Being an art major at a tech school has its hosts of challenges. No options at the “all-industries” career fair, being asked “Why are you here?” once a week, and consistent reminders that my major is so much easier than anyone who has to take thermodynamics are all fun things to hear on a weekly basis, but none of that really matters to what this is about. As someone who is both studying the arts and hoping to one day have a career in the arts, it is infuriating to see so many of my peers using generative AI for the most trivial of things.
Let me be clear, I am against generative AI, not AI as a whole. AI’s potential as a tool is incredible when used correctly. That is anything except generative AI.
The reason I have not transferred to a liberal arts school is I enjoy seeing how my peers use AI. Along with this, I like hearing their opinions and justifications on how and why they use AI in their work. When it comes to non-generative AI, most of the time I see the vision, like creating a database of research papers that a model can pull from or reading over their graded tests to find the areas they struggle the most with. None of that requires AI to be creative; they have a set of rules they follow and return the results based on what was asked of them.
I’ve questioned my classmates and asked them why they use AI to replace uniquely human tasks. From the obvious generative AI pictures and videos to the smallest, most basic tasks like writing an email or essay. We all got into this school based on our ability to be creative and problem solve. If you use AI to write a report for a project, you might as well transfer to a community college that costs $90,000 less because you’ll get the same damn experience out of it.
So how does this relate to art?
AI cannot be creative. Simple as that. All AI-generated images were based on pre-existing images. AI contributed nothing new, just regurgitated, uninspired slop. The same goes for an AI-generated email or essay. Every single sentence a model generates has been written before by a human. When you use generative AI, you are regurgitating someone else’s creativity and passion into something deformed and downright disgusting.
Recently, a movie came out called Wildwood. Made by Laika, a studio out of Portland, Oregon, this stop-motion animated movie is the culmination of 15 years of dedication from hundreds of individuals. It is something spectacular, and I implore everyone to go see it in theaters. Wildwood is the antithesis of generative AI. It is human collaboration in its finest form.
However much time you think you are saving by using generative AI to do your report, your essay, your email, or your visual aids, I promise you two things. One, you are only contributing to a growing pile of slop that will one day have as much relevance to society as the excrement of a fly. And two, no matter how small it is, your life can only be improved by using your own creativity and doing it yourself. Wildwood is proof of that — every single worthwhile invention, creation, and work of art that has existed across humanity is proof of that.
It is movies like Wildwood that remind me why I am going into this industry. It’s about more than the money. It’s about the humanity of it all. Art speaks when words fail us. If I can contribute to something that is so universal, even just a little bit, I will die happier than words can express. Long. Live. Art.
