Why AI-generated Art will enhance Art as we know it

Not only will AI-Art and “conventional” Art coexist, they will cross-pollinate

All Photos and AI-Prompts are mine.

Photography became its own Art Form, as did Digital Photography

Photography was all new in the 18-hundreds. Cumbersome, low quality, expensive and exclusive at first. Many traditional artists must have considered it a threat at the time, just like the railways (“dangerously fast”). And then it became mainstream. Today, our world is inundated with digital junk, including photos. It’s becoming more difficult to find truly artistic photos.

Near Yeosu, South Korea (no AI involved 🙂

AI-generated Images are already creating a visual Tsunami

Today I am only covering visual art. Journalism, fiction and poetry will be changed by AI as well. AI is already causing upheaval in the music industry. Needless to say that all this will trigger an avalanche of copyright lawsuits. Some class action lawsuits have already been filed. Fortunately I’m too old to become a copyright lawyer…..

Virtual Immersion Museums driven by AI

A new kind of museum is emerging: My wife and I recently visited the Arte Museum in Yeosu, South Korea. It was an amazing journey. The virtual immersion that the surrounding screens are creating was a feast for the senses. Our playful selves re-emerged. Old and young equally enjoyed the experience.

The absolute best was a large room fully surrounded by screens and mirrors, in which an amazing array of paintings by world-renowned artists were shown in large format: Klimt, van Gogh, Gaugin etc. We stood on an observation pedestal for half an hour in fascination. What a wonderful combination of old and new. Imagine bringing this art to audiences and places that would have never seen this art before. Imagine the variety of art that can be presented this way. Watch for the people in the next two photos.

“Text to Art” has unleashed breathtaking Creativity

What is “Text to Art”? You draft a brief text description (called “prompt”) of what you want the AI to draw, such as: “close-up of elegantly dressed asian fairy with realistic facial features, eerie forest, highly detailed, intricate, sharp focus, concept art, magical lighting” (see corresponding images below, using “Stable Diffusion”). Each time you click on “create”, a unique new image is created by the AI. It’s a black box process within the AI: The same image can never be created again.

Here is another prompt I created – it was the exact same text and AI-model for each image:

A whole Ecosystem of Text to Art has sprung up

Communities of creators such as prompthunt , prompthero and civitai . Training sites such as aituts.com , and marketplaces to buy and sell prompts, such as promptbase. Click on the links and be amazed! There is even a new profession called “prompt engineer”!

Don’t be fooled though – it’s a lot of Work!

Creating good prompts is fiendishly difficult: Hands and faces often get distorted, and results may not be stable across various images of the same (text) prompt. Creators need to invest a lot of trial and error to understand how a certain AI reacts to a certain text prompt. Disturbingly, the AI trains the creator, not the other way round. Development of AI-models is extremely dynamic right now, with almost daily improvements.

Caution advised: Don’t let AI run your Life

Instagram already displays a large array of “doctored” images, some of which you can’t easily identify. What on earth is real anymore? Here is the link to my previous blog: “Sinister Perils are looming behind today’s AI-Hype – don’t become an AI-Lemming!” (disclaimer: contrary to common myth, Lemmings do not commit mass-suicide 🙂

Why People will continue to flock to traditional Museums

Humans yearn for authenticity and a context they can believe in. Many don’t want the over-stimulation and “noise” that AI-generated art often entails. Wandering through the halls of a well-curated museum will continue to inspire and move people. My prediction is that traditional museum attendance will grow because of AI-generated art.

The Art-Scape is getting broader – open yourself up to enjoy it!

Chihuly glass art at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California