“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion.” This quote from the movie Dead Poets Society touches on a question that has made its way into professional, academic, and creative spheres. Is our passion being slowly stripped away from us, right before our eyes? Or is it taking on a new form, aided by new tools, technologies, and resources?
Artificial intelligence (AI) offloading human work has been a popular subject of discourse for a long time, from old science fiction plays like the 1920’s “Rossum’s Universal Robots,” to newer, academy-award-winning films, like 2016’s “Her.” With the recent, widespread surge of generative AI, these conversations are starting to take on new facets.
While there has been a topical emphasis on the impact this technology will have on analytical career fields like tech and finance, it’s important to ask about the implications for the creative industries, whose products are held to subjective standards.
According to research done by Goldman Sachs, the share of industry employment exposed to automation by AI in the U.S. is at 26%, in terms of work tasks in the arts, design, entertainment, media and sports sectors. This could be seen in the form of retouching photos, summarizing text, and making the digital design process more efficient, or it could be viewed as a simplification of the artistic job, automating parts of projects that would have once been created with artistic intentionality.
Nathan Hebert, a graphic designer for Sony Music Entertainment, explained how the integration of AI in his industry is impacting his career. “As time goes on, I feel like my purpose is deteriorating. Design is beginning to feel like a luxury that most people can produce through AI, and my job is slowly falling away from me.”
AI is making art and design more accessible to the corporate business sector, rapidly overtaking what would have been an artistic, human craft with cheaper, “more efficient” alternatives. With this new emergence, society is beginning to adapt their original opinions and responses to AI’s influence.
Originally, many were afraid of its implementation, but as it seeps into new corners of various industries, we are beginning to utilize the technology to optimize and streamline the work done within their careers, companies, and personal ventures. In this day and age, it’s not hard to recognize that failing to adapt to the new world of artificial intelligence leaves companies at a significant industry disadvantage.
However, in a non-corporate setting, many artists are concerned that AI is destroying creative expression. Music artist and bass player Brogan McCreery says, “The work that we as musicians put our heart and soul into is getting replaced by inhumane machines. The industry is competitive enough, but now it’s nearly impossible to break into success.”
The way AI is taking over the creative industry discourages artists from putting in the effort and time to create. People are constantly questioning why they would ever create anything if a machine can make it more efficiently, even if automation comes at the cost of the true soul of the work. Even though AI art has been integrated into many parts of the creative industry, it is missing authenticity and humanity.
In a Purdue Exponent article, Ella McNeely wrote “It is important to remember that art is human expression. A machine will never be able create something truly meaningful; there are no emotions or thoughts behind an AI-generated image.” This captures the sentiment that artists are fighting to maintain, that art is a key feature of what it means to live, experience, and relay those feelings.
While AI can adhere to rapid consumption, it is missing the key component to what makes art real.
With all this to say, it is important to keep creating.
