube video thumbnails, I probably see dozens a day that I don’t even realize were created by artificial intelligence. Technology has gotten so good and advanced so quickly that you can now make images that are indistinguishable from photography
AI image created using Midjourney
Is this art?
If artificial intelligence can create images that are indistinguishable from the work of other artists or photographers, how can it not be considered art? Does art require intention behind it, or is art created when someone sees something and believes it is art? If I have a beautiful painting hanging on my wall and you appreciate it as art, but I tell you that it was created by artificial intelligence, does it stop being art? Marshall McLuhan famously said, “Art is anything you can get away with,” and maybe he was right.
You might say that art can only be created through imagination, so a computer without imagination cannot create art. But if photography can be art, then it seems hard to argue that artificial intelligence images can’t be art as well. Whether it’s photography or AI imagery, you still have some control over what you want to see in your imagery. But this seems more like discovering art than making it. Imagine an infinite archive of every possible image, carefully cataloged by subject, style, medium, etc. image. This is basically what it feels like to use artificial intelligence to create images. You wouldn’t call it your image because you created it, but you can call it your image because you discovered it.
The controversial work may or may not be art, depending on your definition
Won’t it cause harm to the artist?
A big question surrounding artificial intelligence is whether artists will lose their jobs because of the technology. Yes. They will. Especially bad artists. But I don’t think skilled artists will be out of work anytime soon. The essence of artificial intelligence is that it can only create variations and combinations of things it has seen before, so artists with creative thinking can always come up with something better than artificial intelligence.
Whenever a new technology is introduced, people around the world take the opportunity to tell you what a disaster it will be for those who work in that particular industry. This is not a new phenomenon. In 1839, a French artist named Paul Delaroche saw daguerreotypes for the first time and reported:
“From today on, painting is dead!”
Even Socrates was wary of writing. he writes to meof Phaedrus:
“[Writing] Can create amnesia in the minds of those who learn to use it because they do not practice their memory. Their trust in writing is generated by external figures who are not their own, which prevents them from using their own memories. You have invented a panacea not for memory, but for reminders.”
Doomsday prophecies about new technologies are older than the printed word.
Currently, I don’t think artificial intelligence can do anything with images that couldn’t be done with Photoshop before. It just makes things faster, easier, and more achievable. But that’s the beauty of AI imagery. I might want a very specific photo of a man passed out in a bar wearing a futuristic Mark IV diving suit, but I probably don’t want to spend 3 hours looking up photos online and putting them in Photoshop together. Or maybe I don’t want to spend 16 hours modeling, UV processing, texturing and CG rendering of an image. But it would be great if we could get that image in 30 seconds.
Tip: A photo of a man wearing a Mark V diving suit sleeping in a bar
It requires no skills!
Creating compelling AI-generated images does require skill, although the process itself may not always require skill. Just like a child can draw a stick figure with a pencil that anyone can instantly copy, someone can create an AI image by typing in a word and clicking a button. In both cases, the resulting images are almost effortlessly created, but the quality isn’t really indicative of the medium’s capabilities.
Writing AI prompts requires imagination and some knowledge of the specific AI tool you are using. First, you need to think about what image you want to create, then you need to be able to convert it to text and be able to understand how the prompts work for each different AI image generator. AI is a tool that can be used to enhance current workflows, or is a workflow in itself, but I wouldn’t judge it as a tool just because some people use it to do sloppy work.
This is stealing another artist’s work!
it yes Trained on other artworks, images, and photos, the AI model does not contain any actual image, but rather the aesthetic essence of that image, which can be used to create similar images. I don’t think it’s any different than what any artist or photographer does every day. No one works in a vacuum. Like it or not, every artist is influenced by every image they see. There is nothing they can do. Filmmakers, painters, musicians and photographers draw inspiration from other artists and craftsmen. These inevitably become part of their style to some extent. Salvador Dali said: “Those who do not try to imitate anything create nothing.”
Another thing to point out is that specific styles cannot be copyrighted. Copyright law protects the tangible expression of an idea, not the idea itself. This means that while a specific painting, sculpture, or other work of art can be protected by copyright, the underlying style or method of creating the work cannot. I think artists should be honest about their influences, but I don’t think that should stop them from mixing and matching different styles to create something new and original.
It has no “soul”!
This seems to be a fairly common sentiment online. Don’t use artificial intelligence to create images, people wrote, “it doesn’t have any soul!”.
So, a question naturally arises, what is the “soul” of a work of art? what does that mean? Many people would say that almost every movie produced by Hollywood in the past eight years is pretty soulless. I’ve seen and used AI to create a lot of images that I really like and would love to hang on my wall. They have the potential to make me feel things or think about things, just like any artwork using more traditional means. What is the “soul” of a work of art besides making you think or feel something? You might not think of AI images as having a “soul,” but if the current wave of AI companions and personal chatbots proves anything, it’s that millions of people are willing to embrace soulless AI on a deeper level than just Picture creation.
So what does the future hold?
I see some big changes coming, especially in film and television. This is my prediction.
As a visual effects artist, I foresee big changes in the future. I think the types of visual effects used in movies in 2024, like physical models and matte paintings on glass before computers, will be phased out until they are used rarely or only in very specific situations. Currently, AI can be used to upgrade low-resolution footage, restore old damaged footage, retime footage, and even relight footage. By using segmentation masks generated by artificial intelligence, motion rendering has become nearly automated. Image-to-3D modeling and texturing is developing steadily. Gaussian jetting and precision photogrammetry may soon replace lidar scanning. I think the transition from pre-AI to post-AI movies will be as big as the transition from pre-digital effects movies to post-digital effects movies. It would put the scale and scope of current Hollywood movies into the hands of anyone with a computer.
As a filmmaker, I see Hollywood losing its grip on the entertainment industry. Movie quality has definitely declined over the last 8 years, but so has audience interest in seeing new movies (could those two things be related? Hmmm…) So if the main source of entertainment no longer seems to be entertaining, people will look for alternatives Source of entertainment. To some extent, they already have. YouTube, TikTok, and social media seem to be filling a lot of the space and time that used to be spent watching movies and TV. Movies and television will begin to be produced for smaller, more focused audiences. Historically, people have complained that Hollywood often only produced films that represented the more liberal values and views of the studio owners. It’s a missed opportunity because there’s clearly an appetite for more diverse stories. Independently financed films like “The Passion of the Christ” briefly became the highest-grossing R-rated films of all time. The TV series The Chosen is another example. It raised $45 million, becoming the largest crowdfunded television project in history, and was a theatrical success. People are hungry for all types of movies, shows, and entertainment that depict stories, ideologies, and worldviews that are different from typical Hollywood movies. As artificial intelligence empowers average filmmakers to produce more sophisticated works, the content market will explode and audiences will crave stories that resonate with their sensibilities. We may soon reach a place where entertainment becomes so personalized that any two people on the street may not see anything that the other person has seen. Everyone will watch entertainment curated based on their viewing preferences.
In this new paradigm, the role of artificial intelligence is not just a technological advancement, but a transformative force that will empower creators and connect them with audiences like never before. The future of entertainment lies in its ability to adapt and innovate, embracing the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence. As we stand on the cusp of this exciting change, the potential to tell fresh, diverse and deeply personal stories has never been greater. The next chapter in film and television will be written by those who dare to explore these new frontiers, creating rich content that reflects the diverse world we live in.
