Thoughts on AI

Like VR, I am ever the critic when it comes to AI. Now more than ever.

At first I was excited and amazed by it’s ability to ‘create’.

Now I understand it is simply predicting and has no true analytical or creative capacity.

One could argue that human intelligence is just a complex prediction engine but if that’s the case then AIs should be demoted to simple MLs or ‘Machine Learning’ engines. What I’m saying is, whatever you define as human level intelligence, then AI is still a fair few steps below it.

AI is also the most prolific and incorrigible breacher of copywrite laws in all of human history with the vast majority of machine learning models exploiting huge amounts of data without permissions.

For these reasons I have decided to stop using AI image generators in commercial projects and avoid it where possible in other projects.

It IS very fun to ‘create’ things instantly. It’s particualrly fun combining themes/styles. BUT it does not truely satisfy creativity, I’m always chasing a perfection that will never arrive because the generation process doesn’t know what its doing.

I have generated over 10,000 images on Midjourney and have found the process addictive and overall unsatisfying. Every image the machine generated wasn’t what I wanted, just a bit less or more of what I didn’t want.

I want to want to share the images that I had a small part in generating but the truth is, they all give me the ICK, it just doesn’t feel right sharing something that mascarades as a creative output from such an exploitative process - mass appropriating millions of peoples genuine work.

‘Creating’ AI generated work is like someone eating a chefs meal, vomiting it back up onto a new plate and using their hands to mould the bits into a similar looking meal, then claiming they have created a brand new completely original meal.

I did enjoy how this technology enabled me to explore photography and art I would not be able to explore without significant effort and career re-tooling, there is value in that exploration but ultimately zero satisfation.

I fear that those who may use AI generation tools, without having first discovered the satisfaction of their own creative process will see these tools and believe they are creating with wild abandon and wholly missing out on a core tenet of art...

However I do understand that the generation process is extremely fun and exploring the infitie possibilities of creation is an insatiable activity.

Of the generations I initiated, most were themed around compelling photography in the fashion or documentary realms or fantastical illustrations intended as templates to improve my own artwork.... The majority of them I will never share.