AI is everywhere nowadays. We all talk about it. A lot of us use it. The dangers are very well-documented, and of course, its ability to generate anything on a whim is a scourge to all things creative. The results of its generative texts will never be as good, or as authentic, as what human beings can write. But it's fooling a lot of people.
There's an epidemic of novels out there written entirely by artificial intelligence, with the sole purpose of spinning money from people who don't realize that they were made by a computer which draws on the misappropriated work of human creators. Sometimes, people who use AI for creative purposes self-proclaim themselves 'AI artists.'
With the issue of AI-generated 'art' growing every day, the real creative minds of our generation are taking a stand. Look no further than best-selling writer Brandon Sanderson, who publishes outstanding fantasy novels at a pace not much slower than AI — but a hell of a lot better. The Mistborn and Stormlight Archive author has a "bit of a bone to pick" with AI artists.
"People use AI for all sorts of interesting things," Sanderson said in a recent TikTok video. "My stance is, as I've said before, a little against it in creative endeavors. I'm concerned. One of the things I'm concerned about is people are saying, 'Well, I'm an AI artist because I'm putting in the prompts.'"
Not only did Sanderson vocally condemn this practice, but he also had props. In the video he showed off some artwork by Ben McSweeney, explaining: "I would never put my name as the artist on this piece of art. This is Ben McSweeney's art. He did the art. Now, I gave him the prompt, yes. I asked for it, I commissioned it, I pushed him on it, but it's his art. And this is kind of my worry with some of the AI things with writing and with art that's happening. Being an art director does not give you ownership over the piece. And in this case — no matter how good your prompts, no matter how much you refine — you aren't making the art."
Again, generative AI is able to produce artwork or writing because it's absorbed the artwork and writing created by humans, usually without their permission, and then uses it to create something that appears new. A lot of creative professionals, including A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, are opposed to this, and have even brought legal actions.
It's always nice to see someone as influential as Brandon Sanderson publicly condemn AI for creative purposes. This the kind of moral clarity the world needs when computer-generated 'art' is getting out of control.
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h/t ScreenRant