Thoughts on Generative AI images

There’s another AI image trend I’ve seen going around, and it’s really tempting me to try it… The one where you anthropomorphize your pets, to see what they would look like as humans. I admit that this one is damn tempting to do for my 4 cats…

That said, it’s been a while since I’ve generated images using AI tools. I prefer to support artists, do my part, however small it might be. One side of me is truly fascinated to see how AI can use many artistic/visual styles to generate images (sometimes in really creative ways), and I find it fascinating. BUT… the ethical side of things makes me nauseous because I find it reduces an artist’s work to a simple 2-minute generation, like premature ejaculation. It’s… incredibly reductive for all the reflection behind choosing an artistic work, the trial and error, the variations, etc. Not to mention that the “quick productivity” aspect of AI image generation makes me nervously blink, the message of profitability-at-all-costs really gets to me (and makes me nauseous).

AI image generation tools are an interesting tool in a creative process, yes. But the message they send about cutting production costs of labor infuriates me: this obsession with making money at any price, even if it means cutting into others’ work… it enrages and depresses me.