AI Art & the Commercial Value of Images
AI Art & the Commercial Value of Images
AI art as an invasive species
A common reaction against AI art is that people producing AI generated works “have not put in the effort”. That raises the question about the definition of art. But addressing the definition of art raises an even more complex set of questions:
who gets to define what is art?
who gets to label this person or that person as an artist?
The word art is thrown out too often in vague manners. Let’s break art down into an equation: the elements of process mapping to a set of values.
The “not put in the effort” argument against AI generated images hits on the importance of process. I’m strongly in favor of thinking about art as a process of creativity.
The creative process enlists skills and tools applied to a medium that transform the substance of that medium. The output of this process is a work of creativity. It that output art? That distinction, that label of art, is irrelevant to the process of creativity.
The label of art is applied to the values resulting from the process. Values are applied to creative works. We can break the concept of value into at least two forms of appreciation: aesthetics and commercial.
Aesthetics are subjective appreciations of a work that brings out a pleasurable enjoyment from viewing the work. Very often, that sensation is momentary and fleeting. Aesthetics are a deep area of philosophical thought that span centuries. I’m intentionally glossing over aesthetics for this approximately 700-word discussion.
If individuals utilizing AI finds value in the process and enjoyment from their output, then that’s enough. But that’s not really the argument against the value of AI art.
The anxiety over AI art is about the commercial value of the images.
An aspect of the commercial value of art is the market value. Most often, we think of the very expensive masterpieces of art, both historic and contemporary. The key term is market value. The market determines the value of art.
High-end work selling for over a hundred thousand dollars and in the millions of dollars is an artificial market manipulated by investors, galleries, dealers, and auction houses that all profit from increasing the perceived value of a work. AI art is not a threat to the high-end art market.
The more dominant aspect of the commercial value of art is the vocational value of art. People who make a living from creating images are facing an existential financial crisis from the rise of AI art. Yet, for instance, in the area of concept art, these livelihoods are based on producing images (mostly through digital methods) that serve a purpose, a step in the production process of making video games, films, stories, etc. The imagery is a means to an end.
Generating images through algorithms as a production process is simply another step in automation. The constant with AI, as with any form of technology, is that some skills become replaced with new tools while other skills and career opportunities emerge.
The value that individuals bring to the vocational nature of art is how well they adapt to producing images for a specific industry that compensates the creators for those images.
As a career, artists producing images for commerce will need to adapt to the invasive species of AI art in order to survive financially. We have seen that adaptation time and time again as new tools lower the barrier to entry.
As a career, artists producing images, either through traditional analog methods or digital methods, for intrinsic purposes will continue the need to build their brand, their reputation, and their audience. Indeed, technology like social media has enabled many more people to make a living from their creatives pursuits than ever before in history.
As a hobby, AI art expands creativity to millions more people. Expanding creativity is never a bad thing.
As an artistic medium, AI creates new forms of artistic expression. We are still in the very early stages of the AI artistic evolution (or revolution). This year of 2023 is going to be incredible. The next decade will bring even more changes. Learn to adapt and make AI work for you and not against you.